10 Unlikely Movie Sequels That Were Surprisingly Awesome

2. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4GxaTU98DQ The only Mission: Impossible film of the first three I liked was the Brian De Palma original, which was a slick, sleek spy thriller with Tom Cruise on top form. The second film suffered from John Woo's hyperactive direction and a bland narrative, and the third film, though girded by J.J. Abrams' confident direction and a suitably villainous performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman, just didn't crackle as much as it should have. The fourth film, Ghost Protocol, benefits hugely from hiring Pixar director Brad Bird, who went from making The Incredibles to filming his live action debut here, the result being a gleefully cartoonish action film that breathed fresh new life into the franchise. With a focus on organic stunt-work amid an absurd premise and a fine cast of actors (including not just Cruise, but Tom Wilkinson, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Lea Seydoux and Paula Patton), this was the most exciting, funny and action-packed of the entire series, and as a result easily the best. I'd pretty much given up with this franchise, yet Brad Bird proved me wrong.