Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol 2011

As Trevor Hanaway (Josh Holloway) ventures into Budapest to intercept a courier tied to enigmatic figure Cobalt, his life is brutally cut short by assassin Moreau (Lea Seydoux). Back at headquarters, Jane Carter (Paula Patton), newly promoted field agent Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), and Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) team receive the distressing news of Hanaway’s demise. In response, they spring into action, extracting Ethan from a Moscow prison where he had been languishing, alongside his source Bogdan (Miraj Grbic).

Ethan’s swift intervention is prompted by his understanding that Bogdan would be mercilessly tortured and silenced once in Russian custody. With their timely rescue, the pair escapes the prison confines, free to continue their mission. Jane briefs Ethan on the circumstances surrounding Hanaway’s killing: he was gunned down while intercepting a routine courier drop carrying Russian nuclear launch codes, which have since fallen into Moreau’s hands.

This development takes on heightened urgency as it becomes apparent that Cobalt, an extremist with ties to Russian intelligence and known for threatening a nuclear detonation, is now empowered by the stolen codes. Ethan recognizes the gravity of this situation and the imperative to identify Cobalt before it’s too late. With Hanaway gone, Moreau, a former associate of Cobalt’s, has taken on a new role as their accomplice.

In a bid to locate files identifying Cobalt, Ethan is tasked with leading Jane and Benji in infiltrating Moscow Kremlin archives. Time is of the essence, as Cobalt is already en route to claim the records, leaving Ethan just five hours to complete his mission. The team manages to bypass all security measures and gain access to the archives room, only to find it eerily empty.

Just as they contemplate their next move, an anonymous voice broadcasts across IMF frequencies, alerting Russian authorities to their presence. With no option but to abort, Ethan orders his team to withdraw, narrowly avoiding a catastrophic confrontation. As they make their escape from the Kremlin, Ethan spots another individual emerging with a large briefcase in hand, further fueling his suspicions.

The ensuing chaos culminates in a devastating explosion that destroys the Kremlin complex, leaving Ethan gravely injured and trapped in a Russian hospital. Sidorov (Vladimir Mashkov), a ruthless Russian agent, accuses Hunt of orchestrating the attack, casting him back into captivity. Ethan’s resourcefulness enables his escape from the hospital, followed by an urgent IMF extraction.

With tensions escalating between Russia and the United States, President orders “Ghost Protocol”, disavowing the entire IMF in response to what he perceives as an undeclared act of war.

As the fallout from the Kremlin attack intensifies, Hunt and his team are framed for the crime and subsequently freed by the government to pursue their original objective: tracking down Cobalt. Before they can make a break for it, however, the IMF’s secretary (Tom Wilkinson) meets a tragic end at the hands of Russian security forces led by Sidorov, leaving Hunt and intelligence analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) to fend for themselves in a desperate bid to escape.

Brandt, driven by his keen analytical mind, uncovers Cobalt’s true identity as Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), a ruthless Swedish-born Russian strategist who believes that the weak must perish to pave the way for the strong. With this revelation, Hunt and Brandt realize that Hendricks is hell-bent on sparking a nuclear war to usher in the next stage of human evolution.

Hendricks has already taken drastic measures by bombing the Kremlin and securing a Russian nuclear launch-control device. He now requires the codes from the Budapest courier (Moreau) to unleash a nuclear missile upon America. The stakes have never been higher, and Hunt’s team must regroup at one of their covert IMF sites to devise a plan to thwart Hendricks’ apocalyptic ambitions.

Their strategy hinges on convincing Moreau that they have successfully exchanged information with Wistrom (Samuli Edelmann), Hendricks’ trusted lieutenant, when in reality, the two never actually meet. Instead, Hunt’s team members assume the roles of Wistrom and Moreau, relying on their cunning and deception to outmaneuver their foes.

As Ethan navigates the treacherous landscape of magnetic gloves and server rooms within the iconic Burj Khalifa, he must hack into the system to uncover the truth. Meanwhile, Hunt’s team is divided over their approach: Brandt accuses Carter of compromising the mission for personal vendetta against Moreau, while Hunt believes that Brandt has been keeping secrets from them, his unorthodox fighting skills a testament to his hidden capabilities.

As tensions simmer and alliances are tested, the stage is set for a heart-stopping showdown between rival agents, double-crossing operatives, and nuclear doomsday enthusiasts.

As Hunt delves deeper into the mystery with Bogdan’s guidance, Brandt (actor name) candidly confesses to being assigned as a security detail for Hunt and his wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan), whose life was brutally cut short by a Serbian hit squad. The memory of that fateful day still lingers, prompting Ethan’s relentless pursuit of vengeance against the perpetrators before he found himself behind bars in a Russian prison. Brandt reveals that he could absorb the consequences of failure, knowing it would mark his last hurrah in the field.

Meanwhile, Bogdan and his arms-dealer cousin provide Hunt with crucial intel, revealing Hendricks’ planned rendezvous in Mumbai. It transpires that Hendricks had facilitated the sale of a defunct Soviet military satellite to Indian telecommunications mogul Brij Nath (Anil Kapoor), which could be used to transmit the order to fire a missile capable of wreaking havoc.

As Brandt and Dunn infiltrate the server room to disable the satellite, Carter successfully extracts the override code from Nath. However, Hendricks had anticipated Hunt’s plan and took Nath’s servers offline, sending a signal from a television broadcasting tower that triggered a Russian nuclear submarine in the Pacific to launch a missile towards San Francisco.

This single missile would be perceived as Russian retaliation for the Kremlin bombing, prompting an equivalent response from the US. With time running out, the only way to prevent catastrophe is via the abort sequence on the launch device that Hendricks possesses.

Hunt gives chase to Hendricks and the launch device, while his team members struggle to restore power to the broadcasting station. A high-stakes battle ensues as Hunt and Hendricks clash over control of the device before the latter plunges to his death with it, ensuring the launch cannot be aborted.

Meanwhile, Brandt manages to revive the station’s power, allowing Hunt to deactivate the missile. As the dust settles, Hunt is confronted by Sidorov, who recognizes that the IMF has been vindicated, having successfully prevented the missile from causing harm.

Weeks later, the team reconvenes, and Hunt issues new assignments. However, Brandt hesitates, burdened by guilt over Julia’s staged death. It transpires that Ethan had deliberately orchestrated her demise to facilitate his infiltration of a Russian prison and gather intel on Hendricks, an invaluable IMF source.

Relieved of his emotional baggage, Brandt accepts his mission while Hunt watches Julia from afar, the couple sharing a poignant smile before he embarks on his next adventure.