Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Review

With Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation opening in theaters nationwide tomorrow, I'm here to talk about the most recent entry in the global action franchise, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. Brad Bird, the genius behind such animated masterpieces as The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille, makes his live-action debut with the fourth installment in the Mission: Impossible series. The film released in 2011 to critical acclaim and tremendous commercial success, proving to be the most successful Mission in both respects. While I do find its immediate predecessor, M:I-3, to be a better film, Ghost Protocol is a tremendously enjoyable action blockbuster with eye-popping stunts and bravura set pieces. It's my second favorite film in the franchise behind only Mission: Impossible III.

Ethan Hunt and his team of IMF agents infiltrate the Moscow Kremlin in order to obtain files identifying Cobalt, a nuclear strategist named Kurt Hendricks, who plans to start a nuclear war. Hendricks alerts the Russians to their presence, and the IMF is blamed for an explosion that leaves sections of the Kremlin in ruins. The President initiates "Ghost Protocol", a contingency that disavows the entirety of the IMF. Hunt and his small group of remaining IMF agents undergo a secret, off-the-books operation to stop Hendricks from inducing nuclear war and rid the IMF of any false blame.

With his public image dwindling in the wake of some questionable choices regarding his personal life, Tom Cruise made a triumphant return to stardom that I think began right here with Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. He spearheads an excellent cast that includes the great Jeremy Renner, the hilarious Simon Pegg, and the lovely Paula Patton, all of whom give really solid performances. Pegg killed it in the moments he had in M:I-3, but he's given much more time to shine here.

The villain in this movie, Kurt Hendricks, is played by Michael Nyqvist. Here is yet another weak Mission: Impossible baddie. He's not weak because Nyqvist acts poorly, he's simply never in the movie. I think he has 2 or 3 scenes when you actually get to see him in the flesh, and as a result, he's a flat, one-note villain that you can' t really relate to or understand. That's one of the reasons I find M:I-3 to be superior; you actually fear for Ethan and his team. In Ghost Protocol, there's very little of that resistance.

Despite a weak villain, Ghost Protocol is incredibly fun to watch. This stems from the fact that Brad Bird has passionately created each and every set piece and mounted them to perfection. You'll be hard pressed to find a film with better execution in terms of its stunts and action sequences. That also stems from Tom Cruise's unshakable determination to entertain his audience. If that means he has to run alongside the tallest building in the world with a mere harness being the only thing stopping him from plummeting to imminent death, then that's what he's going to do. He's a special actor; there's no greater action star out there right now, and probably no actor more willing to put his actual life on the line for his craft. It's a treat to watch.

One of the movie's other great joys is the team aspect of it. It's wonderful to see each and every member of the team have his or her job to do, and how everything comes together when they work in sync. The interplay between them is also very entertaining.

Ghost Protocol does have a cartoony plot, and the film itself diverges into cartoon territory every once in a while. That's one of the problems I have with it. Mission: Impossible has never been the most realistic movie franchise out there. But, it's never been a cartoon (with the exception of some parts in M:I-2). Ghost Protocol crosses a certain line of absurdity that I didn't want it to cross.

Nonetheless, it's still a highly entertaining action thriller that finds the series still going strong after Mission: Impossible III. Thanks to Brad Bird's excellent direction, and a terrific cast led by a committed Tom Cruise, the film succeeds as an effective mix of action and humor. It may bleed into cartoon territory every once in a while, and the plot is nothing special or even that rewarding to lock onto, but it's definitely worth watching for fans of the franchise and those simply looking for a good time. I'd put it slightly above the original in my rankings simply because that Burj Khalifa scene - and the entire sequence in Dubai, really - is spy/action movie gold.

A-