Entertaining, Very Smart, and Thrilling

Rating: 9/10 (14 July 2016)

One of the problems with the earliest Mission Impossible movies was that they appear to be too smart for their own good, and even when we liked the gimmicks and the car chases, we felt like we left out of the party. It was like they were just too good to let us in. When we watch thrillers, part of the excitement is that we sometimes know a crucial piece of information that the hero doesn't know, and we wish we could be there to help him out. "Mission Impossible" pushes the set up even further when we are part of the thrills, riding along, enjoying every turn, guessing like the heroes, wondering who or what is real? Where is the next double crossing coming from? It's so good that we welcome the most overused trick in the series when it finally shows up because the ride has been amazing so far, and in order to make this entry work, we need to recharge Ethan's batteries, and we have to give him a suitable new partner who is as challenging as enticing, and why not put everyone in jeopardy with a villain who is not afraid to dispose of anyone whether they are being useful or not, if the situation requires.
Once again, our favorite group of spies or agents are out loose and without much of the support they need, exposed to the enemy and classified as unwanted by their own boss. Things become even more convoluted when a group known as The Syndicate makes an appearance, and the question is whether this association is a real or a rumor. There is however, no time to waste because if the group is real, the consequences will be enormous.
In comes a lethal new female agent whose loyalties are not clear at the beginning, as she as alluring as cobra with the complication that she also is able to cast quite a spell on Ethan and the audience. We want to see more of her regardless of who she's working with, and the part demands an actress who is beautiful, attractive, capable of doing some complicated physical work, and who can project intelligence to the point that we know she is at the top of her game in addition giving her character enough mystery to make us wonder what her game really is.
So we follow both friend and foe, and our mystery lady throughout the world, with some incredible action pieces in London, Morocco, Vienna, and more. We never really know how things will turn out, but we get the full package, as Ethan has to endure some precarious turns inside a water tank, one very deathly motorcycle race, and a rather devious challenge in the last scenes of the film. To keep things even more interesting, there's an element of fun, and we see the different agents wink at us, or just give us a quick glance to suggest things could go just about every possible way, except the one we usually are dealt in this type of films.
As I said before, no one will be disappointed by any of the action, and the actors are certainly in fine shape here, but the glue that holds everything together is the very clever script that keeps the action flowing non-stop, and adds much intelligence to a film that is about intelligence because in order to survive in this universe, you need to have courage and brains, and the ability to use your talents both with some careful planning, and being able to see the immediate and the whole picture.
The film definitely pumps much needed energy back into a franchise that could have ended with the last film. It raises the expectations of the audience which makes the next challenge something to look forward to. Whatever happens, here is the formula, so study it, admire it, and most certainly, enjoy it.