But was the film any good I hear you ask? Damn right it was.
For those unfamiliar with Mission: Impossible (either the TV show or previous films) the premise is simple. A shadowy, but 'good guy' agency called IMF (Impossible Missions Force), send agents on missions to prevent the end of the world by hostile forces which seem impossible (as well as improbable). The agents have a choice as to whether they take to missions but if they fail or are captured the IMF will deny all knowledge of them. In MI Ghost Protocol this denial is taken one step further - the IMF itself is disavowed by the US President. The agents are on their own.
There is nothing original in MI Ghost Protocol. The villain, Hendricks (played by Michael Nyqvist) is mad, plotting a nuclear strike. We don't really understand his motive but we don't really care. The film is all about the chase.
Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise) is broken out of a Russian jail by 2 IMF agents, Jane Carter (played by Paula Patton) and new to field work agent Benji Dunn (played by Simon Pegg). The former is there purely as eye-candy for the boys, although she does get some girl-on-girl action (by which I mean a fight scene! This film is only rated PG-13!) As ever the female characters in these types of films are largely surplus to requirements as it's always about the boys. As for the latter Simon Pegg gets to play the techie & gets the majority of the funny lines. And he does it all very well.
After the breakout the mission begins but as is inevitable it all goes horribly wrong and Hunt & his team soon find themselves chasing the villain while being pursued by the Russians and with no back up. Oh no!
It's at this point the team is completed by the addition of William Brandt (played by Jeremy Renner). He is supposed to be an IMF analyst, but like all good late additions he has secrets....
The action moves on to Dubai & the Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world) . Here the stunts & camera work go into overdrive. Warning - if you are afraid of heights you might need to look away!
Hunt & his team however are thwarted again and have to chase the villain to Mumbai in order to save the world. Which of course they do and things are nicely set up for the team to join up for another film.
This film has plenty of action and while its PG-13 rating limits the violence (very little shooting, not much blood) there are enough outrageous stunts, explosions, chases, tech toys and bone-crunching fight scenes to keep action fans happy. And the humour is an added bonus.
