Try to enjoy what's happening, and don't try to make sense of it.

Rating: 6/10 (18 December 2011)

In a nutshell: Random Russian dude wants to start a nuclear war (because as we all know it, the most common pastime in Russia is planning to nuke the US), and like always, it's up to our friendly neighborhood Americans to stop them; only this time, they have to go to a variety of places (Dubai and Mumbai for example) for who-knows-what- reason to stop a nuke (apparently to try to appeal to global audiences). Overlooking the clichéd and linear plot, and discarding any logic whatsoever, if you're looking for some nice action sequences and Tom Cruise doing a Spiderman on the Burj Khalifa, this is the film for you.
To expand on that, let's start with the plot. Our hero, Ethan Hunt is being held in a high security Russian prison, and of course, American agents manage to break into it and free him just like that. Hunt with his allies then get a mission to intercept some codes in the Kremlin, and find out random Russian bad guy wants to get his hands on that too because, well, he wants to blow up the world. So predictably, nothing goes right for them and random Russian dude manages to blow a part of the Kremlin up, while pinning the blame on the US because, well, blowing up the Kremlin is that easy. Tensions rise among US and Russia, and the IMF is dissolved, leaving only 4 American agents between random Russian bad guy and a global nuclear war. So thus is the movie's plot, and it follows pretty linearly after that, with our heroes traveling across the world (mainly Dubai and Mumbai) to get hold of the launch key for the nuclear missile. (Yes, somehow USA's security depends on a code in a server room in the Burj Khalifa, and Russians can launch nukes against the US from India with the codes being presumably safe in the hands of a random Indian.) A few stealth sequences later, everyone screws up and the missile is launched, but our heroes still manage to salvage the situation, after a few more action sequences. Not like we didn't know that, gah.
THIS obviously fails to impress as a story at any level, and being linear and predictable, fails to hold our (at least mine) attention to it. But let's not forget this is a spy/action flick, and as much as I would've wanted a good story, that's not all it should be about.
To look at the pros, the action was intense, the gadgets were jaw dropping, and the stunts were (most of the time) mind blowing. Of course that's what most people look for in a spy/action flick anyway, and this being a crowd pleasing film, will definitely do that. The film is very fast paced, and doesn't give you much room to breathe, which is in my opinion, a good thing for such films. The character's roles were given justice, with nothing to complain about acting quality; and in my opinion, Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn and of course Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, stood out.
Overall, if you overlook a good amount of the plot and don't try to apply any sense to what's happening whatsoever, then you might find this movie very enjoyable. To me, it wasn't anything special (because unfortunately, I rate mainly based on story lines), but it wasn't bad either.