Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

As movies keep making money on each sequel that are produced, the quality usually ends up suffering. This is where the more money the film costs, not necessarily the film will be better. I have to admit that this wasn't the case with "Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol". This franchise actually improved.

In this 4th installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team, Benji (Simon Pegg) and Jane (Paula Patton) are racing against time to find a dangerous terrorist, Hendricks (Michael Niqvist) who has obtained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning an attack on the U.S.

As the IMF team tries to stop the terrorist and his cohorts at the Kremlin, an explosion occurs. At this point, the IMF becomes implicated in the bombing which causes the President to invoke Ghost Protocol: a process whereas the IMF is disavowed with no assistance or backup at anytime. This doesn't seem to effect Hunt and his team, which now includes Brandt (Jeremy Renner) as they chase Hendricks to Dubai, Mumbai and other elaborate locations. After all this chasing, they still may be too late to stop a global disaster.

Considering all the animated films he's directed, this was well helmed by Brad Bird ("The Iron Giant" '99, "The Incredibles" '04, "Ratatouille" '07). This guy certainly has a future for more features in the live-action category. The pacing in this was at a rapid speed, which is crucial for this type of film and Bird nailed it! It was well penned by Jason Appelbaum and Andre Nemec based on the TV series, "Mission: Impossible" by Bruce Geller. As with the other installments, this one still had the theme music originally created by Lalo Schifrin for the TV series, and this just made it. I was raised on the TV series and the theme was, in my opinion, an intregal part of the series.

The visual effects were predominantly created by ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic) and were seamless. You know, the same guys the did the visuals for Star Wars. Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Harry Potter films, Jurassic Park, Transformers, Twilight Saga, Super8, etc. So this company definitely knows their stuff.

If you want pure fantastical escape with action, adventure, explosions, visual effects with a decent script and story, this mission, should you choose to accept it, is a winner. This review will self destruct in 10 seconds. Good luck people.

Out of 4 stars: 3.5                       Rated: PG-13                      133min.