Agent Ethan Hunt is back in familiar territory

TOM Cruise has a lot in common with the Energizer Bunny - they just keep on going, and going, and going. Here is an A-list star whose big-screen longevity (he made his debut in 1981 in Endless Love) and ability to surmount disappointments at the box office are virtually unmatched. He is still in great physical shape and totally dedicated to his craft, wielding the kind of Hollywood clout that few other actors can claim.

Little wonder then that at 53, Cruise is far from the ageing action star back for one last go-around in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, the fifth instalment of a series that started in 1996. Instead, his return as super spy Ethan Hunt ups the ante even more while featuring the exotic locales, complex set-ups, jaw-dropping action sequences and what-me-worry attitude that are the hallmarks of every Mission: Impossible film.

Much has been made of Cruise's insistence on performing his own stunts, and we're not talking about running down a dark alley or driving fast through crowded city streets - although there's plenty of that on offer. No, the opening scene has Hunt clinging onto the outside of a cargo plane as it takes off and then coolly retrieving a batch of chemical weapons stolen by Chechen separatists. Apparently, it's all in a day's work for Cruise/Hunt.