Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Absolutely the worst movie.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The stunts and sequences are even better than that of its stellar predecessor (see the hotel con and climb, insane parking garage fight), but the characters are not (Pegg's comic relief aside) and the main plot starts to get a little silly, morphing into a bit of a cliche end-of-the-world deal complete with Euro villains. To its credit, it does embrace some of its ridiculousness (see Hunt's failed "Mission accomplished!"). Not to its credit are the terrible placecards (Verdana of all fonts??).

"Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" is a well paced action film with quite good performances. Tom Cruise does the most mindblowing stunt that I won't spoil. If you're a Mission: Impossible fan, this is a film for you!

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog :)After a massive decline in quality from M:I-1 to M:I-2, MI:-3 picked up the saga again. Is Ghost Protocol able to maintain or even improve the franchise high stakes?This is the best film of the franchise or, at least, right up there with the original. There are so many great things to write about this movie that I am going to start with my couple of issues since honestly, they are not that big of a deal, and I want to end my review with positive things to transmit.So, the villain ... Michael Nyqvist portrays Kurt Hendricks, and he is the worst antagonist of the whole saga. The actor is great, no problem there. The big issue is that Kurt is the depthless character in the Mission: Impossible series. He barely has screentime, so naturally, his motivations are null, and there is really nothing to him. He just wants to blow things up and start a war or something.My only other issue has to do with the action. No, not with the action itself but how it progressed along the runtime. The standout scenes are undoubtedly the shots in Dubai and in the Burj Khalifa building. These moments are midway through the film, so the action of the third act, the one that usually should blow our minds and have all of the tension and adrenaline, feels like a level below.However, and this is extremely important for you to understand: remember when I wrote that M:I-3 had the best action in the entire saga? Well, Ghost Protocol just surpassed it and in such a phenomenal way! What I wrote in the last paragraph is correct regarding the quality of the action declining towards the end, but bare in mind that I am writing about some of the best action stunts in movie history! The third act's action makes tons of other films jealous, I don't have any doubts about that.Still, the big adrenaline rush arrives at the one-hour mark. Everything, literally every single scene in Dubai, not only the fantastic Burj Khalifa stunts, are gold. Pure gold. This movie was released in 2011, and the real action displayed in it is unbelievable. I mean, if I was seeing this 7 years ago, the first thing I would do once I got home, was to google which stunts were real or not. Believe or not, a lot of them are. Especially the ones you think are not.Brad Bird has a great filmography concerning animated films, but this was his first live-action one. He is superb! The cinematography is jaw-droppingly beautiful, every shot is dripping with visual quality, and the score is riveting. However, he shines brightly when it comes to the screenplay. With the help of his writers, he is able to write a simple yet exciting plot, filled with suspenseful moments and high levels of excitement.The characters have never been better written, and the cast has never had such great performances. Jeremy Renner is terrific as Brandt, and his backstory provides a compelling and secret link to Hunt, which plays a very significant plot twist later on. Paula Patton is charming as Jane Carter, and once again this character is given an emotional motivation to accomplish the IMF's mission, which makes me care about her. Simon Pegg is humorous as Benji, who receives a much more prominent role to play in this movie. He somehow replaces Ving Rhames as the character who brings the bits of comedy and banter, which are always a breath of relief in such a fast-paced film.Finally, Tom Cruise is incredible as Ethan. I mean, he transcends to a whole other level. When you have an actor who does all his stunts, that's great. But when you have an actor who does all his stunts, being one of those stunts clinging to the side of the highest building on the planet ... That's just ridiculously outstanding! In my humble opinion, I think Cruise is the best action movie star of all-time. I mean, how can someone deny his commitment and courage?Before I finish, I will address the pacing. Even though it didn't bother me, a lot of people complained about the non-stop action of M:I-3 and I understand their point. However, the balance in M:I-4 is perfect. There is always some sort of transition to the next action sequences. Either the team is discussing the plan, or some character is getting time to be developed or something in between. There is never a dull moment, but the frenetic pacing is better controlled.All in all, Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol is right up there with the original when it comes to the best film of the franchise. The action is mind-blowing and the best in the saga. The characters have never been better flushed out, the cast is fantastic (especially Tom Cruise, naturally) and the pacing is fast but controlled. Brad Bird directs the hell out of the movie, with beautiful wide shots and exceptional cinematography. An exciting yet simple plot is only injured by the worst villain of the series and by some nit-picky things from my part regarding the third act's action.

Mission Impossible 4 raised the stakes for assuming blockbuster status again after it had lost ground with a highly stylised last entry. The plot is quite implausible and the tension peters out a little in the third act - at least partly down to its frenetic pacing and bangs for your dollar. It was partially shot with IMAX cameras which helped to capture some death defying and vertigo inducing stunts for audiences. No special equipment was needed, unless you count Simon Pegg, to make this a funny film in parts too. Some of the special effects will be remembered as quite memorable for the series. Some SFX, such as the magnetic belt seem a little far-fetched and desultory. All in all, good adventure, a sense of fun wins the day and this is the signal producers need for them to issue another mission installment for us to choose to accept.