This year, from “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” to “Captain America” to “Super 8,” there have been some great action movies. But where have the real action movies been? Where is the Die Hard or the Bourne Identity popcorn flick, with real people jumping off of buildings, instead of hanging from the green screen? Does anybody have anything to contribute to the ever-narrowing echelon of terrific action movies?

Brad Bird and Tom Cruise do.

This year’s “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol,” the fourth film in the series, excites and rejuvenates the series with a dynamic return to form. Bird, the Oscar-winning director of “The Incredibles,” is at the helm for the first time in 3 years, directing a live-action film that weaves action scenes together fluidly and pops just like an animation.

Things kick off with super spy Ethan Hunt (Cruise) breaking out of a Russian prison with help of his fellow IMF agents, Benji Dunn (the always amusing Simon Pegg) and Jane Carter (bombshell Paula Patton).  With no time to waste, they head off for their next mission at the Kremlin, where a nuclear lunch device waits anxiously to fall into the wrong hands. Sure enough, those hands belong to Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) a Russian nuclear stagiest who believes that the only way to achieve peace on Earth is to blow it up. Decidedly unconvinced, Ethan and his team – which now includes rookie analyst Brant (the excellent Jeremy Renner) – follow Kurt to Dubai in a bid to stop him from getting the launch codes needed to put his apocalyptic plans into practice. Luckily for the audience, Dubai is home to the tallest
building in the world: the Burj Khalifa. 
 

And what’s better for an action movie than watching your A-list star man up and scale the world’s tallest building with nothing but suction-cup gloves.

The screenplay by Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, which at times is boring, gets the job done and aids in the transitioning from one action spectacle to another. But it really takes a back seat to the non-stop action train propelled by Bird’s vision and Cruise’s vigorous, intense screen presence.

Everyone is at the top of their game on screen. Cruise has never been better, and although he’s not the world’s greatest thespian, he deserves some sort of award for all the crazy stunts he performs in this film. Comic relief is provided by British comedy star Simon Pegg and Paula Patton, who before this was relatively unknown to American audiences, is arguably the next Halle Berry. Watch out for “Lost” veteran Josh Holloway as a rogue hitman early in the film.

More so than any other movie, this is the Christmas flick to go see with the family. Non-stop action and suspense, both girls and boys will be at the edge of their seat.

It’s “impossible” not to like this.