Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, reminds me of what going to the movies is all about - an escape into another world that provides you a chance to escape from your own. It is such a fast moving adventure that I had to look at my watch when it finally ended to make sure that it kept within the 1 1/2-hour limit of most movies. It clocked in at 3 minutes past that.
The movie starts off on a run (literally), when IMF agent Trevor Hanaway (Josh Holloway) is on the run from an agency in Budapest named Cobolt. When Trevor jumps from a building while being pursued, an tosses a small pellet to the ground below, which inflates into a full-bodied cushion - so he in turn can shoot back up the building at his pursuers - I knew this was going to be a different movie ride altogether.
In short, the plot is sweet, swift, and to the point. There is a lot happening to set things up on screen. But I was intrigued to find a villain like the one here, Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), wanting to just take over the world by simply blowing it up - one that reminded me a little of Sherlock Holmes and Austin Powers's villains all rolled into one. This villain however knows of the IMF team, and finds the best way to take care of them is to frame them for the bombing of the Kremlin, which means that the IMF team has to fight them off radar or be branded terrorists themselves; thus begins the Ghost Protocol...and their mission..."If They Choose To Accept it."
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| Elevator Not Working Again |
The THEY in this case is the initial team of Jane Carter (Paula Patton), the Beauty; Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), the Geek. This is prior to the Kremlin blowing up. Because initially they were after the codes for the nuclear weapons, but when they were unsuccessfully at acquiring them at the beginning of the movie (because Hendrick's team intervened), Hendricks decide to frame the IMF team to get them off his back. So the IMF team needed more men to hunt Hendricks - and they then acquired: Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), the Brains, from prison; and Brandt (Jeremy Renner), the Rookie - who is the connection with the audience. And as they pursue Hendricks and his team, they are also being pursued by the Russian officials who think they are responsible for the Kremlin explosion.
It is a cat-and-mouse-and-cheese game from then on.
I enjoyed the action, and special effects. There has been much talk about a scene high above the Burj Khalifa (world's tallest skyscraper), in Dubai. It is a fascinating scene, and trying to see where reality starts and special effects stops, is mind boggling. This scene sets the whole tone for the movie, because there is character development and banter that is both urgent but also funny. Tom Cruise has the ability to handle his team as a Mother Hen to a bunch of children who can get on his last nerve. He has to do all the dangerous deeds, and when any of his team is saddled with something daring, they bicker like toddlers at who will go, and while doing it, are scared as all-get-out. This is standard Tom Cruise mode - and I never get tired of it.
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Paula Patton as Jane - I have to say, is truly Tom's equal, and is unafraid of handling those tough assignments. I am glad to see her in a role like this, for it rounds off her acting resume quite well. I enjoyed her in Precious, as well as Jumping the Broom, and although it would be quite easy for her to blend her African American races in films, she stays unmistakably her heritage. She reminds me a little of Zoe Saldana or Thandie Newton (who ironically was in Mission Impossible II) - but her roles have mainly been more dramatic. It is obvious that she rounds out the diverse pallet - considering Ving Rhames isn't in this one (well almost). Although for Hollywood, an actress of Paula's caliber attracts a certain audience, and in an action adventure thriller of this nature (and others), these types blend in because the material doesn't demand much in the way of acting boundaries. With these women taking on more dramatic roles, their distinct personalities become more separated...Hollywood just need to get it to them.
As for the skyscraper scene - I was enthralled when Etan was scaling the outside of the building, but in the background you see a sand storm coming in...very slowly. I was like, "Now what is THAT all about?" but this movie is like an Indiana Jones / 007 adventure, where scenes are strung together like taffy. There are gadgets galore; from machines that can levitate you through magnetism, to instant hologram shades that can reflect images behind it without revealing the person behind it. There are actions scenes in state-or-the-art car garages where cars move around and are delivered like soda machines, and dead bodies are used as a distraction to underground gunfire. The director Brad Bird (of The Incredibles, and Ratatouille fame), knows how to frame action, and keep the action going whether it is verbal or physical.
This movie is great escapism, and I have heard the images pop even more in Imax (I'm glad it stayed away from a 3D-version). I look forward to the next installment - and while I finally see the aging of Tom Cruise, I'm glad his skills are timeless. This is one mission you should be willing to take...before it self-destructs...tick, tick, tick...
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