Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol

No plan. No backup. No choice.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is sprung from a prison in Russia by his IMF colleagues, but when a subsequent mission is botched and a bomb destroys the Kremlin, Hunt’s team is disavowed. For the fourth film in this franchise, The Incredibles (2004) director Brad Bird was hired and he brings some of that energy, sense of humor and classic spy trappings. His first non-animated film moves briskly between its exciting, outlandish action sequences (the highlight being a daring climb up the Burj Khalifa), although it loses steam somewhat in the last half-hour. Cruise and his team (including high-profiled newcomer Jeremy Renner) are great fun to watch, diverting one’s attention from the silly story.

2011-U.S.-United Arab Emirates. 133 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Tom Cruise, J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk. Directed by Brad Bird. Music: Michael Giacchino. Cast: Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt), Jeremy Renner (William Brandt), Simon Pegg (Benji Dunn), Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov… Anil Kapoor. Cameos: Tom Wilkinson, Michelle Monaghan, Ving Rhames.

Trivia: Also released in an IMAX 3D version.