Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Brad Bird, Tom Cruise and crew have taken action to an artistic level. MI4 has refocused itself to a crew dynamic and steered away from the Tom Cruise do-it-all syndrome.

The plot centers around Ethan and his Impossible Mission crew on the run. They are suspected of blowing up the Kremlin and have to stop a madman from starting a nuclear war.

Along the way  they survive sand storms, car chases and fist fights with French assassins. My favorite set piece was when Cruise has to enter a computer room from the outside of the worlds tallest building.

Simon Pegg had a small role in MI3 and is given much more to do in this film. He hacks computers, shoots guns and quips, Jeremy Renner makes for a solid second in command and will have a much bigger role in MI5. Paula Patton is believable as the tough female of the group. Patton is more realistic than Angelina Jolie, Maggie Q and Zoe Saldana because she is athletic and not skinny. Her brawl with Lea Seydoux (Midnight in Paris) is a barn burner.

This may be the fourth in the series but they were able to make it fresh. The addition of animated maestro Brad Bird was a daring choice that paid off. The worldwide gross is huge and critics love it (93% on Rotten Tomatoes)

The only part of this film that I found unbelievable was that Tom Cruise could find a perfectly tailored leather jacket as he is walking around the slums of Russia.