The movement sells it and makes it an enjoyable blockbuster

Rating: Null/10 (26 December 2015)

There is a plot here, involving a secret organization trying to bring down IMF and encourage disruption around the world; probably at a high level it makes a lot of sense but outside of a two-line plot summary on IMDb, it is unlikely you watch a two-hour movie and don't get into the plot a bit more than this. Doing so does mean that things start to wobble quite badly, and the narrative does start to expose itself as essentially being lots of cool words spoken quickly and with lots of spy jargon. Leaps in logic, convenient writing, and generally a lack of anything beyond the superficial are all very much the order of play here.
I won't pretend this is not an issue – because it is; but at the same time the film is a summer blockbuster action movie, and to a point you do have to come into that arena knowing what you are accepting as the norm. So the first question really is: does the film succeed on its home turf. In this way the answer is 'yes' because M:I-RN has strong movement whether it being in the many set- pieces it delivers, or in the dialogue sequences which frame them/ This movement is sustained surprisingly well for a film running to this length, and the action sequences are done with the right tone of silliness and spectacle so you can enjoy them and feel less inclined to pick holes in them (which is easy to do).
The cast seem to get this too, so they are starry, do the action stuff well, and generally don't worry about much more than whatever moment they are in. Cruise continues to defy logic with his career – and he has a lot of presence throughout this film, often carrying it by sheer will of personality. Ferguson is a good support for him, while Pegg is not too annoying, Renner is solid, Rhames is like an old pair of comfy slippers, and Baldwin adds a sense of class. Harris is an enjoyable but perhaps underused villain.
In the end it is an enjoyable film with plenty of action and movement which plays to the strengths of the cast and budget. The weak plot and sense of superficiality of course prevent it being more than a bit of fun, but if it is fine to be this and do it well, then I was fine to enjoy it doing it.