Misión imposible 4: Protocolo fantasma

This MI production is well executed in every regard - A top cast of talented actors, direction and editing that earn a B+, and a plot and a list of film locations that are as interesting as any in the best Bond films.

The only thing preventing a 9 rating are a handful of scenes that could have been cut down for the sake of keeping the overall snappy pace intact...10 minutes shorter and this film would rate a 9 (A-).

Great fun and edge of your seat moments are dispensed throughout the film - if in-need of a MI, Bond, or Jason Bourne fix, I highly recommend MI Ghost Protocol and a bowl of popcorn.

"Mission Accomplished"...

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is the forth film in the franchise (though first not to acknowledge its place in the title) and sees Tom Cruise reprising the leading role of the globe-trotting super spy Ethan Hunt. Throughout the series Hunt has evolved from team player to lone wolf and now in Ghost Protocol he must become a true leader of a team that, for the first time, he didn't choose.

The film blasts off into overdrive from the minute the gates open and rarely lets up, it's one hell of a ride and there's enough action and gadgets here to please any fan of the spy film genre. The plot is fairly straightforward; the bad guy obtains the key to the ultimate weapon and plans to destroy the world with it. Hunt and his team, working without the support of the IMF, must stop him at all costs. It has enough twists and turns to keep you engaged but it never gets so complicated that you risk getting lost while you're immersed in the mind- blowing stunt sequences. One thing fans of the series will probably notice this time around is that Hunt is more 'human' when it comes to the action than he has been in most of the previous outings. Not everything goes to plan and if he gets hit or falls down it hurts. Sure he's still a super spy and can do things most mortal men would never try in a million years but the added vulnerability and consequences of those actions gone wrong lifts the film to a new level and is one of the reasons it kept me on board all the way to the end.

If there is anything about this film that let me down a little it was the absence of a true 'super villain' like we had in MI3. Yes there's a villain and yes he's dangerous but there is something missing. I guess I could put it this way – there is no, Joker to Hunt's Batman. In MI3 things get very personal between Hunt and Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and that jacked up the menace and intensity of the conflict to a level you'd expect to see in the ultimate villain but in M:I-GP that level of personal rivalry between protagonist and antagonist was a bit lacking. It's not that Michael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) didn't deliver a good performance in the few scenes where he interacts with Cruise, it's just that there are so few of these moments that he is, in many ways, almost like another one of his own henchmen and I mistook him for other characters on a few occasions.

Personally I felt a greater presence and sense of danger from the female assassin, Sabine Moreau (Lea Seydoux – Robin Hood), a beautiful yet malicious woman with a cold heartless gaze, completely devoid of compassion. In my opinion she'd have made a much better leading villain, especially as her actions do personally effect one of the team, but despite this little hiccup there is certainly more than enough obstacles to keep Hunt and his team busy and the audience well and truly entertained so this is really just nit-picking on my part.

After the relative disappointment of the second Mission: Impossible film, first time feature director J.J. Abrams (of TV's ALIAS and Lost fame) injected some much needed heart and soul into the third installment, expertly balancing a romantic subplot with the high-octane action sequences all fans demand of such a film. Although Abrams was not going to direct the fourth film it was reassuring to see that he was still involved as a producer so I had relatively high hopes that Ghost Protocol would live up to MI3 and I wasn't disappointed.

Like MI3 before it Ghost Protocol's director's chair is filled with another first timer of sorts and like the previous chapter that 'gamble' has paid off. Although Brad Bird is not a first time feature helmer this is his first foray into the world of live action so he might not seem to be the most obvious choice but there was never any doubt from either Abrams or Cruise about his talent and potential to deliver a great film. Bird's impressive previous credits include The Iron Giant, The Incredibles and Ratatouille (the last two having won Academy Awards for best Animated Feature Film). Like Abrams, Bird has also had great success on the small screen as an executive consultant on the Simpsons and I've been a fan of his work since chancing upon Family Dog (from Spielberg's 'Amazing Stories' series) in the early 90's.

