NEW YORK (CNS)—Light the fuse and cue that nerve-jangling theme music everyone loves to hum; it’s time for “Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation” (Paramount).

As helmed by writer-director Christopher McQuarrie, this fifth installment in a franchise that dates back, on the big screen, to 1996—and that began life as a CBS-TV series a full three decades before that—delivers a steady but stylized parade of action. The result is a nifty espionage adventure that most parents will likely find acceptable for their older teens.

Viewers of any age looking for something more substantive than a fun, globe-trotting ride—with occasional reflections on the conflict between personal and patriotic allegiances thrown in along the way—will, however, scratch this picture’s slick surface in vain.

But, then, profundity has never been this property’s foremost agenda item anyway, whatever the medium. The point here is to waste as little time as possible before positioning agent Ethan Hunt—Tom Cruise, of course—on the outside of an airplane that’s roaring off the runway in some ex-Soviet republic, and making the fate of humanity depend on his sheer, headwinds-be-darned stick-to-itiveness.

Do-dah-do, do-dah-do …

Tom Cruise stars in a scene from the movie “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation.” The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. CNS photo/Paramount

This time out, Ethan and his colleagues on the Impossible Mission Force—an IMF even Greek moviegoers can love—are battling an underground terrorist organization of global reach called The Syndicate. (You can tell they must be dangerous by that capital T.)

Unfortunately for the good guys, Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin), the stubbornly jealous director of the CIA, stoutly denies that The Syndicate exists. Worse yet, over the fruitless objections of the IMF’s representative, William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), Hunley convinces the Senate committee charged with such matters to shut his rivals’ super-secret agency down altogether.

Naturally, Ethan and his intrepid circle—besides Brandt, there’s desk jockey-turned-field operative Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and topflight computer whizz Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames)—are not to be stymied by the machinations of mere Capitol Hill pen-pushers.

Still, they don’t have much to work with: Hunt has gotten a glimpse of The Syndicate’s villainous top dog, pasty faced Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). And he’s been helped out of a fix by mystery woman Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). Though Ilsa turns out to be a British agent who has managed to infiltrate The Syndicate, her true loyalties remain uncertain.

The interaction between Ethan and Ilsa is not exactly all business. But those with enough brand memory to recall that Ethan is a married man will not be surprised to observe that romance, in this iteration of his eventful biography, is kept at the level of significant glances and tellingly raised eyebrows.

Along with not overheating things for the younger set, this brake on the central duo’s flirtation also allows Ilsa—whose skills in one dust-up after another impress even Ethan himself—to stand on her own two, jujitsu-wielding feet.

The dialogue occasionally ponders the morality of all the violence Ethan and his buddies deal out in defense of the American Way. Are such means justified in pursuit of justice writ large? How can operatives resist the urge to revel in mayhem for its own sake? The answer to these important ethical questions is: Do-dah-do, do-dah-do…

The film contains pervasive but virtually bloodless violence, brief glimpses of partial nudity and a couple of uses each of profanity and crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III—adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13—parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“Vacation” (Warner Bros.)

Wretched revival of the comedy franchise that began with 1983’s “National Lampoon’s Vacation.” In an effort to shake up his family’s summer routine, the now-grown son (Ed Helms) of the original outing embarks with his wife (Christina Applegate) and quarrelsome kids (Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins) on a road trip to the same California amusement park that served as the destination for that long-ago initial journey. While the clan’s travels are beset by a variety of disasters, the real calamity befalls viewers who find themselves dragged along on a forced march through a landscape of tastelessness unrelieved by laughs. Co-writers and -directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley try to disguise their steamy material by cloaking it in family values, including the parents’ shared commitment to maintaining the vibrancy of their marriage. But scenes of enthusiastic exhibitionism, together with obscenities uttered by a child and jokes about AIDS and pedophilia, make the underlying rot unmistakable. Pervasive sexual and extreme scatological humor, frontal male and upper female nudity, about a half-dozen uses of profanity, constant rough and crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is O—morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R—restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

“Paper Towns” (Fox)

In this faithful adaptation of John Green’s young-adult novel, a mysterious girl (Cara Delevingne) sends five friends on a cross-country road trip as they explore the meaning of their lives on the cusp of heading off to college. As directed by Jake Schrier from the screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, no one becomes smarter, and everyone’s obsessively focused on their upcoming prom. Mentions of sexual activity, teenage sexual banter, fleeting rear male nudity, fleeting crude language and profanities. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III—adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13—parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“Southpaw” (Weinstein)

Visceral boxing drama about a champion (Jake Gyllenhaal) with a masochistic yet effective fighting style who is humbled by personal tragedy and then tries to redeem his life and career with the help of a no-nonsense trainer (Forest Whitaker). During the first third of the movie, director Antoine Fuqua does a masterful job of making the brutal allure of boxing as palpable as the bond between the pugilist and his devoted wife (Rachel McAdams). Grittily realistic camerawork and tremendous acting by Gyllenhaal and McAdams contribute to an atmosphere that’s simultaneously lurid and heartfelt, before the story takes an implausibly rapid turn into melodrama. As in most boxing films, boxing is both the problem and the solution, but because it is an inherently violent sport, the story is inescapably, though not completely, problematic on a moral level. Pervasive rough, crude and crass language, much bloody boxing violence, brief foreplay prior to a married couple’s off-screen lovemaking, a character on the verge of suicide, a scene of gun violence, an instance of partial male nudity, some drinking. The Catholic News Service classification is L –limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R –restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

“Pixels” (Columbia)

Aliens attack Earth using monster representation of classic video game characters in this manic 3-D comedy, directed by Chris Columbus. The president of the United States (Kevin James) summons his boyhood nerdy pals (Adam Sandler, Josh Gad and Peter Dinklage) to come up with a plan to repulse the space invaders, with the assistance of a comely weapons specialist (Michelle Monaghan). Regrettably, the film is short on fun and long on tasteless humor, making what should be a wholesome kids’ movie questionable for even mature teens. Bawdy humor, some sexual innuendo, a few mild oaths. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III—adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13—parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.