Mission: Impossible–Rogue Nation is fun and forgettable

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      Starring Tom Cruise. Rated PG.

      The Mission: Impossible franchise is back. Your mission, should you choose to accept it? Decipher the hopelessly convoluted plot, which has something to do with a secret society of rogue agents—all of them supposedly deceased—known as the Syndicate.

      The Syndicate is an especially sinister organization. We know this because its top assassin (Sean Harris) speaks like a Cambridge graduate who’s been kicked in the throat. In fact, you’ll have to get used to a whole bunch of tony English accents spouting dizzying circles of crazed spy-talk. What’s the main thing you need to know? The Syndicate wants to destroy the Impossible Mission Force while taking a big bite out of democracy.

      Plotwise, that’s all the help you’ll get from me. Although I should also mention that everyone chases after a computer disk with the usual “vital” information on it. The head chaser is the IMF’s golden boy, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise, who adeptly crashes through two or three closed windows and manages to get a tiny cut on his perfect nose).

      He’s aided by his familiar crew, including Luther (a lumbering Ving Rhames) and resident techno-geek Benji (Simon Pegg, who provides elegant comic relief).

      This time around, the gang is assisted by a sexy British undercover agent named Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson), who spices things up considerably. Director and cowriter Christopher McQuarrie serves up a dazzling array of stunts, including an extended motorcycle chase and a bit where Ethan boards a moving plane.

      As always, Cruise is game, tumbling, thrashing, and kicking while keeping his expression firmly set on grim. But it’s Ferguson, channelling the spirit of The Avengers’ Emma Peel, who gets the most points for effort. Some of her fight sequences are so elaborate, they look more like complex yoga moves.

      It’s all slick, fun, and instantly forgettable. Just don’t try to figure out what’s going on. It’ll only give you a headache.

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