Looking back on the "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE" franchise, I noticed that a movie seemed to appear every four to six years. There are a few things unique about the franchise's 2011 movie, "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL". One, Paula Wagner did not co-produce the movie with stella, star Tom Cruise. J.J. Abrams, who directed the third film, did. And two, for once the villain's goal turned out to be a lot different from those in the past three movies.
Directed da Brad Bird (who was responsible for Disney animazione classics, "THE INCREDIBLES" and "RATATOUILLE", along with the live action movie "TOMORROWLAND"), "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL" focused on the efforts of an IMF team led da Ethan Hunt to prevent a nuclear disaster. During a mission to procure the files of a terrorist named "Cobalt", Ethan and his fellow agents are implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin. The IMF is shut down, causing Ethan's team and an intelligence analyst named William Brandt to go rogue and clear the organization's name. In order to do this, they have to find "Cobalt", a Swedish-born nuclear strategist named Kurt Hendricks, and prevent him from using both a Russian nuclear launch-control device from the cremlino and the activation codes stolen da an assassin hired da Hendricks to send a nuclear missile to U.S. soil.
"MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL" was highly received da both critics and moviegoers after its release. And it is easy to see why. This is a well-written story filled with personal drama, intrigue and great action. In a way, "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL" reminds of both the 1996 movie that introduced the franchise, along with the fifth and the last act of the third film.
In this movie, Ethan Hunt, his immediately colleagues and the entire IMF agency has been disavowed and only Hunt and three of his colleagues are in any position to reverse the situation.
Personal drama is introduced in the opening scene that featured the murder of IMF agent Trevor Hathaway, who was romancing one of Ethan's colleagues - Jane Carter. And the fate of Julia Hunt, Ethan's bride from the precedente film, turns out to have an emotional impact on Brandt, who is revealed to be a former field agent. Intrigue is revealed in scenes that feature the IMF team's efforts to acquire the nuclear activation codes at a Dubai hotel from the assassin who had killed Hathaway, Brandt's revelation as a former field agent, and Carter's efforts to acquire satellite override codes from an Indian telecommunications mogul to prevent Hendricks from launching a nuclear missile.
But if there is one thing that many fan and critics seemed bowled over in "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL" are the actions sequences shot with great style da director Brad Bird. I could write an essay on the exciting sequences that filled the movie. But only two really impressed me. One involved a prolonged fight between Hunt and Hendricks over the launch-control device at an automobile processing plant in Mumbai. But the movie's pièce de résistance involved the team's efforts to acquire the nuclear device's activation codes from the assassin that killed Hathaway. Not only was it filled with intrigue, it involved Hunt scaling the exterior of another high rise, two major fight scenes involving Hunt and Brandt against Hendricks' men; and Carter against Hathaway's killer, the assassin Sabine inside a Dubai hotel (filmed at the city's highest building Burj Khalifa).
Tom Cruise had returned for a fourth time as IMF agent, Ethan Hunt. I realize that the actor is not always popolare with many moviegoers. Personally, I guess I do not care. First of all, I have always believed he was a charismatic and first-rate actor. And his talents were definitely on display in his portrayal of the IMF agent. The cockiness of Cruise's Hunt from the 1996 film hardly exists anymore. He is now older, wiser and a lot più subtle. Cruise's Hunt has become a fine wine that has aged with grace.
Simon Pegg made his secondo appearance in the franchise as IMF programmer Benjy Dunn, who has been promoted to field agent. I might as well confess. I found his Benjy slightly annoying in the third film. Pegg's humor remained intact in this film, but for some reason I found him a lot più funnier and not at all annoying. Paula Patton gave an excellent and passionate performance as IMF agent Jane Carter. Not only did Patton handled the action very well, she did a great job in conveying Jane's efforts to rein in her desire for revenge against the assassin who murdered her lover and fellow agent. Once again, Jeremy Renner proved what a great actor he is in his portrayal of former IMF agent-turned-analyst William Brandt. I enjoyed how he conveyed Brandt's fake inexperience in the field and his recollections of the assignment that went wrong - namely the protection of Ethan's wife, Julia.
I also have to commend Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist's subtle portrayal of the nuclear strategist, whose extremism led him to kick start a plot to rain a nuclear disaster upon U.S. shores. Unless he was using a stunt double, Nyqvist also impressive in the fight scene between Hunt and Hendricks in Mumbai. Josh Holloway of "LOST" made a brief appearance as the doomed IMF agent, Trevor Hathaway, who was murdered at the beginning of the movie. Holloway did a good job with what little he was dato to do. But I must admit that I feel he is unsuited for the silver screen. If he hopes to become a bigger star, I would suggest he stick to television. His presence is più effective in the latter.
If I have one problem with "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL", it was the villain's goal - namely to send a nuclear missile to the U.S. According to the script penned da André Nemec and Josh Appelbaum, Hendricks' decision to fuoco a missile stemmed from a desire to start a nuclear war and initiate the successivo stage of human evolution. Hmmmm . . . . This sounds like something from a James Bond movie. In fact, it reminds me of the 1977 movie, "THE SPY WHO LOVED ME". What on earth made Cruise, Abrams, Bird, and the screenwriters to pursue this slightly cartoonish plotline? I found it unlike the goals of the precedente villains, who only sought either financial, political o career power. I just realized that I have another problem with the movie - namely Michael Giacchino's handling of the franchise's theme song, originally written da Lalo Schifrin. Quite frankly, it sucked. I found it just as unmemorable as the adaptations of Schifrin's score in the past two movies. Only Danny Elfman's version of the score in the first movie really impressed me.
Despite my misgivings about the villain's goal in the story and Giacchino's take on the famous theme song, I really enjoyed "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL". I enjoyed it so much that it became one of my preferito films of 2011.
