“How long before a man like that has had enough?” CIA Agent August Walker asks about Ethan Hunt. Well, we’re going on 22 years and counting, so… a while? The sixth film in the absurdly successful Mission: Impossible franchise – itself based on the television series that originally aired in 1966 – proves that these increasingly extravagant and audacious films, like Ethan Hunt and star Tom Cruise, are virtually indestructible.

Not that Hunt (Cruise) himself isn’t showing signs of age: his missions and sacrifices are wearing on him; an old foe, Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), perseveres; and his almost suicidal stunts are getting harder to endure. It’s refreshing, making Hunt less superhero and more human, and writer/director Christopher McQuarrie builds on the previous films to give us a real insight into Hunt’s character.

This new personal touch adds to the stakes of the action, which is breakneck, relentless and astounding. Tasked with retrieving nuclear material before a terrorist organisation known as the Apostles can use them, Hunt embarks on a globetrotting mission, questioning the loyalty of those around him the whole way.