Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol

Actors:  Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Michael Nyquist
Rating:  9 out of 10, exactly what you would expect out of a mission impossible movie and then some.  Cruise spends a lot of time sprinting from one place to another, did you ever notice how much he does that in movies, it’s like his signature move.  There’s a little more comedy in this one as Pegg is aboard.  Patton is nice to look at but she was clearly out of her depth, acting wise, compared to the rest of the cast.  Cruise is actually very generous as the lead with other actors.  He does a great job with the physical aspects although he is starting to show a little age around the periphery.  The special effects are top notch and, as expected, the action is almost non-stop.  The scenes with Cruise scaling the outside of the highest buiklding in the world with a pair of failing climbing gloves took my breath away.  For some reason this installment seemed a little smarter and not take itself too seriously.  There were several instances when the vaunted IMF technology failed and that made the always unbelievable action seem a little more human.  Nyquist, who starred in the Swedish Dragon Tattoo movies as Michael Blumquist, is eerily creepy as the nihilist villain.  The plot was all over the place but always made sense.  This was a very good movie that held my attention throughout.  Renner was superb as the conflicted side kick and I really like the interplay between he and Cruise.
MVP:  Cruise as IMF agent Ethan Hunt owns this franchise and delivers again