Movie Review: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL

2011
PG13


"Next time, I get to seduce the rich guy."
-- Brandt

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is a 2011 action film directed by Brad Bird that serves as the fourth installment, and the first since 2006, in the Mission: Impossible film franchise. We open on Agent Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) breaking Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) out of a Serbian prison. With intel he received during his stay, the trio sets out to learn the identity of a so-called 'Cobalt' (Michael Nyqvist) who supposedly wants to start a nuclear war. When Cobalt alerts the Russian guards of their presence, however, the team barely escapes as Cobalt blows up the Kremlin, sending the Russian government into a frenzy as they take the attack as an undeclared act of war from the United States. After their escape, Hunt learns that the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) has been dissolved in response to the Kremlin attack and that any retaliation against Cobalt will have to be done with the help of the United States government. Aided by an analyst named Brandt (Jeremy Renner), Hunt and his team try to locate Cobalt and stop his plan to start a nuclear war.

Those of you who have been reading me for a while will know that I drafted a trailer breakdown for this film back in June 2011. At the time, I was moderately excited to see another addition to this franchise, but I wondered about the reasoning behind bringing it back to the big screen. After a five year absence, Mission: Impossible III seems like a distant - and entirely forgettable - memory, so despite the fact that all three previous films have fared well monetarily, I didn't really see the reason for creating another installment.

That being said, I have to say I was thoroughly surprised when the film opened to spectacular reviews. It currently holds a 93% approval rating on Rottentomatoes.com, which offers the following critical consensus:

Stylish, fast-paced, and loaded with gripping set pieces, the fourth Mission: Impossible is big-budget popcorn entertainment that really works.

In that regard, I suppose Ghost Protocol is a success. I found myself thoroughly entertained by the visual effects and the non-stop action, but is that all it takes to make a good movie?

Generally, I'd say the answer is no. It takes a number of factors to create a great movie, but in my own personal opinion, the two biggest factors are the screenplay and the level of acting within any given film. Let's start with Ghost Protocol's screenplay, shall we? While it's not necessarily offering anything all that brilliant, we do get a relatively entertaining story that adds a few twists and turns to keep the audience guessing. Although we all can readily assume how the story will probably end, the journey to reach our final destination is bumpy and loaded with excitement, which is exactly what the doctor ordered for a film like this. Sure, it's not a brilliant storyline, and it's not bringing anything new to the table, but there's something steady and familiar about this one that makes it all the more endearing. Had the screenwriters attempted to break the mold, they may not have been as successful. Instead, they merely bent the mold here and there to create something a little bit different, and I thought it worked splendidly.

The acting in the film also isn't all that spectacular, but it works within the constructs of an action film in the 21st century. Cruise brings the same character we've seen three times before, and although he's still the film's centerpiece, I feel like he does drop back a little bit and lets his supporting cast shine from time to time. That was always one of my issues with the previous Mission: Impossible films: they always seemed like Cruise-centric flicks that spiraled into drivel rather quickly. This time, however, there's a better combination of personalities, and each is given their chance to strut their stuff. Patton is very good as our main female lead, and although her character isn't given much depth, she does well with what she has. Pegg serves up enough comic relief to keep the film moving along. Renner is the revelation in the film, bringing his high-caliber acting skills to this franchise and offering a great foil to Cruise's Hunt. We also get a good performance from Nyqvist, who I recognized from the Swedish Millennium trilogy, which starts with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Also be on the lookout for a couple of cameos and familiar faces along the way.

One of the questions I posed in my trailer breakdown for Ghost Protocol was whether or not Brad Bird would be able to direct a successful live-action film. Before this, he had only directed animated films, so to make his live-action debut with such a storied franchise couldn't have been easy. Suffice it to say, I do think he's created the best Mission: Impossible film to date - although that's not saying a whole lot considering the caliber of the three previous films - so for that, he should be applauded. At the end of the day, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is a fun film that's sure to keep you entertained. Just don't try to over-think it.

