Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
MI4 is a very entertaining follow up to the third film
and fits in nicely with that film.
With complex action set pieces, the film moves along at a break-neck
speed. MI4 is a sharp action movie that
I enjoyed immensely. It has a lot of
energy and humor.
Brad
Bird stepped up to the plate, as this is his first live action film. Bird came from the animation field, but
really showed that he has the potential to be a great action director. Because this is his first live film, his
distinct style isn’t really present.
His movie style clearly is set in the same technique as producer
J.J. Abrams’ stuff. I don’t have a problem with that either,
because Abrams is a good director to follow.
Bird does a good job keeping the camera still
and showing us the action. Many
seasoned directors could learn a thing or two from him. He keeps things moving without that many
dull scenes.
Tom
Cruise is pretty much the same character as he was in the last three
movies. However, like third film,
Cruise takes a side seat to the rest of the IMF team. I always felt the remake MI series should always be a team effort
just like the old TV series. I think
it was good for Cruise to let the other characters in the movie get some good
screen time, unlike the first two movies.
While I’ve never been a fan of Cruise the
person, he handles himself extremely well.
The man runs like there’s no tomorrow.
There is a certain scene at the very end that he acted pretty well in,
which I won’t spoil.
Speaking of the rest of the IMF team, Simon
Pegg is having a lot of fun playing the gadget man, and it reminds me of his
role as Scotty. This time around, he
gets to play out in the field. So, they
expanded his role.
Did I mention how much I found
Paula Patton to be extremely
sexy? She is one butt-kicking female
agent that is very convincing in that role.
She has a great moment seducing a media mogul from India that is very
funny.
Jeremy
Renner is clearly set up as a potential replacement for Ethan Hunt.
One of the best set pieces has to be the
entire Dubai section of the film. Not
only does Ethan climb a skyscraper, but he also chases a guy through a
sandstorm on foot and in a car.
There are layers upon layers of problems for
the team to deal with. And, that was my
favorite part about the movie.
The other aspect I really dug about the movie
is the way it handles the continuity within the franchise. There are unaccredited cameos from other
established characters from the franchise that I had no idea were going to show
up. I also like that they at least
talked about a certain issue that Ethan had at the end of the last movie
involving a certain person. And, they
handled it in a touching manner.
Michael
Giacchino has returned to compose the film music, and his music is
much better than his first installment (part III). He uses a few themes from part III, but most of the music is
fresh for the new movie. It is fast
paced and bombastic, but quiet in some parts.
I also like Giacchino’s new version of IM theme, which is different than
the one used in the third. I loved this
score a lot.
I only have two issues with the movie. One, the villains are a little weaker in
this story than the other films. The
motives are bit weaker and they don’t have the presence the other villains in
the series had. Two, I wanted more from
the Russian secret police chasing after Ethan.
There needed to be more for them to do in the story.
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is a very
good action movie with a lot of great scenes going for it. With its lighter tone, the movie doesn’t
seem like a burden with its over 2 hour running time. Tom Cruise isn’t annoying and places his ego aside to let the
other actors shine in the movie.
Despite a few minor flaws, it is a very good follow-up to the third
movie.
Grade:
B+