Tom Cruise is Back

Tom Cruise Bounce Back

Tom Cruise is looking a little older - at last - but, if the 20 minutes of the latest Mission Impossible shown to Perth critics yesterday is any guide, the world's most famous couch-jumper hasn't lost his action-hero chops.

In keeping with the blockbuster series' taste for exotic locations, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol sees Cruise's secret agent Ethan Hunt and his crew (bolstered by the addition of Hurt Locker Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner) attempt to break into the world's tallest building, Dubai's Burj Khalifa.

Fitted out with electronic gloves which give the wearer Spider-Man-type climbing ability, Ethan swings between floors of the soaring structure, slipping and sliding and threatening to sail off into the sands of the Arabian Peninsula.

It's nothing new to see Cruise doing his Peter Parker routine. However, to see him high above Dubai in broad daylight instead of Hong Kong by night is startling, with the crystal-clear digital cinematography giving us a view of the desert kingdom that's worth the price of admission alone.
The sneak preview also reveals that incoming director Brad Bird, one of the resident geniuses of Pixar (he did The Incredibles and Ratatouille), has bought a classical style to the action sequences, a refreshing break from the extreme close-up/fast cutting intensity of the game-changing Bourne series.