Scaling dizzying heights - not so impossible

Rating: 7/10 (23 December 2011)

Brian De Palma revamped the TV series from the 60s by adding complexity, conspiracy and some revolutionary action. Four years later, John Woo used skillful stunts to showcase some great action that overshadowed whatever Chimera was all about. J.J. Abrams then directed the weakest film which mostly dealt with explosions on a bridge and Tom Cruise jumping off a building. The mission of continuity has now been passed down to Brad Bird ('The Incredibles', 'Ratatouille'), who now ventures into the real world from Pixar's nest, to give us a semblance of the franchise's trait of an easily decipherable plot that basically fills the void between various action sequences. With little to offer in its characters, emotions or complexity, 'Ghost Protocol' simply provides astounding action and thrills with the Mission Force having to travel the world in pursuit of a mad scientist who seeks nuclear Armageddon. What made this mission almost impossible, was the Burj Khalifa in Dubai..... almost.
Following a chaotic jail-break sequence, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) reunites with Benji (Simon Pegg) and the vigilante agent Jane Carter (Paula Patton) in Moscow where they are informed of their mission to secure the launch codes to nuclear warheads from the vault in the Kremlin. Upon gaining a conniving entry into the vault room, Ethan and Benji utilize a hi- tech flexible screen that projects the background in real time and space through a camera that is constantly updated through an Ipad App. There is dead silence during the scene and you cannot help getting absorbed by this gizmo's magic. Unfortunately, the scientist Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) steps up, quickly stealing the codes and planting a bomb at the Kremlin. Ethan's team is then blamed for the explosion and the President was forced to disband the Mission Force, thus activating Ghost Protocol. Thereafter, Hunt's mission is to trace Hendricks and prevent him from activating the launch sequence that would trigger a global nuclear war. Supposedly, his team was to accomplish this without any resources, back up, plan or hide-out. However, they did manage to travel half the world in private jets and concept cars, using 22nd century gadgets and an unlimited supply of cash to book for indulgence. Speaking of which, their next phase takes us to Dubai. Before they can intercept a deal involving nuclear codes and diamonds, Ethan had to gain access to the Burj Khalifa's server room – from the outside. This sequence is by far, the best IMAX experience one can get enthralled by. As Tom Cruise gradually ascends the dizzying heights of the 130th floor of the tallest structure with his electronic sticky gloves, the authenticity depicted by Robert Elswit's cinematography is what one truly stands in awe of. There isn't a moment when you would doubt Tom Cruise scaling the building for real. The malfunction of the gloves can literally give a weak heart an unrecoverable attack while others who are already on the edge of the seat, will fall off it when he swings across the breadth of the building to make it back. As pulses race, hearts pound and tension sweats out, one feels the satisfaction of having spent the extra bucks on IMAX just to enjoy those 20 odd minutes of cinematic excellence. The ensuing sandstorm turns out to be a thrilling follow-up, before the Force heads out to Bombay to obtain vital information from Brijnath (Anil Kapoor), whose satellite will be used by Hendricks for the nuclear attack. Hotter and more ravishing than even the BMW concept i8 is Paula Patton's seductive beauty that simply floors the horny Indian businessman. The film's climactic sequence is in a custom-built parking structure where Ethan accomplishes the mission in an impossible manner.
Simon Pegg provides the lighter side of this action-packed adventure with his occasional one-liners while Jeremy Renner's straight faced intensity gets easily ignored. Paula Patton is a stunner and a suitable bond girl, capable of nailing the sidekick down herself. Anil Kapoor in his cameo is flamboyant and over-the-top but is enjoyable nevertheless. Michael Nyqvist's weak characterization never permits him to come in true form as it has been common with this franchise. In all 4 movies, the villains have never been evil enough for us to remember them. Watching Hendricks as an international terrorist right after Jared Harris' Moriarty, is quite a downer. Tom Cruise enjoys his stunts, the cool cars and action in his career defining role as Ethan Hunt. Cruise doesn't portray the character's burden of loss as Daniel Craig successfully did as James Bond. That makes it difficult to get attached to Ethan Hunt even though he can scale the Burj Khalifa. There is a major element of imperfection about Hunt that will never make him a true hero. He will always be lost between being a Jason Bourne and James Bond.
Ghost Protocol thus leaves us with a feeling of muted satisfaction that wouldn't result in any major applause. The film's true achievement is going to be the audience reaction during the Dubai sequence but apart from that, the lack of an intriguing plot, insipid narrative between action sequences and a predictable climax sum up director Brad Bird's shortfalls for an otherwise enjoyable action thriller.

8.04 on a scale of 1-10.