Exciting stuff, even when the plot meanders a bit; the cast is great

Rating: 7/10 (24 August 2017)

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) can't even take a mountain climbing vacation! As he reaches a summit, a helicopter appears and gives him his next mission. Well, he accepts it. It seems a man, Sean (Dougray Scott) wearing a Hunt false face, hijacked a formula for a deadly virus and its antidote. As it took place on a plane, the bad guys parachute away and the rest of the passengers and crew crash. Now Hunt has to get it back before it is sold to those who would use it to kill. For some reason, Hunt's bosses want him to team up with a beautiful thief, Nyah (Thandie Newton), presently in Spain. Holy garters, it takes a lot of begging, bartering and a perilous car chase for Ethan to bring her on board. Once a team, a romance begins, even though Ethan finds out later that she is Sean's ex- girlfriend. In fact, Nyah will have to pretend to return to her former love to make the mission work. This is dangerous territory indeed. Can Ethan and Nyah succeed? Having only seen one other MI movie, I have to say this was exciting stuff. John Woo, the director, knows how to get the pulse rate way up! Then, too, Cruise, Newton, Ving Rhames, Scott, and all of the others play cat and mouse very well. Beautiful scenery abounds, as does terrific costumes and snappy conversation. Cruise may not appeal to a few but this action film is first rate.