It’s something the film franchise has been doing since its box-office busting start two decades ago:  with each new film, the team led by dedicated star and producer Tom Cruise has uncovered ways to match, then exceed, audience expectations, each time in different ways. Distributed by Viacom18 Motion Pictures in India, the fifth edition of Mission Impossible; Rogue Nation is all set to release on August 7th.Having begun as a cult phenomenon on 1960s television, “Mission: Impossible” has become a 21st.Century cultural phenomenon – a filmmaking event that consistently pushes that border where the classic drama of spy-versus-spy intrigue meets creative action sequences that have become legendary.

This time out, Cruise’s iconic character, Ethan Hunt, finds himself in non-stop peril – physical, mental and emotional — from the film’s literally high-flying opening moments through one relentless situation after another.  Hunt’s situation is precarious on every level.  The IMF is on the outs, the CIA doesn’t trust him, and now he’s discovered a rogue agency with the spy-power to bring down any nation it targets – and they want him to join their crusade of destruction or they want him dead.  On the brink, Hunt must test his team’s loyalty, his own illustrious endurance and the agenda of the alluringly secretive spy who saved his skin:  Ilsa Faust.

For Cruise, a fifth time playing Hunt and serving as producer presented another chance to see just how far he can take the character, and the entire genre of sophisticated global espionage games.  He loves moving the bar, often hurling the bar, with each new “Mission:Impossible” film.

“Each time I think ‘I’ve seen it all’ and I’ve been through every action challenge a film can have, the next film introduces new challenges of every kind — because we’re constantly pushing not only the action sequences, but the storytelling and characters,” Cruise says.  “To me the ultimate ‘Mission’ movie is never just about action and suspense – though we love innovating in that area.  It’s really about the combination of action, intrigue and humor with this very specific, breathless kind experience we create for the audience.  It’s about giving audiences the greatest sense of adventure and scale — while keeping a classic sense of cinema. We do that more than ever in ‘Rogue Nation.’”

From its start as a TV show in 1966, “Mission: Impossible” has always centered on the extreme pressure of the ticking clock – the urgent deadline to stop deadly plots.  With the film franchise, that idea has blossomed into an entire movie-making philosophy based on amplifying the pressure on Hunt, and thereby increasing the creativity, nerve and maturity he needs to pull off his mission.

This has created a tough challenge for Cruise and all the filmmakers who have joined the series, but it’s one they adore.