Movie: Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Bond without the sexism.I’ve seen at least one MI film before, although it’s not my usual choice of cinematic pleasure.As I’ve previously mentioned amongst these posts, not being a big fan of Tom Cruise doesn’t help but that changed somewhat with The Last Samurai, one of my favourite films and my perception altered again with this, a fine piece of film.Frankly, I’m unclear of the entire plot but it matters not. Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, appears to have been branded an enemy by the head of CIA, delightfully cast as Alec Baldwin – it’s all good casting actually – who is hunting him down. So this time we see Hunt the agent working outside the government rather than for them. He had reported in for his next task but is abducted for torture and his contact is killed.Only after his assisted escape do we learn he is after a highly motivated criminal consortium: the Syndicate, as clever as Hunt’s IMF (Impossible Missions Force – it’s taken me ages to research that). Immediately we begin the game of who is a double agent, who is an agent and who can we trust?With the help of his friends on the inside, super-geek Benji (Simon Pegg not as annoying as imagined) and the-not-to-be-messed-with Luther, he is trying to prove his innocence (I’m unclear exactly what from) by finding evidence that the Syndicate exists. In the meantime, Benji is given regular lie detector tests where he expertly lies and doesn’t let on that he is going to Vienna to meet his friend.The spy/action film moves at the pace expected with tense under water scenes, girls kicking ass without needing the help of men (well one token female), country leaders being assassinated and face-off body swap type scenes. Just who do we believe?!Having said all of that, the reason I enjoyed this film is because it gave me one of my beloved light bulb moments when only a silly happy dance will do. (This proved difficult in the darkened cinema) Curiously, in July, I hadn’t decided where I wanted to wake up on my birthday this year - my tradition is a new city every year. MI5 is filmed across Europe with a stop in Vienna, so that’s where I’ll be in October. Vienna was always on my list of possibilities, I’d just forgotten!It’s odd as Vienna was featured in the Helen Mirren film Women in Gold and yet it took a spy caper to remind me I want to go there.Oh, and the theme tune, still a classic memory from the TV series of my childhood days.Is there a MI 6 to inspire more travel ideas? I’m running out!8/10Smile factor 7/10 (or 10/10 – when in Vienna)