CW: nothing of note
Brad Bird pulls the franchise out of its nosedive by making this very much a team effort again. It's obviously a vehicle for Cruise but Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner and Nick Frost all get lots of screen time, dialogue and stuff to do. Even the minor characters, villains and henchmen manage not to be anonymous, which a neat trick in such a packed film.
Absolutely tons of stuff happens to the extent you just have to sit back and let it wash over you. Yes on paper it's a travelogue maguffin hunt constructed out of heisty set pieces but it all hangs together brilliantly.
It's funny in places, mildly self deprecating and genuinely surprising elsewhere. During the famous Burj Khalifa stunt, Cruise manages to inject an element of "fuck this shit I quit" as he's dangling. There are setbacks that feel genuine in the moment even though you know the team will win in the end and it's definitely the team that wins.
There is MUCH less gunplay and it feels like a superspy movie again rather than a straight action movie.
One of the great modern blockbusters 8/10 and the best of the series so far.