Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is a fun filled Action Adventure Ride

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (3 1/2 out of 5 Stars)

Directed by Brad Bird (The Iron Giant,The Incredibles, Ratatouille)

Written by Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg

I have a confession to make.  I went to see Ghost Protocol in IMAX to see the The Dark Knight Rises prologue. Whew!  Now that the weight is lifted off my shoulders I can say, aren't film franchises supposed to get stale once you get to the fourth film?  While I still think the third Mission Impossible film is the best this film is just as good!  When I saw the preview for this I thought this franchise is going to get stale.  J.J. Abrams directed and produced the third film, and just helped produce this film.  This man has the golden touch, and he has made the third and fourth films better than the first two films-this is rare!

Ghost Protocol starts with another mission gone wrong and a cameo from none other than, Josh Holloway an alum from Abrams TV series Lost.  After the mission fails Jane (Paula Patton) and Benji (Simon Pegg) go to break Ethan (Tom Cruise) out of a Russian prison, cue the theme song.  Ethan and his team have to infiltrate the Kremlin, but this fails too when Kurt Hendricks sets off a massive explosion and frames Ethan. Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and the Secretary of Defense (a Tom Wilkinson cameo) tell Ethan IMF is shut down and team has to carry out their mission, hence the term Ghost Protocol.

This film is just plain entertaining.  There are the typical beautiful location shots in countries like Russia, India, and Dubai.  The action is off the wall!  Watching this film in IMAX was worth it.  The scene where Cruise scales the building is one of the coolest actions scenes I have in a long time.  Brad Bird has done mostly animated family films, but transitions nicely into live action films.  Bird is a great auteur, and like with his other films provides an incredible experience for the audience.  Simon Pegg was a standout for me as well; he is hilarious and make this movie well rounded.

While my intention were to just watch the prologue of The Dark Knight Rises, I was pleasantly surprised by this film.  Going to a movie should be an enjoyable experience, and this film provides nothing short of that.  Make sure you get a true IMAX experience and see this film.