After springing Ethan (Tom Cruise) from a Moscow prison, the team breaks into the Kremlin to do some reconnaissance work, when a bomb is detonated and the entire historical context is reduced to rubble. Now, with IMF cutting their support and being forced to go rogue, while also being hunted by the Soviet police, the squad (Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg) must find the person responsible for the bombing, and stop him before he unleashes his follow-up act of global destruction. The "Mission Impossible" series was one that started in mediocrity, sunk a little below that in its sequel, and with the third film and now this one, has risen to a level of excellence. "M:I - Ghost Protocol" is the best film of the series, and can be largely credited to its director Brad Bird, the Pixar veteran ("The Iron Giant", "The Incredibles", "Ratatouille"), who debuts here with his first live action feature. Bird brings his acumen a series of stunning, nonstop action sequences, and in several of them inspires and genuine sense of awe. This was that rare action film where I was not so much concerned with plot or character development, and was on the edge of my seat waiting for the next stunning action set piece (the scaling of the Burj Khalifa and a final parking garage sequence are particularly incredible). The cast is really fine as well. Cruise shows off his star power nicely, and the addition of Renner to the cast is a definite asset. Pegg brings some good comic relief and Patton is amazing as an action star. "M:I - Ghost Protocol" is a shot in the arm compared to what passes for Hollywood action offerings.
