Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

This is almost as good as the first outing - almost 20 years ago - for "Ethan" (Tom Cruise) and he finds himself on the wrong end of an evaluation from the US Government - led by "Hunley" (Alec Baldwin) that wants to dissolve the IMF. He and "Luther" (VIng Rhames), meantime, are on the trail of the "Syndicate" - a criminal organisation that poses a real threat to the peace and security of the nation and to his organisation. Co-opting "Benji" (Simon Pegg) and "Brandt" (Jeremy Renner) they soon come across the enigmatic "Ilsa" (Rebecca Ferguson) who wants to help out, but why? What now ensues is a tautly directed thriller with plenty of action that takes us all around Morocco and Europe before quite a gripping conclusion to the intrigue leaves everyone unsure who they can trust. Christopher McQuarrie seems to have decided to go back to the television series for reference here, the teamwork (even from the usually terrible Pegg) and the plot develop more plausibly and excitingly; it has a grittier and more substantial story to it, and even if Cruise looks a little unkempt from time to time, that narrative is just better - it actually is a thriller rather than just another piece of star-led boisterous entertainment. Like most films that depict the principle of US Senate oversight, it continues to poke fun at the (in)competencies of that body to even make a proper cup of coffee; there is some humour in the dialogue and it's put the franchise very much back on track.