Smarter, More Daring MI Film Than We Have Seen

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2014)

Every time you watch one of the Mission Impossible films, or any action movie these days, there is a certain amount of suspension of disbelief that has to be applied while watching. With Ghost Protocol it's no different, but instead the stunts are more realistic and the action is top notch, and the result is quite possibly the best of the film series.
With every MI sequel they have rightfully toned down the out-of-this-world stunt/mask pulling and gave us better effects and a more intriguing story. And even though Ghost doesn't really take the story path I would have liked to see, it does manage to give us 120 minutes of awesomeness. Tom Cruise has never been better as Ethan Hunt, and even looks younger than he did 15 years ago in the first film. The villain in Ghost isn't eye popping and really lacks the back-story that Philip Seymour Hoffman had in the previous film.
This film does give us a more capable and far more interesting crew than seen in the predecessors. Simon Pegg once again shines as the tech junkie of the group and newbies Paula Patton and Jeremy Renner were more than capable of carrying the action scenes. Renner's back-story didn't hit the way I hoped but then again without Michelle Monaghan as Hunt's wife the movie wasn't going to hit the emotional territory the way MI3 did.
There are a few cameos near the end that raised the hairs on my arms but nothing like a Marvel film. As long as the series continues to recruit great actors, we wont have to compare it to the much superior Bourne and Bond franchises. With the 5th film set to hit theaters in late 2016 we have a few years to wait, but if the same crew is on board than it will be worth the wait.
+Burj building stunt was...just stunning
+Useful crew this time around
+Pure entertainment for 2 hours
+Cruise better than ever
-Pretty weak villain
-Wanted more Monaghan
8.7/10