Media: DVD
Now, despite the crazy Scientology crap he's received from the press, the couch jumping on Oprah several years ago and three ex-wives, Tom Cruise has managed to put all this behind him and score big with this film. You know, Philippa Hawker of The Sydney Morning Herald rated this film 3 stars out of 5, and said it was "ludicrously improbable, but also quite fun." To Philippa I say, Have you not seen the previous three films? The reason it's quite fun is because it is ludicrously improbable!
Explosive gum, helicopters flying into the tunnel, skydiving from an airline jet, face masks, voice chips, explosive charges injected into the brain, and now it's magnetic suits, electronic climbing gloves and perspective projection screens... The entire Mission: Impossible series has been based on the audience's ability to suspend their systems of belief for two-and-a-bit hours and enjoy the film for what it is; good, clean and wholesome fun.
The good, clean and wholesome fun starts with Tom as the ever-athletic and acrobatic Agent Ethan Hunt trying to escape a Russian prison when he is alerted by his fellow agent Benji Dunn, played by the jocular Simon Pegg. Pegg's been a very busy boy lately, especially with his latest movie coming out later this year, Star Trek: Into Darkness; so he's moved about a fair bit. Kudos to Simon Pegg for his performance in this film. I have to confess, he's actually grown up considerably in this sequel, it's actually quite engaging.
Pegg is joined by one other agent, Jane Carter, played by someone who's a bit of an unknown to me, Paula Patton... Now, it took me a little Googling to figure out where I had seen her before, she was the female lead in Déjà Vu, also starring Val Kilmer and Denzel Washington. In that film she was the "damsel in distress", whereas here she is far from it, she's kick-ass, vigilant and very independent. She could certainly take me down in a fight... Not that I would, she's also very alluring... That comes in very handy later on in the film, as you will no doubt find out.
Tom Cruise is still rather refreshing as a seasoned IMF agent such as Ethan Hunt. He's determined, means business and doesn't like to give up on anything without a fight. Tom Cruise is actually quite the bankable actor. This film alone has hit $694 million worldwide, $209 million of that in North America alone. It was the highest grossing film in the franchise, the fifth highest grossing film in 2011, and currently the highest grossing film our boy Tom has made at that time, which has knocked out War of the Worlds flat on its back. Given how ridiculous the plot line was for *that* film, it's a much received change for the title. Tom Cruise is actually making it big on the Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX), trading at $H96.89 at the time of writing, with a trailing average gross of $103 million. Given his latest movie, Jack Reacher, has yet to finish its four week release, it's possible that this too may be another hit. It seems of late that there's very little to slow him down now that he has his second wind.
One of the other IMF members to join the team is none other than Jeremy Renner, as Agent William Brandt, and quite predictably, his character is a brooding anti-hero who doesn't know his true worth until later on in the film. I hate to say this, but this is a recurring pattern for him of late. Observe:
1. Agent William Brandt (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol), a brooding agent who doesn't know how big his contribution is to the mission until later in the film.
2. James Coughlin (The Town), a brooding bank robber.
3. Clint Barton aka Hawkeye (Marvel's The Avengers), a brooding superhero who doesn't realize his worth until he becomes one of the team.
4. Aaron Cross (The Bourne Legacy), a brooding assassin who doesn't realize his involvement with the American government until he meets up with Rachel Weisz.
There are a few more examples, but I'd rather not go into them. Now, seeing a brooding Jeremy Renner, isn't a bad thing either. On HSX, he actually is a more lucrative investment, trading at $H127.86 and rising. His trailing average gross is at over $130 million, even higher than Cruise himself. Renner, is bound to be one if those stars that is bound to have a huge career ahead of him; especially with two sequels, for The Avengers and Bourne sequels releasing in the years to come.
Another addition to the cast that I did not expect was the appearance of Michael Nyqvist, star of the Swedish trilogy, the Millenium series, which includes The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I think what threw me was the almost perfect British accent he used when he is brought into the scene where we first come across him. Also, in this film he's got dark hair and looks like a seasoned actor and quite debonair. In the Millenium series he was blond, looked a little haggard and much older than he appears in this film. It was actually a delight to see him in this movie. Nyqvist takes his time with films after having received international attention from the Millenium trilogy and he has already had another hit with Abduction back in September, 2011.
These five characters interact incredibly well within the plot line which sees the IMF organization getting completely disavowed when a Swedish nuclear strategist played by Nyqvist steals the Russian nuclear launch codes from the Kremlin, and blows it up; leaving Agents Carter, Dunn and Hunt accused of doing it. With the help of Brandt, who has his own inner demons regarding a previous mission gone wrong (thus the brooding) and some rather unreliable IMF equipment, they get the job done after traveling to places like Russia, The UAE and India. The pace is seasoned with enough drama and humor to move it along and the action is not as "in your face" to keep you firmly riveted to your seat. The movie is there to make the experience fun, and the movie is quite enjoyable, I kept on wondering what was going to happen next.
J.J Abrams and Brad Bird... Never in my wildest dreams did I think that there would be a producer and director combination like this for a movie. Abrams has directed a number of films including the new Star Trek remake and its soon-to-be-released sequel, Star Trek: Into Darkness, and when Abrams is involved with a film, it's usually a smash. Brad Bird up until recently has been involved more with animated films like the Iron Giant, Ratatouille and The Incredibles to name but a few. Ghost Protocol was his live-action directorial debut, and he has excelled expectations. I hope to see more of his work in the future.
Now, although the flow of this movie was well-paced and the actors were great in their performances, the impact of the action sequences don't hit you like an unexpected punch in the face. There is a general build up to these points, there's no la-di-dah and then Wham! I don't know if this crescendo effect is a good thing. The very first movie had things we did not expect, the second and third kinda petered a little. This fourth movie has a few unexpected turns, but they're not enough to leave you hanging on the edge of your seat. Don't get me wrong, the whole Jim Phelps betrayal in the original sparked controversy throughout online and offline. There's none of that here in this film. I think there's a general pattern to this franchise where it all works out in the end, but there is a final twist in the very end that kinda ties things up from the third movie, and a few uncredited cameos which add the cherry on top. This said, I'm giving Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol 4½ stars, and hope that when Simon Pegg and Tom Cruise start on the fifth film that there's a little more umph!
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