Tom Cruise is one of the most polarizing actors in Hollywood today. Love him or hate him, you have to respect the man because he throws himself into every movie he does 100%. The 2011 release of “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” is no different as Cruise does his own stunts once again, including one of the best stunts in recent history. The good thing though is because Cruise cares so much, you can see the attention to detail put in to continue to make this one of the best ongoing action franchises in recent history.
In fact, “Ghost Protocol” may be one of the best action movies of recent years as well as the best in this movie series.
“Ghost Protocol” starts with Ethan Hunt in a Russian prison for a crime which is fully explained later on. After a daring rescue, Hunt finds himself back in action for the IMF (the Impossible Missions Force) and trying to stop a crazy Russian from launching some nuclear weapons and starting World War III.
Bonus Features video review of “Ghost Protocol” with Jason Haugland:
With any “Mission: Impossible” movie, there is going to be some great action sequences and “Ghost Protocol” has some really exciting ones, including a death defying scaling of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Cruise, as usual, does his own stunts in this one. The guy may be crazy but he has some serious balls.
The film is produced by J.J. Abrams but the real star is first time live action director Brad Bird (“The Incredibles”, “Iron Giant”), who proves he is just as adept at directing real people as he is Pixar characters. The pace is brisk, the story is interesting and there are some truly funny moments to break up with tension as the IMF team goes from Russia to Dubai to India to stop the terrorists.
Joining the team this time are Jeremy Renner (“The Avengers”) and Paula Patton (“Deja Vu”), joining Ethan and Benji (Simon Pegg). The bad guys this time around is played by Michael Nyqvist, from the original “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”.
“Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol” is the best of the series because it truly utilizes the team function that the TV show was known for and has been grossly over looked throughout the first three movies of the series. The ending here sets up a villain for the next movie, also a throw back to the old TV show.
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Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol trailer: