Another great installment to the M:I series

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2011)

Walking into the theater I was expecting a good action flick, even if it is the fourth installment of the Mission Impossible series. Seeing this on IMAX, I was not disappointed. The action sequences are intense, fun, and very memorable. One in particular that I cannot help but be enticed by are the scenes where Tom Cruise climbs up and runs down the Burj Khalif—the tallest building in the world. This is truly a beautifully shot and crafted sequence. I will note that for those who are afraid of heights might not want to sit through this part of the movie.
The plot is basic, but it has the charm and wit of the other M:I movies, such as the occasional quirky dialog and the new gadgets that IMF uses. There are even a couple of twists thrown in, especially a good one towards the end. The cast is mostly decent, but I had a problem with Michael Nyqvist as the villain. His character is not developed at all nor does he pose as a hateful bad guy. He's merely a two-dimensional figure that has a Russian accent to make him seem more menacing. Voight, Dougherty, and Hoffman were so great in the other M:1 features. This new guy though, not so much. There are also some relatively hokey scenes that deem Tom Cruise as invincible; in real life, he would have died soooo many times. Then again, Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt; he can do whatever he wants and not die or sustain serious injury.
Overall though, this is a great installment to Mission Impossible series. It's fun, at times intense, and has some stunning visual effects and cinematography. Note, Tom Cruise is going on 50, and he has looked the same for the last 10 years. He either has a really good makeup artist or he has some sort of secret that he's not telling us.