Should you choose to read this review, heads up that it's no slam dunk

Rating: 6/10 (26 December 2011)

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol (2011)
There's no question this is a well edited, dynamically filmed movie. And the personalities are important--the characters, and the actors, too, for fans (for example) of Tom Cruise.
It's a great ride, a great thrill ride, but I don't think it's a great movie by any measure--unless relentless chasing and twisting from the enemy is the goal. The special effects are good--some of the scenes with Cruise climbing the tallest building in the world with some magic sticky gloves are flawless--and the normal scenes in gritty places ground these and give it all context.
The plot, for what it's worth, is sort of predictable, over the top stuff--the bad guy (and girl) is going to blow up the world, more or less, unless the good guys (and girls) can stop it in time. And in good classic fashion, the clock is clicking from the get go--something like 36 hours to doomsday.
What does the movie lack? Well, originality is one. That's not something to brush off--a movie like Iron Man or even (going back in time here) Raiders of the Lost Ark have an element of the fantastic that makes them unique. Among the supposedly grounded movies that still play games with reality, like the recent James Bond or Jason Bourne films, you still feel like "Mission Impossible" is stuck in some kind of re-tread rut.
The other drawback is characters. Alright, they are buddies, and they have a camaraderie that's great, and some good come-backs. Nothing is terrible. Still, the good guys are formulaic types--the one thing that keeps you interested in them, as characters, is the one addition who is unknown and a wild card. The bad guys are pretty boring, unfortunately, and this might be the killer problem overall. The bad guy has to be someone you really hate, someone you think is distinctive in their evilness, someone that makes you perk up and watch. Think of the evil-doers in "Die Hard" or "Spider Man" or "Batman" (take your pick).
Director Brad Bird pulled off some kind of magical coup with "The Incredibles" and you can actually feel the lingering effects here--the great small talk as the world is going to pieces, the believable normal people facing huge odds. And that's good. Tom Cruise is up to his usual form, or actually he's more buff than ever, but he acts in the usual way, which I find a little plain but it isn't bad. See the first, second, or third version of this series (yes, this is the fourth with Cruise), or see "Minority Report" from the same era, and you'll know what I mean.
Anyway, I enjoyed the movie, saw it on the big screen with good sound, and was taken in by the wow of it all. I just wish I was also made to care a little, to identify with someone, to take it further than a joy ride.