Merry Cruise-mas!

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2011)

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is a fun, exciting, and one of the coolest films of the year. It has guns, gadgets, explosions, sex appeal (for men and women), stunning locations, one of the best stunt performances by an actor of all time, and a finale that is so ludicrous it's hard to dislike.
Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt, IMF's top agent. After breaking out of a Russian prison, he and his team (Paula Patton and Simon Pegg) are sent into the Moscow Kremlin to search for nuclear launch codes. When their plans are botched by another party (codename: Cobalt), an explosion in the building points all fingers at the US. Hunt and his team are deemed terrorists, though the Secretary of State gives them some "incentive" to continue their mission and find Cobalt before the launch codes are used.
Hunt, Jane (Patton), Benji (Pegg), and newly acquired Brandt (Jeremy Renner) search the globe for Cobalt, intercepting messages, causing chaos, etc. There's a lot of running around (this is a Tom Cruise movie, right?) and a lot of jaw dropping stunts (honestly jaw dropping) to help keep you engaged. The climax of the film is so intense you will really start to believe that this mission is without a doubt impossible. Just when you think things will work out, the stakes get higher.
I guess I forgot how impossible the missions really are. I was skeptical when they said "nuclear launch codes," at the beginning of the film. That might work for a cold war era James Bond movie, but this far off from that era makes it sound a little corny. After a while though I bought into it. The REAL winner of this film is the action.
Nothing goes to waste. There isn't a punch, kick, or jump that is thrown in just because it looks cool. Every fight, every sprint, and every explosion happens for a reason. To aid the action is a fantastic effort by stunt choreographers, performers, and yes, Tom Cruise himself. After watching some behind the scenes featurettes, I can assure you that what you see is pretty unbelievable. I thought Tom was sorta crazy for a number of reasons, but this film puts him over the edge (only this time in a "Oh my God did he just do that/that was totally awesome!" sort of crazy).
The locations are fantastic, the action intense, and the drama over the top. I thought I was going to have a hard time buying into the impossibility of the mission, but I totally bought it. There were a few moments when I honestly thought, "How are they going to get out of this?" You'll have to see it for yourself. It's outstanding. Quite possibly the most exciting film of the year other than Rango.