There’s no other way to describe this movie, and indeed, the series from which it spawned, than as pure popcorn entertainment. And the man behind all of them would be utterly overjoyed to hear that, particularly given his proclivity for a box or two of popcorn himself. But jaws will be on the floor when you witness that moment in this movie; hopefully it won’t trigger vertigo.
Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol is streaming for free on Pluto this month, bringing one of the franchise’s most enjoyable outings to our homes for the low, low cost of absolutely nada. Directed by Brad Bird(The Incredibles), the movie follows Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his disavowed (of course, they’re always disavowed) IMF team as they try to stop a nuclear threat after being blamed for an attack on the Kremlin.
Alongside Cruise as Ethan Hunt, Ghost Protocol also stars Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) as William Brandt, Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) as Benji Dunn, Paula Patton (Déjà Vu) as Jane Carter, Michael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as Kurt Hendricks, Léa Seydoux (No Time to Die) as Sabine Moreau, Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire) as Brij Nath, and Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction) as Luther Stickell.
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
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🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
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01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
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02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
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03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
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04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
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05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
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06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
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07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
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08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
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Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
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The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
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You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
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You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
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You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
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Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
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You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
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Was ‘Ghost Protocol’ a Success?
Financially, Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol was a huge success, and arguably the movie that fully revived a franchise that had seemed on its last legs following the muted reception to Mission: Impossible III. It grossed about $694.7 million worldwide against a reported $145 million budget, making it the highest-grossing Mission: Impossible movie at the time, and in today’s cash that’s $970 million worldwide. So yeah, this was a breakout hit because people wanted to see Cruise hanging off a building, especially on IMAX. We were there, too.
Critically, it was just as big a hit, importantly, because that told Cruise he was doing something right on-screen. It also helped change the series around practical stunt spectacle, which became the franchise’s main selling point from that film onward, rather than straightforward spying and subterfuge. Its critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes sits at 93%, with praise going to Bird’s ability to transition from animation to live action spectacle.
Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol is streaming for free on Pluto this month.
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