The Mission: Impossible franchise is known for its over-the-top stunts and awesome array of gadgets that are only possible on screen. Now in its fourth installment, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol makes its debut on the IMAX format, a seemingly perfect fit for the larger than life films.

Set long after the events of Mission: Impossible III, Ghost Protocol reunites IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) with newly appointed field agent Benji (Simon Pegg) and team leader Jane Carter (Paula Patton). Their mission, should they choose to accept it, is to prevent nuclear war from breaking out between the United States and Russia. After the Russian nuclear launch codes went missing and an attack at the Kremlin framed the IMF, it’s up to the last remaining agents to intercept the codes before they get into the hands of the terrorist who goes by the name of “Cobalt” and World War III is launched.

If you’re a fan of the previous films in the franchise, Ghost Protocol satisfies that action hero itch you’ve been meaning to scratch. The MI formula remains practically untouched as Tom Cruise will scale buildings, crash cars, and hack into any device, all the while looking ridiculously cool in the process. As we all know, secret agents are given the most technologically advanced gadgets and the IMF is no different. The film features a new type of invisibility screen, gloves that let you climb walls like Spider-Man, and even a briefcase that can wirelessly print what someone sees. The gadgets are about as outrageous as they are awesome.

One of the most intense scenes of the film involves Ethan Hunt scaling the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, in order to get access to its server room. It’s well known that Cruise did all the stunts himself for this scene, and it shows. The view is absolutely breathtaking and suspenseful and utilizes the full immersive quality of IMAX. This one scene alone is worth seeing the film in the format. It gives you a great sense of height and danger involved; something that would be overlooked on a smaller screen.

Visually, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol looks amazing. Unfortunately, it’s the story that falls somewhat short this time around. It’s your generic “foreign terrorist is trying to destroy the world” plot and doesn’t steer much farther from that. If it weren’t for all the cool gadgets, there wouldn’t be much of a film. Jeremy Renner does a decent job as the newly introduced William Brandt, an analyst turned field agent with a few secrets of his own, and we also get a few references to previous films. Other than that, there needed to be something more to the story.

In the end, however, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol successfully injects you with a shot of adrenaline and takes you on an action-packed ride with some breathtaking visuals and nifty gadgetry. Fans of the franchise will no doubt be pleased, as will all the people who simply paid to see The Dark Knight Rises Prologue.

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