If ever there was a need for a total summer, popcorn, action, explosion, running from stuff kind of movie, it will be this December when Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is released. Staring none other than Tom Cruise, apparently some explosive stuff has happened in Russia and Cruise’s character, err, that guy, has to do something about it. The point is, we don’t care about the plot (yet), because this new installment has a cast and crew list that will bring in money all on its own.

First: Bad Robot. That’s right, J.J. Abrams has his hands in the franchise both as co-producer and a co-writer for the story. As I’ve said before, I’m not a Star Trek fan in the least, yet I thoroughly enjoyed what Abrams did for the most recent film even as an outsider. And what goes well with J.J. Abrams? Yep. Josh Holloway. Toss in roles from Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner, both great, all directed by Brad Bird, and this beast of a film is the next unsinkable ship on the Atlantic; it just can’t fail.

Not so fast? Yeah, there’s a chance the story is thin, the camera is shaky, and the boom microphone is showing. However, there’s a large amount of really positive filmmaking coming from each of the players in this fourth installment of the Mission Impossible films and that has to mean something. This crew has had few disappointments in my book and the looks of the trailer only confirm the idea that this movie will produce the goods.

The only thing I’m really surprised about is that Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol releases on December 16th, since I would expect them to push it at least until the Wednesday before Christmas to catch larger opening numbers. As is, December 16th and all, I have a feeling Ghost Protocol will deliver for fans and newcomers alike with a strong story, nice effects, and heavy hitting action.

The Trailer: