Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

The last we saw of Ethan Hunt (Cruise), he was off on belated matrimonial bliss with civilian Michelle Monaghan. Needless to say, though initially shrouded in mystery, we find out that  the honeymoon period is long since over and he is now languishing in a middle-European jail after an apparent unsanctioned act of revenge. Minutes into the film and the IMF decides to spring him from custody and during a well-choreographed jail-break, Hunt rejoins the outside world just in time to try to stop an arms-dealer getting his hands on Russian launch-codes.  Before you can say 'if you choose to accept this...', Hunt, Benji Dunne (Simon Pegg) and Jane Carter (Paula Patton) are heading for Moscow in a race against time - one they are about to lose. With the IMF framed for an attack at the heart of Russia and with an analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) in tow, the remaining disavowed agents, must track the real culprit ( original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo's  Michael Nyqvist). But Brandt and Hunt have some undeclared secrets of their own, which may yet put them on a collision course...

There was a real danger that the Mission Impossible franchise could have been a victim of its own success and also by the fact that the iconic visage of Tom Cruise casts a very long and repetetive singular shadow, occasionally making the posters look like the most expensive vanity projects in history. A franchise based on a show that was all about a stealthy group dynamic had begun to be dominated solely by a blatantly not-incognito Mr Mapother III and the escalating effects budget that often over-powered any real sense of plot.  CGI masks are, indeed, all types of cool and explosions have a satisfying 'Kablooey!' sound, but they are no substitute for at least an attempt at character development.

So, it's quite impressive to watch a film such as Ghost Protocol... which has the Kremlin being blown-up (no spoilers - it's in the trailer!), the world's tallest building being scaled from the outside and a climax on a super hi-tech parking garage that looks like it came from a Michael Bay wet dream... and actually be able to say that, this time around, the flesh and blood aspects of the superspy story have not merely been left in the dust and debris of another exploding message.  That's not to say that this impossible mission is anything like a quiet art-house movie. All the essential OTT ingredients are assembled and you will once again need a suspension of belief equal to the threads holding Cruise from falling to his death from the Abu Dubai skyscraper. It's all very silly, noisy nonsense, of course, but it is put together in confident style by The Incredibles director Brad Bird (in his first live-action outing) who delivers a series of set-pieces and a few genuine surprises that feel like there's something at stake... even if it is the fate of the world writ large. Again.

Once the credits roll, you'll probably have a lot of very valid  'but, wait...wouldn't they..?' moments to consider, but the film rattles along at a decent pace throughout its running time (of nearly two and half hours) and doesn't forget to keep its main cast acting as the stars and the CGI merely as the shiny backdrop to all their derring-do.  Significantly better than the energetic but sterile third chapter, this fourth outing suggests there's still life left in the franchise and while Cruise may still dominate, it at least smells more like team spirit.

9/10