9. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)
It took four movies but the Mission Impossible series finally found its footing with Ghost Protocol. After the first mostly incoherent Mission Impossible in 1996 the follow-up, MI2 was more of a parody of action movies than the real deal, while MI3 lessened the over-bearing seriousness of the previous installments to great relief, but it is MI4 that finally put it all together in terms of staging great action and characters together. Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt, America's answer to James Bond, globetrotting the world in trying to avert WWIII with his team comprised of Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton and Simon Pegg who all add unique characterizations to the mix. The plotting certainly takes a back-seat to the stunt-work here, especially in a Dubai Tower climb which Cruise provided his own stunt work for, but it still an engaging tale all the same. At times director Brad Bird's animation background creeps in with the CGI use, but Cruise and company still deliver on all levels, and Ghost Protocol is a stunt showcase that managed to thrill audiences world-wide, even despite being the third sequel to an over-convoluted original.