Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner
****

While the Dubai media circus was almost enough to have most wish the worst, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is probably the finest edition of this spy-thriller franchise to date.

The action starts in Moscow, moves to Dubai and ends in India - and rarely pauses for breath - with Cruise's Ethan Hunt and his team forced to go rogue in order to prevent Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) unleashing a nuclear holocaust on the world.

Dubai gets the lion's share of the billing and serves as an impressive backdrop for the most memorable scenes, notably Cruise's Spider-Man-like antics on the Burj Khalifa, which are likely to have the slightest vertigo sufferer shaking (particularly if viewed in Imax) and fully justify the past year's fuss. Renner's first MI outing is solid, and underlines why he is lined up to fill Bourne's shoes, while Patton plays a fierce leading lady with nifty combat skills.

Pegg, the only non-Cruise returnee from the last affair, sees his tech-whiz Benji Dunn promoted to field agent and offers comical buffoonish breaks between the near-relentless action. Making his live-action debut, Bird (The Incredibles) has given this 16-year-old series an impressive reboot, and, so long as Cruise (who will be 50 next year) is still willing to worry his insurers, there's no reason why it shouldn't continue.

RESULT

Australia 3 (0) Honduras 1 (0)
Australia: Jedinak (53', 72' pen, 85' pen)
Honduras: Elis (90 4)

While you're here

National Editorial: World trade has started to look inwards

Callum Patton: ‘Arrival of Asian century’ has eclipsed US

Robin Mills: Importance of China's energy markets clearer

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)

Generational responses to the pandemic

Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:

Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.

Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.

Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.