IN writer/director Christopher McQuarrie’s melange of action, comedy, stylised violence, imagination and freedom of spirit making its 131 minutes less tedious than expected, Tom Cruise again plays IMF’s top field agent Ethan Hunt.

The film, shot during his 52nd year, asks him to deliver much high order derring-do.

Age is beginning to take its toll on the face that once hoisted Cruise to the top rung of the babe magnet ladder. In “M:I 5”, Cruise may have top billing and market power, but it’s the supporting players who lift the film’s tolerability level.

Separated from long-time crony Nick Frost to play Ethan’s sidekick Benji, Simon Pegg demonstrates his versatility. Alec Baldwin plays CIA director Hunley, convincing a congressional committee that the unconventional tradecraft of IMF is not in the national interest.

Jeremy Renner plays IMF director Brandt forced against his better judgement to accept the slap but remaining buddies with his former field agents, particularly Ethan.

And the girl. No spy actioner can hope to succeed at the box office without the girl. At first sight, Ilsa is an evil acolyte of Lane (Sean Harris), the rogue British intelligence officer now leading the Syndicate, which is doing its best to dominate the world once it gets its hands on the crucial piece of information or whatever else is blocking its path to success. Ilsa is an enigma. Be patient. Sit back and enjoy spectacular Rebecca Ferguson, the Swedish actress now filming alongside Meryl Streep in a biopic of Florence Foster Jenkins. That’s one worth waiting for.

McQuarrie adopts an easy solution to rescuing good guys from seemingly impossible hazards. Cut to black. Return to hazard resolved. Watching the contrivance for the umpteenth time propelled me to the conclusion that the film’s title might more correctly be “Mission Improbable”. But its ongoing fun factors encourage forgiveness.

At all cinemas