It's pretty clear what you'll get from a Mission: Impossible movie at this point. Ethan Hunt's (Tom Cruise) IMF team will get in trouble, they'll have to break into a place that's supposedly impossible to break into and there will be gadgets and explosions galore. So, the question essentially becomes: did they change things around enough to make it worth watching?
Fortunately, there's enough life in this franchise to keep it worth watching. The movie finds the IMF framed for the destruction of the Kremlin, raising international tensions. Of course, it's not their fault, but the work of a big baddie (Michael Nyquist) who wants to purge the world of... something.
With Cruise as Hunt, you know what you're getting — the character is something of a cypher, he's going to perform some athletic derring-do and will be running at some point. Hunt's team, though, features some legitimately good performances. Simon Pegg is a bright spot of the movie, working in the comic relief role he inhabits so well. Paula Patton works well in her role of an agent seeking revenge for a lost loved one, and Jeremy Renner hits the right notes as the haunted analyst, Brandt.
As usual, the action scenes are exciting, well-composed and spectacular — the stunts at a hotel in Dubai are particularly stunning. The scenes build tension appropriately, and avoid the camera trickery that turns so many modern movies incomprehensible.
The problem is it seems the team is fighting buildings and security systems more than the actual villain. The bad guy is introduced early, but then promptly disappears for much of the film's running time. Nyquist is a talented actor — it would have been nice if they gave him something with which to work.
Should you buy a ticket? Well, it depends on your personal preference. If you can accept that this movie won't re-invent the franchise, but rather re-arrange its furniture, there's fun to be had here. Those who can't, though, might not want to accept this mission.