ON: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE GHOST PROTOCOL (2011)

I had a routine Mission Impossible marathon and I thought I’d do a review of my bae Ghost Protocol. Expect a post on Rogue Nation soon!

Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol is the fourth installment in Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible action spy franchise. It is directed by Brad Bird, famous for his animated films, and written by the co-writing team Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec. Tom Cruise reprises his role as IMF agent Ethan Hunt, alongside Simon Pegg, Ethan Hunt, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton and Michael Nyqvist.

In M:I4, The IMF has now been shut down and Ghost Protocol is initiated – Ethan Hunt and his rogue team are now the only obstacle between the deadly terrorist Hendricks and a nuclear war.

Pre-movie thoughts:

• A little irrelevant, but I totally thought the colon in Mission: Impossible was after the Impossible until I Googled it for this blog post. I mean, for YEARS, I’ve mentally envisioned this movie as Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Am I the only one???
• Most franchises have died off by the fourth movie, if they even make it that far. So the existence of this movie in itself is quite a feat.
• There’s a few new additions to the cast – no Ving Rhames, but Simon Pegg returns, and Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton are joining the cast as well. I’d like to see Jeremy Renner do something a little different, since most people only know him for being ‘Hawkeye’.
• So this is Brad Bird’s first live-action film, but he’s also responsible for my favourite animated films – The Incredibles and Ratatouille. A Mission Impossible is a pretty ambitious project for an animations director, so this will be interesting to see.

Quotables:

• Agent Dunn: “Ethan? Jesus, I thought you were dead.”
• Agent Hunt: “We are.”

Also: (from trailer)

• Dunn: “Easy way to remember: blue is glue.”
• Hunt: “And when it’s red?”
• Dunn: “Dead.”

Good stuffz:

• Let’s talk about Tom Cruise – he is a force of nature as always, and I was very impressed when I read that he did all his own stuntwork. The fact that he commits to performing these stunts when he’s like, 50, is frankly stunning, and it added a great feel of consequence and danger to the film. Also, I am constantly astounded by his level of fitness. HOW???
• Simon Pegg is fantastic as a field agent in this, and his impeccable comedic timing adds a lot of great humour and levity to the film. I was surprised at how funny this movie was, and it made for a very entertaining watch.
• It was great to see Jeremy Renner as an awkward analyst and he portrayed some great vulnerability in his dramatic moments that I was very surprised at. Respect!
• Paula Patton is fricking awesome as Agent Carter. It was so good to see some female presence in the group and she definitely delivered – she was gorgeous, sexy and super bad-ass. Overall, there’s a terrific chemistry between the cast and it makes the film so much more enjoyable.

• Something I really liked about this movie is that all the gadgets broke down. This was really different and something that hadn’t been done in any of the previous films, and I think it added a real feeling of consequence and vulnerability to the film.
• The cinematography is excellent. Brad Bird proves to be very competent in a live-action feature – the visuals are epic (thanks to the gorgeous international scenery), the special effects are stylish, and the set pieces well executed. A great accomplishment by the production team!
• I loved the feel of this movie – everything is stylish, slick and so, so fast-paced. There was a good balance of humour, solemnity and drama, and it makes for an explosive and clever ride.
• I’m very happy to say that the action sequences are impressive. The thrill from the big-budget set pieces and shootouts really pay off. The fight scenes are brutal and very well done. Kudos to the actors!
• The writing is just GOOD. It starts with a bang and we are thrown right into the story, and the humour and suspense are all on point. I was surprised I didn’t mind the subplots either, because normally dramatic subplots in an action film are clunky and unnecessary. MI4 pulled it off surprisingly well.

The not so good stuffz:

• The only issue I have is that the villain (religious extremist who believes in nuclear war for human progress yada yada) is a little underdeveloped and underwhelming at times, and not very compelling.

MI4 shows that it’s possible to re-invigorate a franchise from the 4th installment – I found Ghost Protocol a vast improvement from previous movies. Though the villain is a little weak, there’s a great mix of international scenery, suspense, drama, humour and well-done action, and it’s become my favourite of the Mission: Impossible franchise. It’s just so fun and entertaining and re-watchable, so:

Verdict: A!!!

Which Mission: Impossible is your favourite? And what did you think about Hendricks in this movie? Leave me a comment!

– Q