Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol (2011) Paramount/Action-Adventure RT: 133 minutes Rated PG-13 (language, sequences of intense action and violence) Director: Brad Bird Screenplay: Andre Nemec and Josh Appelbaum Music: Michael Giacchino Cinematography: Robert Elswit Release date: December 21, 2011 (US) Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Tom Wilkinson, Vladimir Mashkov, Samuli Edelmann, Ivan Shvedoff, Anil Kapoor, Lea Seydoux, Josh Holloway, Miraj Grbic. Box Office: $209.4M (US)/$485.3M
Rating: ***
Another few years, another threat to world safety, another impossible mission for Ethan Hunt (Cruise). In Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol, Ethan finds himself up against Kurt Hendricks (Nyqvist, the Millennium trilogy), a Swedish-born Russian nuclear strategist who believes in some pretty crazy ideas, namely that the world must be destroyed for the next stage of evolution to take place, so he wants to start a nuclear war between Russia and the US.
As the movie opens, an IMF agent is killed by an assassin, Sabine Moreau (Seydoux, Midnight in Paris), after he intercepts and confiscates some launch codes from one of Hendricks’ couriers in Budapest. After breaking out of a Moscow prison with his team’s help, he’s tasked with infiltrating the Kremlin to locate any files identifying the terrorist only known by his code name, Cobalt.
Hunt’s new team consists of newly promoted tech guy Benji (Pegg, Shaun of the Dead) and Jane Carter (Patton, Jumping the Broom) who wants to avenge the death of the IMF agent in Budapest. While inside the Kremlin, some of Cobalt/Hendricks’ men hijack their radio frequency and alert the Russians to their presence. Although the team manages to escape before getting caught red-handed, a bomb goes off and destroys the Kremlin. An injured Hunt ends up in the hospital in police custody, but it’s only a temporary delay. He’s back in action within minutes.
When Hunt finally meets up with his boss (Wilkinson, In the Bedroom) who tells him he and his team are being held responsible for the attack. The Russians see it as an undeclared act of war. The US President has initiated “Ghost Protocol” which means that IMF has been dismantled and disavowed. He unofficially gives Hunt the go-ahead to track down Hendricks who’s now in possession a nuclear launch device.
Joining the team is William Brandt (Renner, The Town), a CIA analyst with no field experience or so he claims. They head to Dubai to retrieve the stolen launch codes before Hendricks gets them. Their elaborate plan involves Hunt climbing around the exterior of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. What’s with Tom Cruise and high places anyway?
There’s also some personal drama in Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol. Ethan and his wife Julia are no longer together. Everybody believes they’re separated, but the truth is far worse than anybody knows. Brandt has secrets of his own like how he came to posses certain skills uncommon to a mere analyst. I won’t go into further detail, but as shocking as any of it is, none of it is as huge as the final surprise revelation. Or is it?
First and foremost, the action sequences in Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol are quite impressive, especially the Dubai sequence. As an acrophobic, I could barely keep it together as I watched Hunt tempt fate with his acrobatics outside the Burj Khalifa. He climbs, jumps and kicks in a window before topping it off by swinging from a fire hose a la Bruce Willis. The climactic chase in Mumbai, which includes a game of cat-and-mouse at a car factory, is truly exciting.
Director Brad Bird (The Incredibles) keeps things moving at a decent pace with a plot easy enough for mass audiences to follow. He keeps the politics simple, but the action strong with some nice touches like the sandstorm bearing down on Dubai while Hunt chases the bad guy with the codes. He can’t see or even breathe. There’s also a Russian SVR agent (Mashkov, 15 Minutes) after Hunt for his actions at the Kremlin. As if he didn’t already have enough on his plate trying to save the world from nuclear annihilation at the hands of a madman. Nobody ever said the job would be easy, right? That’s why it’s called Mission: IMPOSSIBLE.
Tom Cruise is…….well, Tom Cruise. In other words, he delivers his usual “action hero” performance. He performs all sorts of impossible stunts and runs at every opportunity. Renner is okay as Brandt, although if the filmmakers intend Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol to be a “passing of the torch” affair, perhaps they should find an actor with better leading man potential. I don’t know if this is what they actually have in mind, but I don’t think the franchise would be as successful with Renner in the lead. Need proof? Check out The Bourne Legacy.
Pegg comes through once again as the comic relief He’s a funny guy. I’m glad the filmmakers brought him back. But where the hell is Luther (Ving Rhames)? All I’ll say is this- be patient. Patton makes a formidable action heroine. She really knows how to kick some serious butt! It helps that she’s beautiful. She should definitely be brought back for future installments. As the megalomaniacal bad guy, Nyqvist does pretty well even though his character could have been lifted from any James Bond flick. Unfortunately, Hendricks doesn’t receive the character development he deserves.
I’m glad to see the series has successfully rebounded from the weak second film. Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol not only keeps the momentum going, it sets up the next movie in regards to Hunt’s next impossible mission. This fourth entry is as solid as action-oriented spy movies come. It’s a winner!
