Episode 1185: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Caught Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol with Ben Woon and found it surprisingly good. Usual suspension of disbelief required for a viewer to buy the plot, of course, but otherwise, I could've been watching an extended episode of Covert Affairs, right down to the multinational filming. I say that because for the latest instalment in an action franchise, there was a liberal amount of humour sprinkled throughout, mostly provided by Simon Pegg's character. Not entirely convinced that this film is going to rejuvenate Tom Cruise's career (even if he did lose his shirt in typical Hollywood hunk fashion), but as a semi-reboot of the franchise, I think it does the job. The new agents in the team, played by Paula Patton and Jeremy Renner, were a mixed bunch. Renner's character provided an interesting counterpoint to Cruise's, but Patton ended up seeing like the token female agent. Also, am I the only one who thinks Josh Holloway's agent shouldn't have been killed off in the first five minutes? Seemed like a waste of the character to me. Refreshingly though, the film was devoid of romantic entanglements, although if there's another film in the franchise, I'm betting Patton and Renner's characters will be the go-to couple.