Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Good lord, Tom Cruise is a nut. In this fourth installment of his enjoyable franchise, he actually dangles from the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, perhaps one of the most insane stunts ever put to film. That’s not trick photography, that’s him bouncing off the windows of the world’s tallest building, and it’s one of the year’s most memorable sequences. There’s actually a good plot that goes with the film involving a Russian terrorist looking to start a nuclear war. Simon Pegg gets a bigger role this time out, while Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton are nice new members to Ethan Hunt’s (Cruise) team. Director Brad Bird, well known for the animated films The Iron Giant and The Incredibles, makes a notable live action debut. There were rumors that Paramount was looking to dump Cruise from this franchise. That would’ve been a big mistake.