'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' Review
Reflection- Believe it or not, but Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol was actually the first Mission: Impossible I saw in theaters. When it came out in December of 2011, I had never seen one. Therefore, I wound up marathoning them all at home with family before heading out to see Ghost Protocol. From that day on, I've been a huge fan of the franchise...
Review- Blamed for a terrorist attack on the Kremlin, Ethan Hunt and the entire IMF agency are disavowed by the U.S. government while the president initiates the Ghost Protocol. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol then accompanies Hunt and his team as they're forced to go off the grid and clear the agency's name by preventing another attack.
As the fourth franchise installment, Ghost Protocol carried on the series' trend of enlisting fresh blood to direct. In this scenario, Brad Bird was brought up to the blockbuster big leagues having previously only directed animated films (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille). For his live action debut, Bird made one hell of an impression though... It's been seven years and many still consider Ghost Protocol to be their favorite in the franchise for good reason. This isn't all too surprising when you consider the exceptional work already under his belt at the time, but it goes to show that it's possible to stick the landing while making the leap to live action from an extensive background in animation.
Like those who came before him, Bird understands the inner workings of this franchise, so he amplifies those elements while offering his own unique style and sensibility as a filmmaker. Working with a screenplay penned by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, Bird ensures the action is propulsive with a never-ending sense of urgency. It moves at a quick pace, but that's totally in the film's favor because the two hours and twelve minutes fly by in the blink of an eye.
The action's always on the move in conjunction with the plot. It does so without feeling rushed because you're entirely invested in the outcome as an extension of caring for the characters. You can feel the weight of the world on their shoulders because Bird and his crew do an exceptional job at communicating the dire circumstances facing this team.
This installment also has some of the franchise's niftiest gadgets and gizmos, but there's a recurring bit where their devices malfunction mid-mission. In turn, the set pieces are all the more enthralling due to the uncertain reliability of the team's gear. On occasion, action flicks can be bogged down by mundane exposition on rewatch, but even the exposition in Ghost Protocol is quite exciting after all this time! The demonstrations of the tech are handled in such a way that they're interesting to watch as well as being informative. You're simultaneously wowed by the tools at the team's disposal and intrigued at discovering exactly how they function. It's a tricky balance, but Bird pulls it off.
For Cruise's ludicrous stunt, this time around he decided to actually scale the world's tallest structure (2,717 feet tall). The Burj Khalifa sequence still ranks among the series' strongest set pieces because Bird and his crew film it in such a way that it feels like you're hanging onto the skyscraper with Cruise. While Cruise himself may have been suspended by some cables while filming, Hunt is free climbing the hotel with defective adhesive gloves. There's an impending sense of dread that he could fall at any moment, and he actually does a few times only to get a hold moments before a fatal plummet... By then, your heart's leapt out of your chest and the hairs on your arm are firmly at attention.
And I haven't even properly recognized the wonderful work from cinematographer Robert Elswit, editor Paul Hirsch, composer Michael Giacchino, the sound designers, production designers, visual effects artists, and stunt coordinators. It still perplexes me that no entry in this franchise has at least been recognized with an Oscar nomination in the technical categories because the crew does such exceptional work here, proving to be among the best in their respective fields. I suppose it could be the blockbuster stigma, but Transformers: Dark of the Moon was nominated over this for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects... While I'll admit to enjoying that film more than most, that's undeniably one of the Academy's worst cardinal sins... Right next to La La Land losing out Best Picture after mistakenly being announced as the winner a year and a half ago. You can bet I'm still bitter about it too.
Another interesting aspect of Ghost Protocol is that it's much more of an ensemble piece than previous efforts. It's certainly still lead by Tom Cruise, but it fleshes out the supporting cast like no prior entry in the series and the mission requires an all-around team effort this time. Cruise is charming and cool in the role of Ethan Hunt as per usual, but he pushes himself even harder in regards to the physicality of his performance. He infamously does his own stunts and really put himself through the wringer on this one. By his side, Simon Pegg's Benji has a more prominent role than he did in Mission: Impossible III (providing most of the comedic relief) while Paula Patton and Jeremy Renner are the new recruits. Both Patton and Renner leave a favorable impression in regards to playing interesting allies, but only Renner has reprised his role in a later film thus far. Meanwhile, Michael Nyqvist's Hendricks is an antagonist with a strong screen presence, but ultimately lacks enough characterization or screentime to leave much of an impression.
It's a testament to the quality of Ghost Protocol that it still stands out in an action franchise that's as consistently entertaining as Mission: Impossible. Seven years later, and it's still clinging on as one of the series' best.
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