Decent Action Flick. Fun, yet Predictable Story

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2012)

I have been a fan of the Mission Impossible movies since the first one and I have enjoyed them all. I must say that I liked the third Mission Impossible much better. Ghost Protocol was simply an action film with some cool stunts and scenes and zero story. There was not a point in the movie which I didn't see coming around the next corner. Most of the best scenes were in the trailer and I kept waiting for a twist that never came.
I did not see this movie in IMAX, although I'm sure it would have made the movie visually more entertaining, though it still would be lacking in story. It was your basic fun action flick. Tom Cruse did well as usual as well as the rest of the cast. Everyone did a great job and made the movie a lot of fun to watch. But again, story was lacking in my opinion. There was a thing with his wife, which never really materialized into a good twist or story. It was just confusing and we really didn't figure out what really happened until the very very end. Jeremy Renner (Hurt Locker) did a great job as well as Paula Patton (Déjà vu) and Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead). Michael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Swedish version) was a nice surprise role, as I didn't know he was in this.
I must say that the locations and scenes were well thought out and take us out of the usual locations in many movies. That was one of the most interesting aspects of the film; the locations. Another fun aspect of the film was the team's gadgets and gizmos. There are many times in the film where their gadgets don't work as well as planned and greatly add tension and a bit of thrill to the situation.
Over-all it is a very good action flick with a little less of a story than one would have hoped. Yes I love action, however action mixed in with twists and character development is always more fun. In the theater there were times when everyone laughed and other times where everyone cringed as they watched Tom Cruse climb the exterior of at glass building or drive around in a sand storm. It is a fun movie and I do recommend a watch, however don't expect to be blown away by the average nearsighted story or the silly sweet ending. Watch it for the action and suspense and leave your thinking caps at home.