7/10
It is rare in the Mission: Impossible franchise for Ethan
Hunt (Tom Cruise) to be assigned an agency tasked mission and enjoy support
both from his home office and regular team members who he has worked with in
the past. In fact, this has only
happened once, in Mission: Impossible II.
In the other three films, including the latest, Mission: Impossible - Ghost
Protocol, Ethan and/or the entire IMF are accused of disloyalty,
treason, and rogue operations while try attempt to thwart global villains. Taking down the bad guy is always much harder
while being pursued by your own government.
In the first and third films, Ethan was personally labeled a traitor,
now, the entire IMF organization are disavowed because both the American and
Russian governments are going to blame them for blowing up the Kremlin. How is that for having the backing of your
boss?
The man responsible for blowing up the Kremlin and framing
the IMF is also the franchise’s most far-reaching, intellectual, and dangerous
villain yet – a sort of nuclear philosopher who believes that only global
nuclear annihilation will evolve the human race. Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) appears just as
capable as Ethan Hunt at pulling off intricately detailed capers, breaking into
impossible to break in buildings, and being especially useful in lightning fast
car chases, fist fights, and any other form of covert espionage. He leads Ethan and his team to some extremely
exotic locales including Budapest, Moscow, Dubai, and Mumbai. If there is one asset of chasing a wily
villain focused on blowing up the world, he will give you a thorough tour
first.
The hodgepodge IMF team this time around features the girl
(Paula Patton), the geeky tech guy (Simon Pegg), and the unknown variable with
a hidden past (Jeremy Renner). They also
bring along the most cutting-edge technology which, in theory, should help them
infiltrate, evade, and assert control over any situation. What makes this iteration of the franchise so
fascinating is that time and time again, technology lets them down. Masks, a staple of these films, fail to come
together, climbing equipment fails when it is needed the most, and even car
chases in the world’s most advanced automobiles are slowed down by pedestrian
traffic jams. It is refreshing to see
action heroes have to reset and troubleshoot technical glitches just like the
regular folk do.
I highly recommend you spend the extra surcharge and
experience Ghost Protocol in its intended IMAX setting. The large screen is the perfect fit for the
outrageous stunts being performed almost every minute and the surround sound
truly has an impact on the theater’s audience.
The Kremlin explosion and the acrobatic scenes performed in and on the
world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, should be appreciated with
state of the art film technology. I
realize after seeing it in IMAX that watching it on my home entertainment
system would noticeably diminish the impact of the film’s stunts and artistry.
I have yet to decide where Ghost Protocol ranks in relation
to the other Mission: Impossible films, but it is far from the least of
them. The script is detailed and well
thought out, the action scenes are stunningly captivating, and the tension felt
as the villain moves step by step towards his goal is real. The team sidekicks are not to the level of
the first Mission: Impossible film, remember Ving Rhames and Jean Reno, and the
set-up with false accusations and treasonous allegations are a plot device
which is growing ever staler as they use it once again to make the spy team
perspire that much more.
However, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
is worth the time and money to experience what felt like a very pleasurable
movie going experience. It is never
dull, does not get too carried away with itself, and carries on a fine
franchise tradition; Ethan Hunt will perform the craziest and gut-churning
stunts to stop the bad guy.
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