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Seventy-two hours here, 20 minutes there, milliseconds somewhere else. Designed to underscore the 鈥渋mpossible鈥� aspect of the job, the timelines don鈥檛 really mean anything to the actual events, particularly since star Tom Cruise is going where he hasn鈥檛 been before. If it takes another millisecond, so be it.

A sequel to 鈥淒ead Reckoning Part One,鈥� it鈥檚 still on the trail of something called The Entity, an artificial intelligence force that wants to destroy Earth. Why, we don鈥檛 know, but the first film had so many potential villains it was hard to get a handle on who to hate. In this edition, it鈥檚 much more streamlined and The Entity doesn鈥檛 have a battery of baddies behind it to press forward.

Instead, nuclear warheads could go off if someone doesn鈥檛 diffuse a host of plugs, wires and switches in those given time limits.

To extend the film (which it didn鈥檛 need), director Christopher McQuarrie has added flashbacks to the earlier films and given a few key players a curtain call. It鈥檚 a nice touch, but when the film runs nearly three hours, it isn鈥檛 exactly searching for filler. What it serves to do is show us the kind of stunts Cruise did in his early days.

Now in his 60s, he鈥檚 still running but also wing-walking (don鈥檛 ask), dropping to the bottom of the ocean and leading his team into more trouble than a red wire.

Esai Morales returns as The Entity鈥檚 biggest promoter, but he doesn鈥檛 get into the action until he鈥檚 up in the air and Cruise has to slip into his biplane, rough him up and get safely to land. The mere idea that insurance agents would allow this stunt is the biggest surprise, but Cruise loves to toy with audience members and get them to fight with him. At one point, he even strips to his underwear, suggesting a Calvin Klein for seniors ad could be coming soon.

Back on land, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Hayley Atwell handle the mechanical duties (which also have time limits) and fight off villains who could cut into their 鈥渟eek-and-destroy鈥� mission. Cruise and Atwell have a couple of intimate moments, but there鈥檚 no time for that in a film like this. Instead, they must learn new tricks, drive sled dogs to specific coordinates and tend to their own injuries when, yes, they occur.

McQuarrie has a couple of callbacks that are pleasing and lets Angela Bassett play the president in a world that doesn鈥檛 seem to communicate.

Because the last film made a big deal about artificial intelligence and its threat to the world, much of that has been left on the table when nuclear warheads enter the picture.

Oddly, the United States has one of those 鈥渨ar rooms鈥� that figured into dozens of World War II films. There are even big maps that employees use to locate enemies (why this isn鈥檛 done on a computer is anyone鈥檚 guess). There鈥檚 even a gym-like time clock that counts down the time the 鈥済ood鈥� guys have until all hell breaks loose. Perhaps if 鈥淔inal Reckoning鈥� wasn鈥檛 built on the threat of computers it might not seem so retro. Still, that gives McQuarrie something to cut to when Cruise isn鈥檛 running to his next deadline.

The film holds up, but it also affords viewers time to run to the bathroom when that large drink starts taking effect. When Cruise isn鈥檛 trying to get somewhere quickly, take that as your cue to dash out the door.

Somehow, our 鈥渕ission: impossible鈥� is quite different than his.