“If the secretary wanted me out of there, it must be pretty bad out here,” Ethan Hunt.

Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol is the fourth installment in the Mission Impossible series starring Tom Cruise. In the opener, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has been gone for a while. He was actually in a Russian prison, having been jailed for killing six Serbians.

Benji (Simon Pegg) and Jane Carter (Paula Patton) break Hunt out because he is needed for a new mission. A terrorist named Hendricks a.k.a. Cobalt, plans to steal secret codes to launch nuclear missiles at the United States. Hunt’s mission, with his new team, is to steal the files containing the codes from the Kremlin before Cobalt can get to them.

When Hunt gains access to the archives, he discovers the files are missing and begins to suspect there may be more to the story. He overhears the plot to bomb the Kremlin so he and Benji beat a hasty retreat, but Hunt is injured in the bombing and wakes up chained to a hospital bed. Fortunately, in true mission impossible style, he is able to escape.

After the Kremlin bombing, the president disavows the IMF and initiates ghost protocol. The IMF is summoned back to the US to stand trial. Instead of following orders, the secretary of defense helps Hunt to escape so that he can resolve the situation and clear the IMF. While helping Hunt to escape, however, the secretary is killed and Brandt, the secretary’s assistant, (Jeremy Renner) joins the team. Hunt, Benji, Carter and Brandt must find the various terrorists and assassins to clear the IMF and save the US from being bombed.

Great movie moments:

Tom Cruise performs many of his own stunts. This actually allows the director to show more of the action since they don’t need to do the trick shots to hide the stunt double.

Benji has finally earned his field badge and is hilarious in his first mission. Be sure to check out Hunt’s patience, though frustrated at times, to keep Benji focused and the mission safe.

Jeremy Renner joins the Mission Impossible cast for the first time. He gives a great performance.

No love interest. Nothing distracts from the action more than trying to fit a love story in with the action. I applaud the writers for not initiating a love story between Hunt and Carter. There is a small kiss between the two, but it’s only to create a ruse. Don’t blink, you may miss it.

Not so great movie moments:

Paula Patton in the fight scenes. She does her best to make the fight seem realistic. Let’s just say that action isn’t her best genre.

If logistics and realism are important to you, watching Hunt dangle from the side of a building tower 130 floors up and hanging by a glove may seem farfetched to you. The movie is about the action, not the realism. Remember, “blue is glue and red is dead.”

Is Dubai the new New York? Many movies such as No Escape and Fast & Furious 7 now include Dubai as one of the locations.

Why is the agency called Impossible Missions Force (IMF), when the series is called Mission Impossible? I guess, IMF has a better ring to it than MIF.

Overall I give Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol a 4 out of 5 stars for the action and Tom Cruise continuing to perform his own stunts.

Details:

Director: Brad Bird

Rated: PG-13, No love scenes and no blood.

Run Time: 133 minutes

I own this DVD and have not been compensated for this review.