sequel to the hugely successful live-action adaptation of the classic 60's CBS TV series.

Tom Cruise returns as IMF super-spy Ethan Hunt, who surprise - has once again been disavowed

by the American government that employs him - forcing him to stay off-grid, and hunt down

a Russian terrorist hell bent on starting World War III with stolen nuclear launch codes.

Joining him on his globe-trotting action-packed search for the bad guy is Jeremy Renner, Paula

Patton and Simon Pegg reprising the tech-nerd role of Benji from the previous film. The

stakes have never been higher for the gadget-loving IMF team, but gone are the personal threats

against his wife from MI3 - replaced instead by a cold urgency to prevent an atomic war.

Which is perhaps the film's only misstep... removed from the context of the earlier movies,

Hunt's character receives little back-story here. But this is an action thriller, not

a dramatic Oscar-contender. And thrilling this film is - the cold open features Hunt

fighting his way out of a Russian prison... capped off with an explosive escape on his

command, "light the fuse" - and in comes the iconic theme music... and director Brad Bird

doesn't let off the throttle from there. Utilizing some incredibly imaginative and uber-cool

tech gadgets, Hunt and his team make the best of the exotic locations they visit -- including

a Spiderman-esque climb up the world's tallest building, The Burj Dubai - made even more

impressive when you learn that Cruise himself performed the act without a stunt-double.

[CLIP] Other tricks include chain-main armor that allows it's user to float over it's accompanying

magnet-holding rover, chasing enemies through an Arabian sand-storm on close-range GPS,

and using an advanced projection screen Wille-Coyote style to give Kremlin guards the illusion

of an empty. The spy-work is fun, clever, and inventive - a scene where the IMF team

has to fake a meeting with two bad guys simultaneously resembles some of the best elements and misdirection

from your favorite heist films. Meanwhile, the action and chase sequences are explosively

pulse-pounding, brought to life by a wonderful score from producer JJ Abrams' long time collaborator

Michael Giacchino's intense soundtrack. The stunts, although ridiculous, are refreshingly

routed in a world of realism, unlike the previous installments, where flying a helicopter through

the chunnel was commonplace. Maximizing the all of the impressive advantages of the giant

IMAX frame, Bird does a fantastic job of filling every one of them with exquisite detail and

emotion -- rarely does the viewer lose sight of the action on-screen. Like all great blockbusters

though, "Ghost Protocol" never takes itself too seriously - with just enough breaks in

the battles to make you smile at some of the more light-hearted moments. When operating

undercover, using the names of celestial bodies as codenames, Benji quips, "Why do I have

to be Pluto? It isn't even a planet." Tom Cruise is no stranger to loud, big-budget

films, but this is perhaps his best effort to date. "Ghost Protocol", a "Thrilling and

adventurous show-stopper". That was my review, now let's read some of yours - from the few

people who also watched this film on opening day.

Here's the Rate-O-Matic to rank "Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol"... a NINE and an EIGHT.

I'm a sucker for a well-paced, and fun action movie, and this movies absolutely delivers

on all accounts, I thought it was AWESOME, and my pick for best in the series. If you're

curious about my thoughts on the previous three, I wrote some short 5-word-reviews for

each in the description below. As for those who had a chance to see this film already,

you agreed: praising the high-wire stunts and intense action scenes, with everyone able

to overlook Cruise's bizarre personal life - scoring the film a GREAT.