The movie presents a story that is absurd. Nevertheless, it is entertaining. The movie takes the players to many different parts of the world. How they get to these places the movie does not explain. At each place people are on the run, traps are being set, communications are tense, as the good guys and bad guys try to outwit the other. The movie is devoid of any overt political content, concentrating its attention on telling the story. Tom Cruise delivers an energetic performance that carries the movie. He is in almost every scene. The movie is never dull. For fans of action movies, this movie will not disappoint.

I absolutely loved MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3, so I knew the newest and fourth entry in the series, GHOST PROTOCOL, would have its work cut out to enter the same territory. It turns out I needn't have worried; this is spellbinding film-making indeed, a techno-thriller that sets out to thrill and does it very well.

GHOST PROTOCOL is fast, furious and entirely engaging. It kicks off with an intense set-piece and doesn't let up from there, feeling very much like a recent James Bond movie in its globetrotting scenarios and action-packed set-pieces. The extended sequence in Dubai is the highlight, of course, but the rest of the movie doesn't disappoint either.

Cruise is starting to look his age now but he still cuts it as a leading man and there's no faulting his enthusiasm for his craft. The rest of the cast is more mixed, with Michael Nyqvist struggling and visibly out of his comfort zone and Paula Patton unforgivably reduced to mere window dressing, but the reliable Jeremy Renner is on hand to restore order. I still don't get the fuss over Simon Pegg but I suppose he's not too irritating here.

Anyway, the emphasis is on intrigue and bombastic action and who would have thought that animation man Brad Bird would do such a fine job as director? The explosions are loud, the fight scenes are brutal and if there are occasional missteps that veer into silliness, the film always bounces back. Bring on number five!

Agent Hanaway (Josh Holloway) is killed and the file he's carrying is lost in Jane Carter (Paula Patton)'s op killed by Sabine Moreau (Léa Seydoux). It's the Russian nuclear launch codes. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) joins Jane and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and goes to the Kremlin to uncover the real identity of Cobalt who is assumed to have hired Sabine. However they are set up as the patsy with disgruntled Russian Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) codename Cobalt stealing the nuke codes and setting off massive explosions to cover his tracks. The President is forced to invoke Ghost Protocol and disavow IMF. Ethan is attacked and escapes with analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner). Ethan and team pursue Hendricks to Dubai.

This one is a lot more fun and the best of the franchise. It is a new high point which is rare for 4 movies in. The more prominent use of Simon Pegg allow to inject more humor to break up the action. The story is like a well written Bond movie. This is Bond with a team and I like this team. I like the seriousness of the sexy Paula Patton. Pegg is great. Jeremy Renner is playing a little against type. This is just a well made thriller highlighted by some amazing set up pieces.