'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol'

'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol' (PG-13) (3 1/2 STARS)

Writers: Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec based on television series by
Bruce Geller
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, Michael Nyqvist, Anil Kapoor, Josh Holloway, Tom Wilkinson, Ving Rhames

Lately with the crappy vanity projects like "Sherlock Holmes" and "New Year's Eve" being lazy and overly complicated I thank the heavens for "Mission Impossible". Please don't try to impress me with being clever and throwing all this junk at me. "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" has a simple plot, exciting action scenes and a show stopping scene on Dubai's tallest building. The action scenes are clean without slow motion goofiness like the "Sherlock Holmes" movie. Tom Cruise also knows now what kind of Blockbusters to make unlike all the movie stars in "New Year's Eve".

"Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" is a very fun time at the movies with a plot that might be old hat but is easy to follow. Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt who now has a new team of partners. They are involved in a bombing at the Kremlin and are being framed for it. The bombing involves a terrorist named Hendricks who has codes that can trigger nuclear bombs so Russia can destroy the World. Ethan and his team are joined by a new member, an analyst played by Jeremy Renner. There are a lot of cat and mouse games with the terrorist to wrestle the codes away from him and all these chases are cleanly directed without the clutter of most of the latest Hollywood Blockbusters.

The supporting cast working with Tom Cruise is a very attractive group including Simon Pegg, the beautiful Paula Patton and Jeremy Renner is a good addition half way through as the mysterious analyst. Pegg is very good comic relief and Patton is beautiful and engaging. Also Renner would be a good substitute if it is true he could take over for Cruise in later installments. There is also a nice turn by Anil Kapoor from "Slumdog Millionaire" as an Indian businessman who has information on the codes. The villain is played by Michael Nyqvist from the Swedish version of "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and he is not a totally memorable bad guy but his plan is evil enough.

I liked the foot and car chases but the moment that is on it's own worth the price of admission is the scaling up, down and sideways on the tallest building in the World. Cruise does his own stunts and you can tell but man am I surprised he didn't kill himself. Having vertigo I am glad I didn't see this in IMAX even though I bet it is awesome in that format. I just think seeing it in Imax would have made me pee in my pants. I know you want the scene as realistic as possible but at a certain point Mr. Cruise should use a stunt double for his own safety. I appreciate his sacrifice and I love the direction of the scene by Brad Bird. It is a breathtaking and incredible action set piece. Bird has only directed animation like "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille" but I was impressed by his life action direction.

"Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" is definitely better than the last two Mission films which I can't remember anything about. It is also one of the best action movies in awhile even though this year has been weak in that aspect. I also think that the James Bond movies better step it up based on the last one because this movie trumps it. It is a great time at the movies, Cruise is back after a little slump and it is a great popcorn movie. It doesn't have a lot of depth but compared to the latest over stuffed action thrillers these past years it delivers the goods in a fast paced, smart and enjoyable way.