Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation ***1/2
Dir: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin

Is there a new trend in Hollywood? The latest Mad Max movie could easily have been called "Mad Maxine" as Charlize Theron absolutely owned the film, her Imperator Furiosa every bit the equal (if not more so) of Tom Hardy’s Max. And now super-spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) meets his match in Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). The movie keeps us guessing as to her true loyalties (is she friend or foe?) but there is no questioning her abilities, which rival those of Ethan. Ferguson is given a fantastic showcase and she doesn’t let the opportunity slip. Based on this evidence, she could easily be the star of a spin-off franchise.

As for Ethan and the rest of his IMF (Impossible Mission Force) team, they are also in fine fettle. 53-year old Cruise wears his age well and he’s more than up for the physical challenges of the role and Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner and Ving Rhames all give him fine support (and some understated comic relief). Writer/Director Christopher McQuarrie, in his second teaming with Cruise (after the entertaining and engaging sci-fi thriller Edge Of Tomorrow) has crafted a tale which neatly marries the action demands of the genre with some low-key, faux Le Carre, old-fashioned espionage skulduggery as the IMF teams finds itself on the run from both its own government and a mysterious, murderous organisation. If the action isn’t quite at the hi-octane level of MI: Ghost Protocol, the previous entry in the series, it still delivers, especially in the-hanging-off-the-side-of-a-plane opening sequence, a motor cycle chase across the streets of Morocco, and a swirling underwater tank episode which has you catching your breath. The Vienna opera house assassination scene is also staged expertly and will make film buff’s smile - it is an homage to Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much.

Cut to chase:Very enjoyable summer entertainment.

Fantastic Four**
Dir: Josh Trank
Starring: Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell, Reg E. Cathey

When Fox decided to turn a fresh page with their Fantastic Four comic-book based franchise I suppose it was an easy enough decision to make. The earlier two FF movies didn’t exactly lose money but they didn’t set the box-office alight either. Neither were they fondly remembered by either fans or critics. But reboots can be tricky business - especially if the originals are still relatively fresh in the minds of movie audiences - as Sony learned to their disappointment with their new take on Spider-Man. Audiences just didn’t see the need for yet another retelling of the wall-crawling super-hero’s origin (even if Andrew Garfield was rather good in the title role) nor did they like the darker tone of the movie(s).

If not exactly dark, Fox also decided to take a more grounded approach to Marvel Comics’ first family this time around - a departure from the two Tim Story directed movies which had targeted a younger demographic and leaned slightly more comedic. This is a major mistake. If the earlier iteration leaned too young this one leans too sombre. The movie ends up being so grounded that it never really takes off (after a just about bearable first half) and the darker palette sucks the life out of a film that should be all about the fantastic (it’s in the name itself, stupid!) and the amazing and the awe-inspiring. It’s all there in the template struck by FF creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby about a family of cosmic adventurers bravely taking on the unknown and threats beyond our imagining. Yet the filmmakers take their cue not from Lee/Kirby but from the Ultimate version of the Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics’ own updated - yet lower key -version featuring a younger quartet than the original and add their own twist with their colour-blind casting of Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm (Jordan is black whereas in the comics Johnny is Caucasion) thereby making his sister Sue Storm (Kate Mara) an adoptive sibling. But this "twist" actually adds nothing to the movie or to the characters. In fact, the script doesn’t serve any of the characters too well and neither Jordan nor Mara nor Miles Teller (as Reed Richards) nor Jamie Bell (Ben Grimm) get any real opportunities to display their talents.

It shouldn’t be this hard to get this superhero quartet right. Concentrate on their family dynamics while putting the characters smack-dab in the middle of an amazing cosmic adventure that puts you on the edge of your seats while injecting some occasional but timely pieces of humour and you should have a winner on your hands. Exult in the premise and exalt it - don’t be embarrassed by it. As they say – if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

Cut to chase: Hardly fantastic.

Kmumtaz1@hotmail.com; Twitter: @KhusroMumtaz