"Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol"
The Simpsons and Ratatouille,
what do these two animated delights have in common? Brad Bird.
Bird's skillful directing talents were immensely utilized in both
productions. The real question though was how would his pen and paper/CGI directing background transfer to a live action feature? Low and behold we get the
fourth installment to the Mission Impossible franchise, Mission
Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Each of its predecessors has had a
different director with very different cinematic visions of bringing the
popular 1960's television show to the silver screen. I wasn't impressed
with J.J. Abrams take on the third mission and was also getting quite tired of
seeing Tom Cruise prove to us time after time that he is invisible. The
fact that Bird was attached to direct the fourth outing did get my attention
though. I wanted to see what he could bring to the table.
Ethan Hunt's (Cruise) team this
time around consists of the beautiful Jane Carter (Paula Patton,) techno-geek
Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg,) and U.S. government operative William Brandt (Jeremy
Renner.) Their mission, should they choose to except it, is to clear
their names of a crime they did not commit. An attack on the Kremlin
leads to the Russians to believe that the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) was
responsible for it. Officially Hunt and his crew are no longer recognized
by the agency but off the record the IMF secretary (Tom Wilkinson) tells them
otherwise. Hunt must find the terrorist who committed this act and make
him answer for his crimes. Oh and did I mention that the terrorist also
has nuclear launch codes?
Alright so the plot is typical
of what we've come to expect from a Mission Impossible film. The
stakes are going to be high, there's no question. And because this is a
Tom Cruise action flick we're going to see him do all these impossible stunts
that continuously remind us that there is no stopping the soon to be fifty year
old actor. Yes, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol does deliver in
all these areas in spectacular fashion. The center piece of the film is
when the team goes to Dubai and Hunt must scale the 2, 716 ft., 160 stories
tall Burj Khalifa using only his physical strength (and some high tech gloves
that allow him to stick to the tower.) This is the signature highlight of
the film. Mr. Cruise does deserve our attention for this incredibly
impressive stunt.
I mentioned the high-tech gloves;
these are one of several uniquely clever but also ridiculous gadgets that show
up throughout the film. The gizmos may seem impressive at first but the
characters rely on them too much. Hunt and his team are part of the
Impossible Mission Force. So why are they constantly using devices that
are essentially hindering their mission? I felt like I was watching one
of the Pierce Brosan James Bond films. I want these characters to be
using their smarts to solve problems. I also want them to do more
memorable, high flying stunts.
Bird's direction is fine but not
necessarily noticeable, except for maybe the opening credit sequence. Mission
Impossible: Ghost Protocol is several steps above Abrams' feature, I'll give it that.
It's a passable addition to the franchise but ultimately lacks any sort
interesting plot or characters. A screenplay involving more intrigue, double-dealings,
and shocking reveals would have been more than welcome. Except for the
aforementioned Burj Khalifa sequence, the ante is not upped enough for this
film to be a great sequel. Cruise will eventually have to give up the action
genre and go back to showing us his acting chops. That is a mission he has yet to fully accept.
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