Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

Director: Brad Bird
Writers:  Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec
Cast:       Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist

The IMF is shut down when its implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.

The fourth one in the franchise is the best one yet with some very fresh action set pieces and 'Burj Khalifa outer wall climbing' being the highlight. The regular features in the MI films like self destructing messages are done with plenty of humor and Simon Pegg is given more importance to good effect. The pace at which it goes till the end of Dubai sequence is breathtaking after which the events are a bit of a letdown. By then it uses up all its set pieces in the great category and culminates with the sequence in India which was very tiresome. The last five minutes of the film is unbearable and I really don't know why they had to include it. What is up with with all the ambassador cars in what is supposed to be Mumbai.

The good thing about Tom Cruise action films is that since he does most of the action sequences without a stunt double, you really get the thrills the action set pieces commands. What makes this one the best is the right kind of humor accompanying the action sequences which generates genuine laughs without being corny ('No shit', 'Masks', Simon Pegg one liners). There is the typical Tom Cruise run to be added in his compilation and this time you get a different shade of it in a sandstorm. 

I don't know whether the studio was planning to groom Renner for the lead role in the subsequent installments but it seems the same acting team will star in the next one which is due out next year. Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects) will be directing it and that is an interesting choice. The directorial pick for Ghost Protocol was also out of left-field since Brad Bird made his name by directing animation films with this being his debut in a live action one. He certainly made his mark with this film. I enjoyed it more than Skyfall even though it lacked a proper villain. I really wish I had seen it at the cinemas.

Rating: 4/5