Adam Collins posted on December 20, 2011 09:42
The Mission: Impossible franchise is an odd one. The first movie was directed by Brian De Palma and scored by Danny Elfman. Then, the second one was directed by John Woo and scored by Hans Zimmer. The last one was directed by J.J. Abrams and scored by Michael Giacchino. And now, for the latest one, Brad Bird makes his live-action directorial debut. You have probably seen his other works: The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. They are all great films, but they are nothing like the M: I films. Giacchino returns to score. Also, only one writer has returned, Robert Towne. He wrote the first two. I told you it was weird.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (M:I4 from here on) starts off with an agent (Josh Holloway, Lost) being gunned down. Then, it cuts to a new agent, Jane (Paula Patton, Precious) and Benji (Simon Pegg, M:I3) breaking someone out of a prison. That someone is none other than Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). They are given a new mission, which goes 
horribly wrong causing the entire IMF to be disavowed. Now, hunted by Russian agents for a crime they did not commit, the band of survivors must clear their names, their agency’s name, and stop a nuclear war. Sounds like The A-Team. Right? The A-Team could only hope to be this awesome.
M:I4 was filmed on location in Dubai, Prague, Moscow and Mumbai. That is impressive, and expensive. Most of the establishing shots of the cities are done in the IMAX format. Let me tell you, I forgot how awesome the IMAX theater can be. I have not been in it since Iron Man 2. But this time, it is worth the extra expense. The film as a whole is amazing. I loved the fact that for the first time in franchise history, the point of the plot is NOT a mole in the agency. It was quite refreshing. That plot was done very well back in 1995 with GoldenEye. It has since been repeated to death in the first three M:I films, countless seasons of 24, the Get Smart film, and even Johnny English.
The action scenes are amazing in both scope and filming. They are bit ridiculous, but they maintain the ridiculousness throughout the movie. They are wholly unbelievable, but they work. This is cinema, the land of “suspension of disbelief.” Then, there are the shots themselves. The movie trailer only shows the tip of the iceberg. Some of the action set pieces are just awe-inspiring. I was very worried that Brad Bird was not going to be able to handle the action required to up the ante set by Abrams, but Bird came to bat. He hit a homerun.
Then, you have the cast. Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg reprise their roles. Sadly, John Rhys Meyers does not join them. Ving Rhames and Michelle Monaghan both have cameos. As I already mentioned, Paula Patton joins as an IMF agent. Her character adds a nice feminine touch to the testosterone filled cast. Then, you add in Hollywood’s go-to-action-star Jeremy Renner as yet another IMF agent. Renner is already taking over the Bourne franchise from Matt Damon and playing Hawkeye in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. Why not add Mission: Impossible to the mix?
On the bad guy side of the coin, Michael Nyqvist makes his American film debut after making waves in the Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. His villain is perfect for this film. He’s not as sinister as Phillip Seymour Hoffman from M:I3, but he’ll do. One of his accomplices is played by Anil Kapoor, who was the game show host in 2009’s Best Picture Slumdog Millionaire. When he first appears on screen, I was a bit shocked, yet he plays his part very well.
As I was leaving the theater, I decided that M:I4 is the best Mission: Impossible film to date. I thought that after the dismal M:I2 that the franchise might be dead. Then, after the less than stellar box office take of M:I3 (though I crowned that best back then), I thought it was dead for sure. Now, I cannot wait for the fifth. I would love to see a film that ties all of them together. M:I4 could serve as a passing of the torch film of sorts.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is only out in IMAX at this time. So, if you feel like wading through all the children running amok at Ronnies, I would advise it. If not, it will open on Friday in non-IMAX format. I highly recommend this to the action fan, Tom Cruise fan, IMAX fan, or just the movie aficionado looking to not waste their money. This is one of my favorite films of the year, and definitely my favorite of the action genre.
RATING: 9/10