Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back along with a small group of IMF operatives. Their mission, “should they choose to accept it” is to single-handedly prevent a rogue Russian terrorist from gaining nuclear weapons capacity and eventually causing the annihilation of the natural world.
Their daunting objective must be achieved under the backdrop of “Ghost Protocol,” initiated by the White House, after shocking developments inside Moscow. This incredibly desperate measure (see Double Secret Probation), effectively disavows the entire IMF agency. No need to panic though, the operational director leaves agent Hunt in the capable hands of Benji (Simon Pegg), who barely passed his field entrance exam, the seemingly mild-mannered analyst Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and a still wet behind the ears femme fatale played by Paula Patton who carries her own intense emotional baggage.
In a slight departure from his ground breaking work on animation films such as the Incredibles and Ratatouille, director Brad Bird reminds audiences why they first came to see the Mission Impossible series.
Fans of Simon Pegg will enjoy his comedic contributions. He helps you sit back and relax just long enough to set you up for the next metaphorical face-melting base jump to oblivion; although literal translations can and do surface.
Brad Bird takes us from the cobbled streets of the Kremlin to desert dunes of Dubai. The Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world serves as an impressive location for some of the films most intense moments. We finally end up inside the demented mind of an old familiar foe, a diabolical Russian terrorist, who actually believes he is doing work that will ultimately benefit all mankind.
Jeremy Renner plays Brandt, the reluctant last piece of the puzzle in Hunts’ tiny skeleton crew. While he appears more than capable, he seems to be holding something back, a fact not lost on Agent Hunt
The pummeling fight sequence between a female Russian “Asset” and Agent Jane (worth the price of admission alone) would make Darryl Hanna and Uma Thurman proud.
There were portions of the film that seemed to draw inspiration from the “sleeper” hit Inception with a small band of custom-made suits, globetrotting through scenic locations trying to capture secret intel, without all the confusing dream interpretations.