Expect more boom than plot in ‘Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation’

The “Mission Impossible” movies have landed on a hit formula, a formula that’s proved so popular there’s little motivation to deviate from it.

Give Tom Cruise near impossible tasks and watch him execute them, put Tom Cruise in outrageously difficult circumstances and watch him extricate himself, and make Tom Cruise do all this in exotic locales all around the world.

James Bond has been using a similar formula for more than 50 years but recently, Cruise’s stunts have eclipsed even Agent 007’s. In a spectacular sequence in the last “Mission Impossible” film, Cruise scaled the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. And in this latest film, “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation,” Cruise not only impressively hangs on to the outside of a huge airplane as it takes off (in the very opening sequence, no less), but he also holds his breath for six minutes as he gets battered around in an underwater chamber.

“You have to get through 12 feet of concrete and 70,000 thousand gallons of pressurized water, without any metal,” Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, is told during the movie.

“No oxygen tanks?” Hunt asks.

These scenes could all be CGI-ed, but Cruise takes pride in doing his own stunts. So yes, that’s really him on the outside of the Burj 100 floors up, and yes, that’s really him on the outside of the plane as it takes off, and yes, at least according to the filmmakers, Cruise really held his breath for six minutes at a time underwater. The fact that he’s now 53 years old makes his exploits even more impressive.

There are plenty of other impressive action sequences &#8212 a nerve-wracking attempt to stop a prime minister’s assassination during an opera performance, an unlikely breakout from a high-security dungeon, and countless chase sequences &#8212 in cars, on motorcycles, and climatically, on foot even.

If at this point, if you’re wondering about the movie’s plot, you’re probably not the film’s target audience. The “Mission Impossible” movies have become little more than a series of impressive stunts and amazing action sequences. “Rogue Nation” is basically a stunt reel masquerading as a movie. That’s plenty by Hollywood standards. And it’s entertaining enough to satisfy even audiences who’d prefer a little more substance, like me.

For those who insist on plot, here’s the set-up: The CIA has convinced Congress to shut down the IMF – the Impossible Mission force – and ground rogue IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). Before that happens, Hunt needs to expose the Syndicate, a shadowy collection of rogue secret agents from all around the world and prove to Congress the IMF is indeed needed.