Mission: Impossible IV - or is it called The Mission now?  - is starting to shoot in Prague and the first photos from the set have emerged, showing franchise star Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt off doing what he does best: committing espionage in wacky disguises.

The photos - which were obtained by Accidental Sexiness - show Cruise sporting what looks to be the uniform and facial hair of a Russian military officer. Ironically enough, another photo of Cruise out of costume reveals that the actor is sporting probably the most American tee-shirt you can wear short of wrapping yourself in the flag.

Seriously though - a Bruce Springsteen tee under a Russian military uniform? You can't even make this kind of stuff up, folks...

Disguises and subterfuge are both staples of the Mission: Impossible franchise (except for John Woo's Mission: Impossible II, which was more about martial arts and doves flying in slow motion). Hopefully, director Brad Bird will be able to capture the smart spy hijinks of Brian De Palma's original M:I movie adaptation and leave behind the silly dramatic action of Woo's sequel or the TV movie feel of J.J. Abrams' third filml. I don't feel like I'm out of line for asking for this latest Mission: Impossible - which is supposedly a fresh start for the franchise - to bring back what made the original film and classic TV show that spawned it both so great.

Anyway, for now here are a couple of the first images from the Mission: Impossible IV set. Don't judge too harshly, these photos are far from being the evidence of the movie's quality that some people will inevitably take them to be:

For the rest of the photos, you'll have to head over to Accidental Sexiness. However, because I love you guys I'll share this last photo with you - one I like to call "Tom In Repose." Just look at that right eye...could it be where he hides all the madness?

I'm just kidding Tom - I love ya :-). It's good to see you back in disguise, once again keeping the world safe from evildoers.

Mission: Impossible IV will co-star Josh Holloway, Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vladimir Mashkov and Michael Nyqvist. It will be in theaters on December 16, 2011...should you choose to accept it.

Source: Accidental Sexiness via Collider