Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) returns for a fourth time in the latest installment in the Mission Impossible series.  Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is a jet-streamed action-adventure from start to finish.

What should have been a routine intel interception for Ethan's team goes slightly awry and the consequences are global, that is, if the IMF can’t stop the threat. In the effort to prevent a cataclysmic event, the team darts from country to country as the stakes are constantly raised. In an attempt to gain the advantage on their adversaries, Ethan and company head into the highly secure Kremlin to access the identity of the shadowy Cobalt.

The mission in the Kremlin ends in disaster and Ethan’s team takes the blame. Oh, and the entire IMF is disavowed, which leaves our heroes on their own with no outside help or backup. It is a wild ride as they seek to stop Cobalt, featuring a French assassin, an Indian billionaire and a Swedish professor who is well-versed in nuclear game theory. It doesn’t help that they have been eluding Russian agents who are out for revenge after the attack on the Kremlin.

The production, special effects, and fight scenes are all top-notch and thrilling. The locations are memorable from the ornate cathedrals of Russia to sandstorms overtaking Dubai. The most elaborate stunt takes place on the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. If you have a problem with heights, watching Tom Cruise climb up the outside of a building at over 100 stories high will make you move in your seat.

For a popcorn blockbuster movie, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is fantastic. My main gripe with this movie is the music. I found some of the soundtrack to be overbearing. There is a scene where Ethan and Benji (Simon Pegg) are walking through the Kremlin to Russian music that is grandiose and overdramatic. I was sitting there thinking “Wow, this is a bit unnecessary.” And then there is the nationalistic music to make sure you know what country the team is in, even though it has been mentioned by the characters and the name of the country shows up on the screen. It thought it was cheesy, but that is my main issue and the movie as a whole makes up for this or any other flaw.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is definitely the movie to see this holiday season. It’s a great cinematic experience and one mission worth taking.