NOTE: This is a SPOILER-FREE review.

I went to see this action film b/c it was FREE (w/ my movie Meetup)!  LOL… I’m NOT a big fan of Tom Cruise, BUT I don’t loathe him (like SO many out there).  I was (pleasantly) surprised that I had a GOOD time; the same goes for the ladies in my group (we’re ALL female, BTW).

I was esp. glad to see a strong female counterpoint to Cruise in the form of Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson (who plays a Brit).  Yes, she’s a beautiful lady, BUT she is also tall, muscular/solid build, and does some AWESOME stunts!  Is her character a good spy or a baddie?  It takes a BIT of time for that to be revealed. She and Cruise have TERRIFIC onscreen chemistry.  FYI: This is her FIRST big movie role.

As for the men, I liked Simon Pegg’s computer expert character- he provided a LOT of the humor.  Jeremy Renner- don’t know WHY this guy keeps getting cast in big movies!?  The poor guy just has NO screen presence; forget about ever being a leading man.  Ving Rhames is underused, as is Alec Baldwin (looking good, as always).  Baldwin has one of the funniest lines in the film though.

The soundtrack is one of the BEST things about this movie; one (well-known) piece of opera is woven throughout a pivotal scene.  Also, everyone likes hearing the MI theme song, right?

Check out The Super Fantastic Nerd Hour podcast (Episode 72) if you’ve seen this film and want to hear an in-depth review.