Mission: Impossible - Protocole fantôme

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.

"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 movie presents a story that is absurd. Nevertheless, it is entertaining. The movie takes the players to many different parts of the world. How they get to these places the movie does not explain. At each place people are on the run, traps are being set, communications are tense, as the good guys and bad guys try to outwit the other. The movie is devoid of any overt political content, concentrating its attention on telling the story. Tom Cruise delivers an energetic performance that carries the movie. He is in almost every scene. The movie is never dull. For fans of action movies, this movie will not disappoint.

The undercover unit comes back into action with several fine spectacular scenes . The crack undercover agent Ethan Hunt(Tom Cruise) is again called back into action by IMF staff , his assignment is a crucial mission to take some nuclear artifacts . The outfit formed by stalwarts specialists (Paula Patton , Simon Pegg ,Jeremy Renner) execute a dangerous operation in the Kremlin , Moscow . But the IMF is shut down , forcing the President to invoke Ghost Protocol , when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin , causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name . Meanwhile, Ethan and his undercover bunch try to discover who set them up . Ethan and his group pursue the main suspect , Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) , to Dubai where carry out dangerous capers .

This energetic movie packs unstopped action , hair-raising suspense , exciting thriller , frenetic pursuits and lots of violence . Well made high-tech hijinks and full of breathtaking set-up with impressive images . Tom Cruise performed the sequence where Ethan Hunt scales the outside of the Burj Khalifa tower himself without the use of a stunt doublé , the Burj Khalifa tower is the tallest building in the world , it is the Armani Hotel Dubai , the first hotel designed and developed by Giorgio Armani . During the filming of production, Tom Cruise did the majority of his own stunts including the skyscraper sequences to show the audience it was actually him ; this would allow director Brad Bird to have more capabilities with camera angles & not having to hide the fact it is a stuntman doing the stunts . The film contains an interesting as well as twisted story in flamboyant treatment , worth two hours'time, written by Josh Appelbaum & André Nemec and based on the vintage characters by Bruce Heller . Lalo Schifrin's classic score television is again well reused here , at a much higher decibel level and adding a stirring soundtrack by Michael Giacchini , fitting perfectly to action . Fascinating and luxurious cinematography by excellent cameraman by Robert Elswit . As usual, Tom Cruise co-executive produced , along with J.J. Abrams , Josh Appelbaum , Bryan Burk , David Ellison , but not the usual Paula Wagner ; in fact this is the first Mission: Impossible film not to be produced by herself . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Brad Bird , though this is his live-action directorial debut . He's a successful producer , writer and director with a lot of hits such as ¨Ratatouille¨ , ¨Iron Giant¨ and ¨The Incredibles¨ . Rating : Better than average and well worth seeing . The tale will appeal to Tom Cruise fans and unstop action movies fans. The film made $693 million at the box office worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing installment in the franchise ; it also surpassed War of the worlds (2005) to become Tom Cruise's highest grossing film as of 2012.

Other installments from this popular and successful series are the followings : ¨Mission : Impossible¨ by Brian De Palma with Tom Cruise , Ving Rhames , Jon Voight , Henry Czerny , Kristin Scott Thomas , Vanessa Redgrave Emmanuel Beart , Jean Reno ; ¨Mission : Impossible II¨ by John Woo with Dougray Scott , Thandie Newton , Richard Roxburgh ,John Polson , Brendan Gleeson ; ¨MI 3¨ (2006) by J. J. Abrahams with Philip Seymour Hoffman , Ving Rhames, Maggie Q, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and in preparation ¨Mission : Impossible V¨ (2015) by Christopher McQuarrie with Jeremy Renner , Simon Pegg , Ving Rhames , Rebecca Ferguson , Sean Harris , Alec Baldwin and , of course , Tom Cruise .

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.