Absurd, Clichéd, Highly Diverting

Here we go again with Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise, and the various impossible missions he (and only he) can complete.

In Christopher McQuarrie’s “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation” we get the usual features — electronic devices that always work, guns that never run out of bullets and so on.

But this one’s got a motorcycle chase that might well be the finest action scene ever. 

It also has Alec Baldwin as the slimy CIA chief and relentless bureaucrat who forces Hunt to go on the run.

Which is very unfair, since all Ethan wants to do is stop the syndicate from promoting terrorism and general worldwide mayhem. 

Rebecca Ferguson plays Ilsa Faust, super-duper operative, whose allegiances change hourly, it seems.

And Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames and Jeremy Renner all return, although a viewer might get a little confused trying to hang on to who is trying to do what to whom.

We’re talking assassination by car bomb. A computer server, containing critical information, underwater, in Morocco. Important encrypted files. Foiled attack at auction (hello, “North by Northwest.”)

Also: Mean streets of London. Underground death chamber. Thrills at the opera (how ya doing, “The Man Who Knew Too Much”) Whispering villain.

And the motorcycle chase.

That the film’s story makes almost no sense is irrelevant. McQuarrie keeps the film moving so there is no time to wonder about the secret files or the encrypted whatchamacallit. The characters want them, and that’s all that counts.

Yes, the characters are one-dimensional. Yes, the story is absurd. Yes, the clichés are all there. Yes, the film is incredibly loud.

And yes, “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation” is a highly diverting way to spend a couple of hours on a hot summer afternoon. It’s goofy enough to be fun but not dumb enough to be insulting. 

So if you enjoy this type of film you couldn’t ask for a better example. Highly enjoyable and eminently forgettable — except for the motorcycle scene.

“Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation” is playing widely. It is rated PG-13 for action and violence and brief partial nudity.