A Film Obsessive's Review of "Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol"

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2011)

Let's start this off by saying that I'm reviewing "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" with my fan-boy goggles firmly on. I went and saw it at the advanced screening on Wednesday the 14th of December 2011 at Hoyts cinemas, Frankston in their EXTREME Screen. I am a huge fan of the Mission: Impossible franchise, except for MI2... Let's just pretend that John Woo never tainted the series with his over-stylized, horribly geographically incorrect and bordering on racist film.
But MI2 is not the reason why we're here! After the series reclaimed it's original panache with J.J. Abrams' MI3, we're now treated with "Mission: Impossible (4) - Ghost Protocol." I put the number four in brackets because whilst this is the fourth film in the series, they've decided to go against the numbering in the film titles and give it a flashy new name with "Ghost Protocol."
The latest adventure see's Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) in his biggest and nigh-on impossible mission to date. The film kicks off with Agent Hanaway (Josh Holloway from "Lost") murdered by an attractive assassin named Sabine Moreau (Lea Sydoux) for a document containing Russian nuclear missile codes, which she intends to sell to a terrorist known only as "Cobalt" (Michael Nyqvist from "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" series).
Hunt and his team are sent into the Kremlin to retrieve files identifying Cobalt and this ensues in a very cool, but tense scene in which Hunt and Benjy Dunn (Simon Pegg) hide behind a cloaking sheet as they infiltrate the Kremlin archives. But alas Cobalt was there already and he sets off a bomb in the Kremlin, framing Hunt and his team as the perpetrators. To the Russians, this is an undeclared act of war by the United States and the IMF is shut down and "Ghost Protocol" is initiated, which basically means the entire agency is disavowed.
From here on in, Hunt and his team are tasked with catching Cobalt, stopping his plans of world destruction and clearing their names. All in a day's work for Ethan Hunt!
They travel from Russia, to India, to Dubai where Hunt must perform a death defying climb on the outside of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. Tom Cruise actually did this crazy stunt! He does all his own stunts and he's nearly 50 years old!!! Actors of today need to take a lesson or two from Mr. Cruise, no need for CGI just go out there and do it for real! It looks much more authentic and real if you actually do a stunt, rather than jump in front of a green screen. Hence why director Brad Bird chose to shoot the film in IMAX, not 3D on Tom Cruise's insistence. Bird says "It truly immerses the audience. It's really bright, it's really sharp. Big, bright images: they are worth a lot. If your star is going to climb up the outside of a building for real, then I kinda feel as a director, you have a duty to show it."
Ghost Protocol is Brad Bird's live action directorial debut, with his previous films being animations (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant & Ratatouille). And I must say, he did a bloody fantastic job! I love my movies big and stylish, and Bird delivered on both these fronts. The action is big and stylish, but not stupidly over the top like in John Woo's films. Yet still realistic, but not destroyed by shaky camera like in a Paul Greengrass film. This is a beautiful movie, the cinematography is utterly gorgeous, adding to the slick and stylish nature of the film.
My only two criticisms of Ghost Protocol are;
Whilst the film has a bad guy, he isn't really an arch-enemy for Hunt like Phillip Seymore- Hoffman was in MI3. Michael Nyqvist is a brilliant actor, and the writers could've done so much more with his character, instead of killing him off, he could've returned in another Mission film to make life even more difficult for Tom Cruise. But I guess that wouldn't have worked as each film is directed by a different director who brings their own style to the series, so it could've impeded too much on the next director's choices in how he directs the film (If there is a next one, that is...).
The second is the nuclear missile which Ethan Hunt stops moments before it crashes into San Francisco. It would've exploded before it got to where it was when Hunt hit the disarm button. Typically, nuclear missiles are air-burst weapons, which means they actually explode in the air above the target. This is to increase the effectiveness of the explosion and push the nuclear blast further so that it is not obstructed by things such as large, heavy buildings. And come on, the missile is moments from collision! Talk about last minute much?
To sum up, Ghost Protocol has made me remember why I go to the cinemas to see movies and why I want to be a director. Movies are about entertainment and escapism, and if you can keep an audience captivated for 133 minutes you've done your job. And that is exactly what Brad Bird has done with "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol". He transported me for 133 minutes into the world of Ethan Hunt and his team, where the mission is bigger than ever, and the stakes are higher than ever! I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would go and see it again and again and again!
My rating for "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" is: 9.5/10
The link below is to my blog where the original review can be found: http://joshwahr.blogspot.com