Tom Cruise in a scene from the movie “Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning - Part One.” The OSV News classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. (OSV News photo/Christian Black, Paramount Pictures and Skydance)

By OSV News

Slick, vibrant seventh adventure for Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and his band of plausibly deniable espionage collaborators (principally Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg). This time out, they’re not only up against human villains (Esai Morales, Vanessa Kirby) but an experimental Artificial Intelligence project run amok and intent on ruling the world as well. Along the path of their globetrotting quest to stymie their adversaries, the team acquires a new ally (Hayley Atwell) and reunites with an old one (Rebecca Ferguson).

Director and co-writer Christopher McQuarrie’s script, penned with Erik Jendresen, makes brief references to serving the greater good, holding fast to the truth, recognizing the inherent dignity of every human being and placing the welfare of others ahead of your own. But the real agenda of this installment in a franchise derived from the CBS-TV series that premiered in 1966, and which first came to the big screen 30 years later, consists of spectacular stunts, hair-raising chases and suave trickery. Although the gravity of various situations is occasionally underlined by breaches of the Second Commandment, the mayhem is bloodless and Hunt’s Bond-like way with women is mostly kept in the background.

Persistent stylized, but sometimes harsh, violence, about a half-dozen instances each of profanity and milder swearing. The OSV News classification is A-II – adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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