This review first appeared in the Sunday Star Times, 18th December 2011
Tom Cruise is back as IMF agent Ethan Hunt, busted out of a Russian jail in the frenetic and exciting opening scenes of the latest Mission: Impossible adventure. Teaming up with Simon Pegg’s eager Agent Benji and the beautiful Paula Patton (from Déjà Vu), Hunt sets out to save the world from impending nuclear disaster when weapons codes fall into the hands of the wrong evil maniac (a fairly orthodox baddie performance from Dragon Tatttoo’s Michael Nyqvist).
With technology and gadgets to rival James Bond and exotic locations Jason Bourne hasn’t yet been to, the film is one huge spectacle best experienced in Imax, as the camera swirls around Dubai’s Burj Khalifa – only the tallest and most challenging settings for Cruise, surely one of the most committed movie stars around (who apparently did his own abseiling stunt in the incredible tower-climbing scene).
Director Brad Bird made The Incredibles, proof if any was needed that he can more than handle a live-action blockbuster. Wisely including all the hallmarks of the Mission series, you’ll be laughing and gasping in equal measure. Mission accomplished.
Nice…