Simon Pegg (Paul) reprises his role as Benji Dunn from MI3, the computer whiz behind all the action. Dunn has now graduated from a 'behind the desk cameo' to a fully qualified field officer and as a result gets a much beefier role in this mission becoming one of Hunt's rogue team. Pegg's natural comedic timing and likable charm adds a much-needed element of lightheartedness to the franchise that could have easily backfired had this role been miscast.

Rounding out the new team are IMF agents Jane Carter (Paula Patton – Deja Vu) and William Brandt (Jeremy Renner –The Hurt Locker), and both actors deliver solid performances. Carter is as sexy as she is deadly and Patton slips between these two persona's with ease while Brandt hides a secret past allowing Renner to show a vulnerability we're not used to seeing in the roles he normally plays.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol delivers exactly the type of entertainment action fans crave and as a result it is perfect popcorn movie. If you don't enjoy this ride then entertaining you is a mission: impossible.

The first one was well made, but got boring. The second tried too hard to be cool. The third one was great, but the style was too jarring. The fourth one said: "screw it, let's just have some fun" and everyone else followed its lead.

Ghost Protocol might be the most rewatchable movie in the franchise (it's certainly the one I've rewatched the most). Its creative set piece, amazing stunts, likeable team, fast pace and perfect runtime make for an endlessly rewarding viewing experience.

It's a bit dissapointing that Luther only got a cameo at the end, but making Benji a field agent was one of the best desicions made in the series. The villain is the most boring in the franchise, but this is arguably the first MI movie to really focus on the whole main team and not just Ethan Hunt and I love it for that.

With its first three entries, the franchise was clearly trying to find its identity. Here, they finally found it, and I love it.

The long wait is finally over as Tom Cruise finally returns to the celluloid to reprise his epic role of the enigmatic IMF agent Ethan Hunt. The brilliance of Mission: Impossible III was marred by the infamous sacking of Tom Cruise by Paramount's owner and movie mogul Sumner Redstone, who blamed Cruise's bizarre sofa-hopping TV antics, and intransigent support of Scientology for movie's relatively poor show at the box office that resulted in losses of up to £75million in revenue. The sordid incident ensured that the wait for the next installment of the franchise had to be a long one. The half a decade lull that ensued saw Cruise's career sunk to a new nadir with movies like Lions for Lambs (2007), Valkyrie (2008), and Knight and Day (2010) failing to impress at the box office, while his contemporaries and coevals continued to tumble records at the box office, attaining new heights of fame and stardom. It is indeed ironic that Cruise's most impressive show in this interim has been his well-disguised cameo in Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder (2008) in which he plays a the foul-mouthed, hot-headed, half-bald studio executive. But, every coin has the other part that completes the picture. While the things have been going a bit rough on the professional front, Cruise's personal life has finally been witnessing a much needed sense of calmness and stability. Such stability on the personal front can often lift a person's morale providing him with a sense of rejuvenation that can help him fare well in all the facets of life. Tom Cruise's rejuvenated self is pretty much apparent in the latest installment of the MI franchise, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

Ghost Protocol takes the viewer on a roller coaster of a ride from Moscow to Dubai, all the way to Mumbai, never allowing a breathing space, keeping him on the edge of the seat throughout. MI – GP is indeed the quintessential action extravaganza that the ardent lovers of the genre perpetually anticipate to devour upon in order to satiate their ever growing hunger for unremitting action and adventure. Ethan Hunt is back in all his glory with some newly added dimensions to his old daredevilry that had established him as the greatest contemporary to Ian Fleming's larger than life human incarnate. As seen with Bond in Casino Royale, the key men behind the MI franchise have made conscious efforts to make the caricature of Hunt more vulnerable to danger and crises, and hence more human. MI – GP delivers everything that an action-movie lover craves for: suspense, intrigue, passion, daredevilry, razzmatazz, and much more. The adrenaline filled action is well complemented by the dazzle of the geeky gadgets on display and it is this synergy that makes MI – GP an incredibly sublime experience. The tremendous reputation that the high octane franchise carries meant the newly appointed director Brad Bird—mostly renowned for his animation flicks The Incredibles and Ratatouille—had his work cut out for him. Brad Bird has indeed been up to the task and has lived well to the expectations of Cruise and the entire production team led by J.J. Adams, who directed the third movie of the series back in 2006. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is packed with a plethora of action sequences that includes a shootout in Budapest, an escape sequence from a Moscow Jail, a sandstorm chase in Dubai, and a classic brawl in an automated parking garage in Mumbai. However, the sequence that stands out is the one in which Tom Cruise climbs the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa by clinging to it from the outside using suction gloves, giving the Spiderman a run for his money.

