It’s been said that Mission Impossible, Ghost Protocol is the movie that can make you forget quite how icky Tom Cruise is. True. Revisiting the role of Ethan Hunt, he’s lithe and agile and handsome and tight-panted and surprisingly compelling – ok, he’s hot: there, I said it – especially considering he’s turning fifty next year. Plus there’s Paula Patton too, who is probably the most beautiful woman on the planet at this very moment (sorry my-first-true-love-Rosamund-Pike, but she is – if only only just). Jeremy Renner adds some edge, that Swedish Nyqvist dude is suitably villainous as the bad guy intent on destroying the world, and there are all sorts of masks and gadgets and disguises and awesome locations. But I have to admit it, it felt like there was something missing. Or perhaps that we’d seen it all before somewhere. Not a bad evening of entertainment by any means, but naggingly disappointing nonetheless. Except for Tom.
Key locations in the film include Mumbai (the parking garage was built specifically for the movie), Budapest, and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Yes, Tom did his own dare-devil climbing. (the ropes were removed in post.)