I’m not going to lie. Seeing Tom Cruise dangling off the Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world) while a dust storm menaced in the distance and his grip slowly starting to slip was a jaw-droppingly cool moment.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, while not the most intellectually-challenging movie, is a terrific action-packed flick that manages to awe and amaze at almost every twist and turn.For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Mission: Impossible series (like I was before seeing this one), Ghost Protocolis the fourth film in the franchise. The series is based on a television show from the late 60s and early 70s that follows an elite group of U.S. spies as they trek around the globe trying to stop the latest supervillains from destroying the world. In this movie, Tom Cruise reprises his role as Ethan Hunt, the leader of these super-spies, who is attempting to stop a nuclear attack on the United States.Going into this movie, you expect a level of ridiculousness that is inherent in the territory of action films in which spies perform death-defying stunts with impossibly sophisticated gadgets. But Ghost Protocolisn’t about making you believe everything you see. It is pure escapism at its best.It isn’t really a movie in which the plot is important, either. The storyline basically functions enough to conveniently get a group of attractive actors in incredible action sequences around the globe. But that is completely OK, because this blockbuster manages to satisfy and surpass the expectations you have of it.Directed by Brad Bird, the director of Pixar’s The Incredibles (an even better action movie), Ghost Protocol captures you in a way that you are willing to suspend your disbelief as cars and buildings are blown to smithereens, all while the people emerge unharmed. It is an adrenaline-soaked roller coaster ride, and with a cast that manages to not take itself too seriously, it is a success.

Cruise is the star of the show here, and he puts enough charm and charisma into his character that you genuinely care, and even worry, every time Ethan Hunt is placed in danger, despite knowing how everything is going to turn out in the end.

Cruise is a compelling action star and is well-suited to roles like this. For my money, his best performance to date was in another action movie, as a cop on the run in the dystopian film Minority Report, a 2002 flick directed by Steven Spielberg.

While it’s sometimes hard to distance Cruise from his kooky personal life (Oprah Winfrey’s couch will never be the same), he brings a ton of energy to the role and makes Ethan real. The action isn’t 100 percent just for kicks; there are people you do care about, like Jeremy Renner as an analyst unwillingly forced into action. And there’s a funny cameo by Anil Kapoor (best known as the game show host in Slumdog Millionaire) as a lusty but dumb millionaire who helps ground this high-flying movie in real people.

Don’t misunderstand me here when I say this movie wasn’t challenging. It is a very fun movie, but one that you probably won’t remember in a couple of months. You walk out with a bunch of “I can’t believe they just did that” moments still stuck in your head, and those can still very much be worth the price of admission.

This might not be picking up any Oscars besides ones for special effects, but for managing to consistently take your breath away and transporting you to another, somehow believable, high-octane reality where the United States is always moments away from complete annihilation, Ghost Protocol is definitely a movie worth seeing.

[su_youtube_advanced url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ukRYsYPmo”]