Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

While I enjoy all three of the previous "Mission: Impossible" movies, there are two major issues about them that have always bugged me :

1) Tom Cruise.  Don't get me wrong, I think that the guy is talented and has great screen presence, but the "Mission: Impossible" television show was all about teams of spies working together to accomplish near-impossible feats of espionage derring-do.  These new movies are so Cruise-centric that the coordinated effort of the team is basically shoved into the background so that he can jump around in slow motion like an action hero ("M:I 2" was the worst in this regard).  His fellow team members are always underdeveloped, in a character sense.

2) The ultimate enemy in each of the first three movies turns out to be a rogue I.M.F. (Impossible Mission Force) agent which Cruise (as Ethan Hunt) must defeat in the end.  The same idea used three times in a row?  Come on, people, a little variety would be nice.

Well, kids, I'm happy to report that "Ghost Protocol" does indeed solve both of these issues and emerges as my favorite entry in the series, so far.  Tom Cruise is still front and center, and still takes up the majority of the screen time, but team effort is emphasized far more and each of the team members is a fully developed character with a satisfying story arc, played by talented actors.  Plus, there are no evil I.M.F. agents in the story.  Instead, the main villain is Swedish terrorist known as "Cobalt" who's dead set on sparking a nuclear war between Russia and the United States.  After the Kremlin is destroyed while Ethan and his team are attempting to infiltrate it, they (and the U.S.) take the blame, so the President initiates Ghost Protocol, which disavows every single I.M.F. agent in the world.  Now, without any backup or support, Hunt and company must do their damnedest to stop Cobalt, who feels that nuclear war is a necessary stop on the road to ultimate peace (don't ask).

The plot is really nothing to write home about, and while the main villain is a welcome change from the villains of the previous "M:I" movies, he's not all that complex, although the motives for his actions are somewhat original.  He's boring, but serviceable.

Side Note - Cobalt is played by Michael Nyqvist, who was the male lead in the original Swedish film version of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" trilogy.  His female costar in those movies ("The Girl" herself) was Noomi Rapace, who can currently be seen in the rival action movie sequel, "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows".

Side Side Note - I feel that "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" is slightly better than the first "Sherlock Holmes".  Professor Moriarty is The Shit.

Side Side Side Note - Thank you for your endless patience.

Back to the Tom Cruise movie.  Like I said before, the overarching plot is basic action movie stuff, but the individual spy missions and action sequences are expertly done, incredibly complex, and flow like well-choreographed dance numbers.  The main man responsible for this is Brad Bird, making his live-action directorial debut with "Ghost Protocol".  He previously helmed two of my favorite animated movies of all time, "The Iron Giant" and "The Incredibles" and, with a background at Pixar (he also made "Ratatouille"), the man sure knows how to merge action with deft character development.  J.J. Abrams produced this one (he directed "Mission: Impossible 3) and brought some long-time collaborators like composer Michael Giacchino ("Lost", "Star Trek", "Up") and actors Simon Pegg and Josh Holloway.

As I also noted previously, Hunt's team in this film are all three-dimensional characters who could each carry a film on their own.  Simon Pegg provides much of the humor (this is a surprisingly funny movie), reprising his (brief) role from "M:I 3".  Jeremy Renner is exceptional as the reserved team member with a vital secret (who could easily have been a throwaway character, but gets the most moving emotional resolution out of all of them).  And Paula Patton. . .  my God. . . I've become an instant fan.  She's a confident, talented actress, sexy as hell, with incredible depth behind her eyes, and she can kick ass very, very convincingly.  Yeah, she's my new screen crush.

This is the first movie in the "Mission: Impossible" series that I will rush out and see again while it's still in theaters.  See it in IMAX, if possible, as the wide-open IMAX format really helps increase the heart rate during certain high-climbing sequences, and the rumbling IMAX speakers really punch you in the gut during key moments.  Also, while there are surprise cameo appearances by characters from previous "M:I" films, you really don't have to have seen them to be able to enjoy "Ghost Protocol".  It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it does fix the problems of the previous movies and is just downright entertaining.  It's one of the best action movies of 2011.

And Tom Cruise ain't bad, either.