Country:
USA
Starring:
Tom Cruise
Paula Patton
Simon Pegg
Jeremy Renner
Michael Nyqvist
Josh Holloway
Directed By:
Brad Bird
Synopsis:
Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is back on the grind. The movie opens as his newly appointed team breaks him out of prison, to give him a new appointment to break into the Kremlin and steal a file about a nuclear terrorist nicknamed Cobalt (Nyqvist). The mission turns out not-so-good and the team ends up stranded, officially dismantled and with one goal left. Find the guy wherever he might be and stop him.
Given that Hollywood is a wasteland of tired, rehashed movies that never made that much money to begin with, some franchises are less painful than others, whenever they're coming back. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE was a television series in the seventies, then it died for a decade or two. But it was reborn from its ashes in 1996 with a very good movie from Brian De Palma, featuring Tom Cruise and it never really died again since. Every four or five years, Ethan Hunt digs his way back to the silver screen and offers us another two hours of Tom Cruise beating up foreigners who hate his freedom in the most kickass, over-the-top possible way. GHOST PROTOCOL is the fourth movie in sixteen years.
What does it have to offers the other movies didn't?
Well, that's a harder question to answer than it seems. GHOST PROTOCOL is the movie of the series that looks the most like Brian De Palma's original, but it's not saying much. Because it's not that close to the original in terms of quality. It's directed by Brad Bird, who's known for his involvement with animation movies. The last movie he directed was RATATOUILLE in 2007 and before that, the much vaunted IRON GIANT in 1999. It shows. What shows? Bird doesn't seem to know what he's doing. In fact, he seems to be going through the motions as somebody else is calling the shots. The movie doesn't offer anything new or groundbreaking. Its use of the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE concept of cool gadgets, ridiculous fight scenes and international intrigues is safe, borderline complacent. Bird's biggest merit is to have left aside that goddamn shaky cam style and went for a classic action shoot.
The interest of GHOST PROTOCOL for me, lied in the clash of superstars on screen. Tom Cruise is an unbelievable stuntman, but he's very limited in the acting department. Jeremy Renner (who's have one hell of a breakout year), is leagues ahead of him in acting, but doesn't flow from one frame to another like Cruise, who's arguably the best at it since Buster Keaton. Whenever he doesn't have to act seriously, Tom Cruise can deliver. Paula Patton is an interesting addition. On top of being drop dead gorgeous, she has something womanly about her. You know the "not-necessarily-craving-eternal-youth" vibe? She looks unique and strong and really tears the screen up, despite having a small and restraining part. Give that lady her shot at leading. She's intriguing. Oh and there's Josh Holloway too, who flies across the screen like a shooting star. The man became a personal favorite from watching LOST. He has superstar potential.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL has a lot going, on screen and off screen. It's a fun, competent movie but it doesn't risk anything to help me suspend my disbelief and I consider myself a very good audience in that regards. Of course there are spectacular scenes, but all the movies in the franchise do. It's fast paced and it's easy to digest, but I viewed the movie in a social situation and after the credit rolled, none of us were wowed or bored or ticked off. We weren't feeling anything special. What could've been better? The stunt choreography maybe. Or a bolder script that doesn't play in anything (or in too much) of what MISSION IMPOSSIBLE has been in the past. GHOST PROTOCOL is competent, has done good at the box office and will do good in rental, but it's an utilitarian movie that will not withstand the test of time and won't show up in too many movie collections.
It's not bad, but it's not great. Not even good. It just...happened?
SCORE: 68%
What does it have to offers the other movies didn't?
Well, that's a harder question to answer than it seems. GHOST PROTOCOL is the movie of the series that looks the most like Brian De Palma's original, but it's not saying much. Because it's not that close to the original in terms of quality. It's directed by Brad Bird, who's known for his involvement with animation movies. The last movie he directed was RATATOUILLE in 2007 and before that, the much vaunted IRON GIANT in 1999. It shows. What shows? Bird doesn't seem to know what he's doing. In fact, he seems to be going through the motions as somebody else is calling the shots. The movie doesn't offer anything new or groundbreaking. Its use of the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE concept of cool gadgets, ridiculous fight scenes and international intrigues is safe, borderline complacent. Bird's biggest merit is to have left aside that goddamn shaky cam style and went for a classic action shoot.
The interest of GHOST PROTOCOL for me, lied in the clash of superstars on screen. Tom Cruise is an unbelievable stuntman, but he's very limited in the acting department. Jeremy Renner (who's have one hell of a breakout year), is leagues ahead of him in acting, but doesn't flow from one frame to another like Cruise, who's arguably the best at it since Buster Keaton. Whenever he doesn't have to act seriously, Tom Cruise can deliver. Paula Patton is an interesting addition. On top of being drop dead gorgeous, she has something womanly about her. You know the "not-necessarily-craving-eternal-youth" vibe? She looks unique and strong and really tears the screen up, despite having a small and restraining part. Give that lady her shot at leading. She's intriguing. Oh and there's Josh Holloway too, who flies across the screen like a shooting star. The man became a personal favorite from watching LOST. He has superstar potential.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL has a lot going, on screen and off screen. It's a fun, competent movie but it doesn't risk anything to help me suspend my disbelief and I consider myself a very good audience in that regards. Of course there are spectacular scenes, but all the movies in the franchise do. It's fast paced and it's easy to digest, but I viewed the movie in a social situation and after the credit rolled, none of us were wowed or bored or ticked off. We weren't feeling anything special. What could've been better? The stunt choreography maybe. Or a bolder script that doesn't play in anything (or in too much) of what MISSION IMPOSSIBLE has been in the past. GHOST PROTOCOL is competent, has done good at the box office and will do good in rental, but it's an utilitarian movie that will not withstand the test of time and won't show up in too many movie collections.
It's not bad, but it's not great. Not even good. It just...happened?
SCORE: 68%