Movie Review Summary
Grade: B+
1.5 Thumbs Up

Trailer Breakdown: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL

It's been five years since the last Mission: Impossible film hit theaters, but Hollywood has decided to bring the franchise back to the big screen with Tom Cruise reprising his role as the lead Ethan Hunt. He'll be surrounded by an impressive cast, so I'd say we could be looking at the makings of an interesting return to the franchise. The film's first trailer was released this week with the opening of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and I thought I'd break it down for you and give you the skinny on what we should probably expect. Below is the trailer, and after the jump, you'll see my breakdown. Enjoy!

And now for the questions that entered my mind while watching the trailer:

1) What is Ghost Protocol?
Because it's the film's subtitle, it must play a relatively important part within the film itself. I know that there was never going to be an explanation within the actual trailer, but Tom Wilkinson's mention of it makes me a little more intrigued to find out exactly what this "Ghost Protocol" may be.

2) The trailer sets this film up to be extremely fast-paced. Will it deliver on that promise?
For much of the trailer, we get to see a number of sequences of intense action scenes that will hopefully stay off the cutting room floor once the final product is released. Now, I know that the Mission: Impossible series is an action-oriented franchise, but in the past three films, I can't really remember anything truly stellar about the level of action that makes them stand above similar films. In a way, they're just not all that memorable. Still, there's no reason that Ghost Protocol won't change that standard. They even managed to throw in a big-time effect at the end of the trailer, like I mentioned all action film trailers do in my breakdown of Fast Five.

3) What was the reasoning behind bringing this franchise back to theaters?
I know that money was definitely a driving factor in bringing Mission: Impossible back to the big screen, especially considering that the three previous films all surpassed the $100 million mark to be considered "blockbuster" films. That being said, the most recent installment in 2006 spotted the lowest domestic gross of the franchise. Add in the fact that Tom Cruise has had a bit of a shaky personal image in the past few years, then you could start to question the reasoning for bringing this one back.

4) On that note, is Cruise still right for this role?
It'd be tough for Cruise not to come back to a franchise he dominated for ten years, and had he not been asked to return, there would have been quite an uproar from fans. That being said, I simply wonder if he's a little too seasoned to be playing Ethan Hunt yet again. And while I don't think his personal image is as scared as it was a few years ago, I'm pretty sure there's still a good number of people who would avoid this film just because he's starring in it. I just don't know whether Tom Cruise has the star power to draw a massive audience anymore. I personally think he's a great actor (he's nabbed wins in my personal "Best of" awards in 2004 and 2008), but his portrayal of Ethan Hunt was never one of my favorite of his roles. Still, it'd be strange not to see him in the film, so I guess we'll have to live with it.

5) Can the all-star cast around Cruise help give this series a fresh breath of air?
All that being said about Tom Cruise, I'd have to say that whoever was in charge of casting did a great job with this one. The aforementioned Wilkinson brings some serious acting chops to the film. Bringing back Simon Pegg is a huge plus as he's sure to bring some much-needed comic relief to the screen. The addition of the beautiful Paula Patton also brings a level of grace to the screen that I'm not sure the Mission: Impossible franchise has had to date. However, the biggest signing has to be of Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner, who in the past two years has proven himself twice over that he has the potential to be a great actor. Throwing him into the mix with a legend like Tom Cruise should play out very well, and I'm definitely excited to see Renner delve more into the action side of things.

6) Can director Brad Bird succeed in making this live-action film?
Before this film, all of Brad Bird's previous films have been of the animated nature. His debut feature film was 1999's The Iron Giant, and he followed that up with the Pixar endeavors The Incredibles and Ratatouille. He hasn't directed a movie since that 2007 film, so I'm interested to see how his creative tendencies will translate to the live-action format. The fact that he helmed The Incredibles is a little reassuring, considering that was an action-packed film despite being animated. Still, I think the jury has to remain out until the final product can hit theaters.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol will hit U.S. theaters on December 16, 2011.