" Why am I Pluto? It's not even a planet anymore! "

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

The film follows Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team as they try and stop a Russian terrorist, Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) from launching nuclear explosions on the United States. As if terrorists weren't enough Hunt's team is implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin meaning IMF (organisation for which Hunt works for) initiates Ghost Protocol. As a result Hunt and his team are left with no back up and no assistance in their efforts to save the world.

The movie felt like a collage of blockbuster scenes getting better with each new addition. Having seen the past three mission impossible movies I had high hopes for this one especially since J. J Abrams was still attached (director of Mission Impossible 3) and that Brad Bird was making his directorial debut outside of animation after being part of classics such as Ratatouille, The Incredibles and The Iron Giant. The movie delivers the right amount of breathtaking action sequences whilst ensuring there are genuinely funny moments.

The scenes are not just filled with explosions and car chases but are layered with suspense and in most cases genuinely original ideas that succeed in captivating the audience throughout the movie. The Dubai scene involving the Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world) is definitely the climax of the movie, Brad Bird and Tom Cruise are testing the limits of filming and storytelling with Cruise famously doing the stunts hanging from the building himself.

Tom Cruise himself is living up to his title as the worlds biggest movie star and when you look back at his impressive repertoire of films you can see why. Despite his somewhat eccentric personality he is a fine actor that can play the part of action hero as good as any actor making films today. The main cast is small which allows adequate character development, Simon Pegg returns to play the brains/comic relief and is always a joy to watch. Nyqvist makes the most of his limited time on screen as he begins to add to his catalogue of Hollywood films. Jeremey Reener and Paula Patton are newcomers to the Mission Impossible franchise, their characters are full of intrigue and interest as they prove they can handle their own. The crew works so well together I only wish they had been around from the start of the Mission Impossible movies.

Each installment in the Mission Impossible franchise has its own unique feeling. Ghost Protocol takes the franchise to the next level, making it my favourite Mission Impossible movie...so far.