In short, this movie was much better than I expected. My family decided to do the Christmas Day movie thing this year since we celebrated heavier on Christmas Eve (at least I did). There wasn’t really anything in theaters that I was excited about. My mother suggested the new Mission Impossible. I thought the first one was decent. The second one sucked. So bad, in fact, that I completely skipped the third one. I decided to suck it up because family time is important. Oh, and it was free.
The new one is directed by Brad Bird…who confuses me. His repertoire consists of a handful of episodes of The Simpsons, Disney and Pixar’s Ratatoullie and The Incredibles and now Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. I’m thinking an animated film about the Holocaust is his next best bet. IMDb tells me that it’s actually a period piece about the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 aptly titled 1906.
Back to Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. It clocks in at just over two hours which is an immediate red flag for an action flick, but outside of a few too many minutes spent in unnecessary subplots, the movie bursts at the seams with action. You may not be at the edge of your seat the whole time, but your butt-cheeks will be placed precariously for extended periods of time, especially if you don’t have an ass like yours truly.
In Ghost Protocol, the IMF agents are forced to work as rogues under the command of Agent Ethan Hunt [Cruise] after some political confusion in the aftermath of an act of terror in Russia. At first I though: “The Cold War? Again??” The story somehow manages to not seem tired. It may have something to do with the fact that there’s a twist at every turn. Or maybe that Russians with nuclear weapons are inherently scary. The story is definitely engaging, but two thirds of the way through the movie you don’t feel like twisting anymore.
The acting, though obviously not at the forefront, is passable. Cruise does a decent job, though you do get a hefty dose of him. Simon Pegg’s character, though annoying at times because of some predictable screenwriting, is entertaining. Paula Patton is hot. Lea Seydoux is hipster hot.
Above: Jane [Patton] takes on assassin Sabine Moreau [Seydoux] in close combat. I’d let her corkscrew me. To be clear, she is holding a corkscrew.
I recommend seeing this one in the theater, IMAX if you can. It’s not that it wouldn’t be enjoyable in the comfort of your own home, apartment or closet, but several of the action scenes would be lost in translation. For instance, Cruise scaling the exterior of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, in a pair of gloves.
I have a major issue with heights and so I’m glad this one wasn’t filmed in 3D; I might have decorated the back of the chair in front of me.
Rating: ***1/2
the self-hating hipster 
Oh gosh, the seeing the seen where Cruise nearly fell off that building in IMAX was incredible, and I don’t like heights either. The scene basically made me drop straight out of my chair!
I loved this film, it had great acting from Renner and Cruise as well as quick, sharp direction from Brad Bird. Not to mention the film was entertaining as heck!
Nice work!