“Light The Fuse!” Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt in the newest addition to the Mission: Impossible series. This time, they ditch the numbers and call it Ghost Protocol. What does Ghost Protocol mean? It means that the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) which assists the agents and supplies the resources has been shut down making this new mission really really impossible. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is the definition of a big action popcorn movie. It will blow your mind. It travels the world to the most impressive landscapes while pulling off some of the most amazing action sequences ever. I loved it.
The plot. What plot? Let’s just throw that aside into a sandstorm…this is not about the story. Once they say “Russian nuclear codes” you can shut off your brain and just appreciate the visuals. The only real twists and turns are in the back stories of the agents themselves. Basically, Ethan Hunt is pulled into an international mission to stop a madman that is trying to destroy the entire world after another IMF mission goes awry. He’s joined by Agent Carter (Paula Patton) and from Mission: Impossible III, technician turned agent, Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). Simon Pegg is your classic funnyman and while slightly annoying in the beginning; is really hilarious in the rest of the film. Paula Patton is our eye candy and boy, did my eyes have cavities after seeing her in that green dress. Along the way, they meet William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), an IMF analyst who gets up in their mission aka mess.
Tom Cruise with Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, and Jeremy Renner in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
There is an international supporting cast ensuring this movie does incredibly well overseas. You have the Russian bad guy Kurt Hendricks played by Michael Nyqvist (who’s actually a Swede), his Finish right hand man Wistrom (Samuli Edelmann), Russian intelligence operative Anatoly Sidirov (Vladimir Mashkov), rich Indian playboy Brij Nath (Anil Kapoor), and French contract assassin Sabine Moreau (Léa Seydoux). The movie moves from Budapest to Moscow to Dubai, Mumbai, and Seattle. There’s even a glimpse of my city, San Francisco! I love movies that take their audiences on a geography lesson and the Mission: Impossible franchise never fails to do that. For Ghost Protocol, the director, Brad Bird, decided to use iconic structures as his backdrops and playthings such as the Kremlin and Burj Khalifa (the world’s largest building).
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) dangling from Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world!
Largest building in the world you say? Let’s have Tom Cruise dangle off of that! I can not believe Cruise is still alive after this movie. It is literally breathtaking with death defying stuns. I, for one, love doing things that might kill me like skydiving, canyoning, and bungee jumping hundreds of stories and even I was blown away by the stunts they pulled off. If you can, do yourself a favor and watch this movie in an IMAX theater so you can feel like you’re a part of the action. Along with the amazing explosions, shootouts, and hand to hand combat is great sound amping you up in every scene…and in the IMAX, you feel it the audio. There are some parts where the movie trails off or gets a bit wordy but then before you can blink, action comes out of nowhere and makes you jump in your seat! Another great tradition of Mission Impossible are the gadgets. Even though their using recognizable devices like iPhones and iPads, they’re doing unbelievable things with them. There are super powered magnets, super adhesive gloves, a super sweet concept BMW car, and don’t worry – the mask machine is back!
bad. ass.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a superb action flick. It’s a great time and is adrenaline pumping from start to finish. Brad Bird is an incredible director and his transition from animation to live action seemed seamless (he directed The Iron Giant, The Incredibles and Ratatouille). He was able to take his imagination and apply it to the real world creating captivating action shots and a quick paced film that kept surprising the audience. Tom Cruise once again proves himself to be the top notch action star that he is by looking practically perfect in every single shot. I’m still trying to figure out how they did some of the scenes because they really shot them and it’s really him – can’t wait for the behind the scenes bonus features. M:I – GP is an easy to follow, easy to love action film with lavish scenery and epic stunts. It’s what Mission: Impossible is all about. Mission Accomplished.
Tags: Anil Kapoor, Brad Bird, Jeremy Renner, Léa Seydoux, Michael Nyqvist, Mission Impossible, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Paula Patton, Samuli Edelmann, Simon Pegg, Tom Cruise, Vladimir Mashkov
Matthew Fong created advancescreenings.com and is the lead contributor. He watches every type of movie and will try almost anything twice. You can follow him on twitter here: @matthewfong
