Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Turns 15, and Tom Cruise Still Climbs the Burj Khalifa

Illustration: AI-generated with Pollinations (FLUX), free to use

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol opened in US cinemas on December 16, 2011, so it turns 15 this month. Brad Bird, the animator behind The Incredibles, made his first live-action feature with it, and he keeps the action clear and grounded in a way many blockbusters forget.

Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt, and the film opens with a prison break that sets the tone. After a bombing at the Kremlin is pinned on the team, they go off the grid, which gives the film a fun mix of spy work and improvised gadgets.

Photo: Gabriel Hutchinson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The scene everyone remembers is the Burj Khalifa climb, where Cruise is out on the outside of the world's tallest building. He did much of the climbing himself, and the nerves you see on screen feel believable. The sandstorm sequence in Dubai is another standout.

Photo: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The rest of the cast does well. Simon Pegg brings the comic energy, Jeremy Renner adds a calm and careful presence, and Paula Patton gets some very good fight scenes. The film keeps the stakes clear even when everything around the characters is moving at speed.

Photo: Jonas Schneider, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Which Mission: Impossible film do you rank highest? I put Ghost Protocol near the top, with Fallout a close second, but I know that is an argument you can have for hours.