"Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" (133 min, Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence). Rating: 8 It appears the bad luck that has plagued Tom Cruise for what seems forever has finally come to an end. When is the last time Cruise was featured in a film that was both critically praised and made a lot of money? I don't know the answer, but the consensus I'm hearing is that "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" should satisfy both ends of that measuring stick.
We all know Tom Cruise is more than a handsome man with a chiseled body - the man can act. But having fallen on hard times, publicly, over the last six or seven years has taken a lot of wind out of his sails. I hope the success of this film reopens the door of opportunity to reenergize his stalled but stellar career.
Set in faraway places, this fourth in the series pits Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his crack team of operational specialists against an enemy that is getting to be ho-hum familiar - the Russians. Though the Russians are a shell of their former Communist selves (as the USSR), they still pose a perceived threat as a "philosophical" antithesis to Western civilization.
It's been years (since 2006) that the IMF team has been assembled for a mission, and in-keeping with all the dastardly plots facing them, this time the consequences for a failed mission could result in nuclear war. Blamed for a terrorist bombing in the Kremlin, the IMF team is disavowed (from ever existing) by the U.S. government when the President invokes "Ghost Protocol." A crazy plan is masterminded by an insane Russian nuclear physicist, Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), who wants human civilization to start all over again. The assignment is to track down Hendricks, and his team of thugs and steal the missile launch codes. The first missile is targeted for San Francisco - and they have less than two days to stop it.
Though this preposterous setup is the reason for their assignment, it's all the other stuff that - if you can believe this - is more important, like clever dialogue and interesting characters. Moviegoers will get their eyeful of great action set pieces high up tall skyscrapers, inside the Kremlin, and a high-speed car chase inside a sandstorm. None of this would work if not for futuristic technology (space-age gadgets) that couldn't possibly exist except in the movies. But add to it the charm of Cruise and the chemistry and camaraderie between the IMF team - and you have yourself one heck of a thrilling movie.