After the splendidly executed siege of the Vatican in the third installment, Ethan and his IMF team are on the lookout for some classified information pertaining to a Russian extremist Kurt Hendricks, which takes their quest to Kremlin. The covert mission goes awry as their plan is sabotaged by the personal intervention of Hendricks, which turns the tables on Cruise and his team rendering them sequestered and helpless. The questionable events that unfold at Kremlin, forces the US President to invoke the Ghost Protocol leading to the disavowal of IMF. Ethan and his team, which includes the computer geek Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), agents Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), despite their severe handicap are the only hope left at preventing the diabolical duo of Hendricks and his stalwart Wistrom from fulfilling their demonic mission of global destruction through a nuclear war. Simon Pegg as Benji is spot on with his persiflage, and his nonchalance adds a much needed levity to the otherwise tense plot. Paula Patton as Jane Carter is a treat to the sore eyes: her imperial gait, upright posture, predatory agility, dusky complexion, steamy mystique, athletic built, curvaceous figure, and apparent haughtiness make her an object of envy for males and females alike. Her ethereal presence undoubtedly leaves a lasting impression on the viewer. The introduction of Jeremy Renner as William Brandt adds another layer of intrigue to the plot of MI – GP. Brandt's enigmatic part allows Renner to depict a wide array of emotions that his previous roles couldn't offer. The over-hyped inclusion of veteran Indian actor Anil Kapoor in the MI – GP cast is undoubtedly movie's greatest disappointment, especially from the perspective of Indian cineastes, as the actor fails to make an impression during his ephemeral performance.

Overall, MI – GP has managed to raise the bar for the Action genre. Indian movie-makers, who have recently started to delve into the genre, can look to take a note or two out of MI – GP in order to iron out the usual glitches. Despite the occasional lack of coherence in the plot, MI – GP works quite well at almost all the levels and promises to be a great entertainment. 8/10

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I attended a VIP screening of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol last night at the Darling Harbor IMAX Theater in Sydney, Australia. Before the movie started, there was an introduction by Director Brad Bird, and by actor Simon Pegg where they shared how much they enjoyed making the film and shooting scenes in the IMAX format.

I won't get into the story too much as I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but the basic plot is that the Kremlin in Russia is bombed by a terrorist group and IMF is framed for it. Because of these actions, the president decides to activate Operation Ghost Protocol, which essentially means that the entire IMF organisation is disavowed, meaning Ethan and his team are on their own, and like the tagline says "No Plan, No Backup, No Choice".

The story I found to be quite solid. Nothing groundbreaking but enough to keep the interest of your average movie-goer.

The performances were generally good all around. Simon Pegg was enjoyable as Benji and Tom Cruise is always great as Ethan Hunt. Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton also gave some great performances.

The action sequences are where the film really shines. Not all scenes were great, I thought the bombing of the Kremlin used some very fake looking CGI which made it more humorous then intense. Also, some scenes seemed a little too far-fetched and made me think that Tom Cruise must be made of steel or something. But if you try not to look into this too much, then chances are you will enjoy the action. The fight scenes were done very well, incredibly brutal and realistic looking. The sound for this film really helped as you could almost feel every punch and kick as well as the explosions. The greatest scene for me was Ethan climbing the hotel in Dubai, the worlds most tallest building. Shot in IMAX as well, I almost felt like I was right there next to Ethan looking down from above. Huge credit goes to Tom Cruise for performing this stunt himself!

Overall, I found the film very enjoyable. I enjoyed it a lot more than the 2nd and 3rd entries, but the 1st has always been the best one for me. I would have given this a perfect 10 but it loses 2 points for the some of the action scenes being a bit silly and unrealistic.