In the first ten minutes of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, we see special agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) climbing aboard a moving plane as it begins taking flight. Hunt is tracking a massive stack of weapons on the plane and won’t surrender until he steals them away from the terrorist organization that has acquired them. It’s an intense action sequence showing Cruise at his action-star best that reminds us why this cinematic franchise — which launched nineteen years ago — remains so exciting and invigorating today.

Making his fifth appearance as Hunt, star/producer Cruise knows what action fans are looking for here and delivers it in spades.

In this entry, the United States government officially shuts down the “Impossible Mission Force,”...