I love Tom Cruise, so even if he was in Lord of the Rings I would probably endure three hours of dwarves and convoluted plot lines just to sigh at his voice and fawn over the wink of his eye. It is therefore inevitable that I enjoyed the new Mission: Impossible film simply for the fact that he was in it. Had he not been, I probably would have walked out of the cinema halfway through.

Firstly, it was simply too impossible. I acknowledge that it is kind of in the title, but following the other four films, the fifth instalment took it a step too far. We all know that Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) will beat the baddie and that the mission will never actually be impossible – after all, he has made it through to his fourth film. But there were too many daft stunts this time that not even Superman himself would survive, from our protagonist clinging to the outside of an airborne plane, to holding his breath for over five minutes. Perhaps they should have tacked a question mark on to the end of the title to make it a little more unpredictable, or instead called it Mission: Possible, Just Highly Improbable.

Secondly, it felt at times like the film was trying to be another James Bond. Unlike the previous films in the Mission: Impossible franchise, there was a definite ‘Bond girl’ figure (Rebecca Ferguson), many high speed chases, settings spanning multiple countries, and some rather creative and grotesque ways to die. The antagonist could have easily resembled some distant cousin of the Bond villains: blonde, scary, and with little to say. James Bond is fabulous, but a somewhat older and more established series, so there is certainly a sense that Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is trying to ape its forefather.

My final criticism is that the ending was hardly full of the fireworks that would be expected from the final film in the series. I accept that it needed closure but at the end of an Ethan Hunt era I was expecting more, and felt somehow deflated when the credits started rolling. The energy was so high throughout the rest of the film that I think it should have maintained the pace right to the finish.

The film does, however, have its merits. Simon Pegg, playing Benji, had a much more involved role than he had previously and this kept the atmosphere faster and funnier. Jeremy Renner and Alec Baldwin also played significant parts and this made for an excellent all-star line-up, without stealing the limelight from Cruise.

Furthermore the filming, stunts and locations were very effective. It was clear that a lot of work went into the making of it, and credit where it's due to Mr Cruise, who did all his own gun-wielding and flips. I also loved the underlying signature motif music throughout; it acted as a gentle reminder of the series and also kept the audience on their toes, in anticipation of the major climactic moments.

All in all, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is definitely worth watching. Would I watch it again? No. Better to stick to Cocktail or Top Gun.