 must struggle to clear his name and save the world after being framed for a nuclear terrorist plot. Still eminently likeable despite any off-screen weirdness, Cruise leads team-mates Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Paula […] "'Pin It")
REVIEW: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL
The Mission: Impossible franchise returns with Ghost Protocol, the fourth entry in there series in which superspy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) must struggle to clear his name and save the world after being framed for a nuclear terrorist plot. Still eminently likeable despite any off-screen weirdness, Cruise leads team-mates Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Paula Patton as they cross the globe in service of their latest impossible mission.
Ghost Protocol is directed by Pixar alum Brad Bird in his live-action debut, and the film clearly benefits from his background animation. It’s a predominantly visual affair (it’s likely that Cruise says less words throughout the running time than are contained in this review) and is, for the most part, lean, kinetic and fast-moving. Likewise the film’s action set pieces – and there are a lot of them – owe as much to things like The Incredibles, The Castle of Cagliostro and old Looney Tunes cartoons as they do conventional Hollywood action movies, being a unique and varied mix that are often truly inventive, intricately choreographed and, more surprisingly, laugh out loud funny. Pegg’s involvement in particular is played for laughs, but both Cruise and Renner get a chance to play along too, and the result is a Mission: Impossible film that feels a good deal lighter and more fun than its predecessors.
It’s unfortunate, then, that the film doesn’t really offer much other than that. With less in the way of character than even, say, the Bourne films, Ghost Protocol’s abundance of cool action sequences means a sacrifice in any real dramatic substance. The plot is more or less perfunctory, acting mainly as an excuse for said set pieces, and while the first hour or so is tightly woven together the last half of the film is somewhat fragmented, with a number of expository scenes that feel like a tedious intermission between the good bits. Similarly the film is let down by an almost unbearably corny final scene, but these later flaws often pale in comparison to Ghost Protocol’s earlier achievements, and being able to look past these setbacks allows for an appreciation of the areas in which the film genuinely excels.
While it may not be a film of any real substance, as a slice of Hollywood pop fun Ghost Protocol holds up pretty well – offering up four or five of the best action sequences of the year and a fresh take on an old franchise. Hackneyed plot notwithstanding, here Brad Bird and team have crafted a sharp and inventive action movie that will appeal to fans of the genre at the very least.
Words: Josh Hicks
