Rebecca Ferguson and Tom Cruise in a scene from Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.
Rebecca Ferguson and Tom Cruise in a scene from Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.
Great stunts, but not quite up to previous instalments. That seems to be the sum total of reviews so far for Tom Cruise's action-blockbuster Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.
The fifth film in the Mission: Impossible series is the follow-up to 2011's blockbuster hit Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and is directed by Jack Reacher's Christopher McQuarrie.
Due for release here on Thursday, it sees the return Cruise to the title role of super spy Ethan Hunt , alongside the franchise's regular stars Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg.
Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner appear in a scene from Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.
This M:I film sees Hunt and his crew face off against a network of agents called the Syndicate intent on creating worldwide chaos through terrorist attacks.
Advance buzz has been all about Cruise's spectacular stunt work, and overseas critics say the film's action scenes don't disappoint.
"McQuarrie understands that Cruise's signature without-a-net show-stopper is what we're all primed for," wrote Entertainment Weekly critic Chris Nashawaty.
"He wastes no time serving it up, opening the film with its biggest money shot, as Cruise sprints and leaps onto the wing of a Russian cargo plane speeding down a Minsk runway and proceeds to cling by his fingernails onto its side after it's taken flight. "
Tom Cruise portrays Ethan Hunt in a scene from Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.
Variety critic Justin Chang agreed, calling the stunt "an astounding piece of airborne staging that Cruise, with his distaste for green-screen effects and his fondness for performing his own stunts, pulls off in typically sweat-free fashion".
Chang also wrote: "It's clearer than ever that Ethan Hunt is not just one of Cruise's signature roles, but also a commercial oasis to which he can reliably return in between riskier attempts to extend his personal brand."
While the stunts earned praise, not all critics were as impressed by the film as previous installments.
"Its fuse fizzes dutifully from A to B, but the dynamite never ignites," wrote The Daily Telegraph's Robbie Collin.
Daniel Krupa from IGN Movies said: "It's a ride, an often exhilarating one, but ultimately like most rides it ends exactly where it began."
Tom Huddleston from UK entertainment publication TimeOut was even more scathing, writing: "Cruise goes through the motions in this diverting but empty blockbuster." He gave it three stars out of five.
Despite the criticisms, Hollywood Reporter critic Todd McCarthy predicted the film would earn as much, if not more, than previous M:I films.
"Armed with an absorbing mystery plot that does more than just connect the dots between action set-pieces, McQuarrie maintains the uptick in M:I quality established by the last two entries, and should land this entry within the series' customary range of a half-billion bucks worldwide."
