The Screen Critic: Tom Cruise’s final thrilling mission, Disney remakes another classic and Italian nonnas charm in a film about love and food

Just in case you haven’t heard, Tom Cruise has a new movie out. It’s a nifty little number called Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and it’s quite an entertaining romp.

With that mild understatement out of the way, the eighth instalment in the 30-year old mega-franchise is an enthralling, mega-sized action thriller with a surprisingly emotional story and an unsurprisingly superb serving of top-quality action.

In what we are assured is his final dance with the Impossible Mission Force, Cruise’s beleaguered hero Ethan Hunt is here determined to destroy The Entity, an AI monster that is rapidly taking over the world’s nuclear arsenals.

It plans on wiping out humanity, but not if Hunt’s arch-enemy Gabriel (Esai Morales) can take control of it first, thus enslaving the world to his whim.

What a great set-up this is, with the personal cost to Hunt always kept in sharp focus.

The stupendous action includes two brilliant sequences: an aerial battle between two biplanes and a deep dive to a stricken Russian submarine teetering on the lip of an abyss.

The film runs a hefty 170 minutes, so best to avoid that pre-show drink. Still, you’ll be so caught up in the adventure you’re unlikely to consult your watch.

Another big studio offering designed to pack out the multiplexes is Lilo & Stitch, Disney’s loving, live- action remake of its 2002 animated smash hit about a furry alien critter who becomes the pet of a little Hawaiian orphan girl called Lilo.

Following the lead of the original very closely, the film’s lovely island setting provides a scenic backdrop to all the mayhem as Stitch is pursued by two goofy aliens who have taken on human form. Loads of family fun.

Meanwhile, over on the arthouse circuit away from all the noisy colour and movement is The Salt Path, a beautifully etched, fact-based adult drama.

Blessed by two terrific performances from Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson, it tells of an elderly British couple who lose their home after a bad investment.

With a flimsy tent and a few possessions stuffed into their backpacks, they decide to trek down a long coastal trail on the way to Land’s End in Cornwall.

But it’s the journey rather than the destination that matters as they reassess their lives to determine what they truly value, especially in each other. It’s a wonderful film that offers welcome respite from all the chases and explosions.

For a laugh and a half about the culinary culture of Italian mothers, be sure to catch Nonnas on Netflix, a warm, salutary tale of love, loss and good eating.

Based on a true story, Vince Vaughn plays Joe Scaravella, a working-class New Yorker who tries starting up an Italian restaurant in tribute to his late mother and the home cooking he and his loving clutch of family and friends grew up with.

To this end, his big selling point is that the place will serve home-style meals prepared by genuine Italian “nonnas” – grandmothers who bring joy to the world via the magic they spin in the kitchen.

Putting in an unusually vulnerable performance, Vaughn (a producer on the film) heads a killer cast of A-listers including Brenda Vacarro, Talia Shire (Rocky; the Godfather films), Lorraine Bracco, (GoodFellas; The Sopranos), veteran Susan Sarandon and Linda Cardellini (Scooby Doo; Freaks and Geeks).

Like a good bowl of pasta primavera, the film is nicely done with just enough seasoning to keep the tale planted in the tough realities of starting a small business in a competitive market.

Salut.

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