This one is for adrenaline junkies

Johnson Thomas

The sixth installment of the Mission Impossible franchise opens with a fantasy vow renewal sequence between Ethan Hunt and his now ex-wife (Michelle Monahan) which goes to dissolve when he wakes up. Cut to Hunt, Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames) trying to nab stolen plutonium caps in Berlin but predictably, the operation gets botched-up and triggers the involvement of CIA Director (Angela Bassett) and her No.1 operative August Walker (Henry Cavill).

Walker is younger, bigger and fitter, so the challenge begins with Hunt trying to live up to his indestructible tag. From the opening stunt itself, we are given a royal view of how things are going to pan out eventually. The first aerial stunt set-piece has Hunt rescuing Walker from a near-death situation, then there are bloody fisticuffs in the Men’s room of Grand Palais, Paris, followed by several cars, bikes, and van chases - also involving Rogue captive, ex-MI6 agent Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), former MI6 agent from Rogue Nation, gets inserted into the byplay to muddy the waters further.

One chase takes Ethan through a jam-packed church funeral, another has him in a prolonged footrace atop scenic London roof-tops, yet another has him in a helicopter chase culminating in what should have been a nail-biting finale shot in European mountain ranges being passed off as Kashmir. The doomsday threat doesn’t work up enough hysteria and the attempt to meld Bond, Fast and Furious, XXX with caper movie elements just seems like too much of a good thing. Elongated stunts pass off as narrative exposition replete with a hint of romantic complication and obligatory shoot-outs.

There’s really not much of a plot to keep the engine revved-up and on the go throughout. McQuarrie, the first returning director to this super-successful series, along with stunt co-ordinator Wade Eastwood, assemble an unbelievable array of Extreme Action stunt set-pieces mixed with a fair dose of humour to make the narrative easily digestible. But it’s all so unbelievable that sustenance through a 147 minute runtime is next to impossible. If you are the type to get high on ‘mere’ adrenaline rushes then take this ride by all means!