Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Review

I have never seen any of the other Mission Impossible films to tell the truth. I was never even that interested in seeing this one but was I was interested in was seeing the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises (which was epic!). Fortunately for me, I was able to sit in on one of the most enjoyable movie theater experiences of the year. Ghost Protocol was more than I had ever expected it to be. Brad Bird has once again shown just how good of a director he can be and made a smooth and impressive transition from animated to live action cinema. Read on to see my review of Ghost Protocol…

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol finds the IMF team in Russia where after busting Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) out of prison, the team (Simon Pegg, Paula Patton) must stop an international terrorist, “Cobalt”, from gathering Russian nuclear launch codes. While on the mission, they are incorrectly accused for a bombing on the Kremlin by “Cobalt”. The President officially shuts down IMF but the IMF Secretary allows Ethan Hunt and his team to escape, along with a new member (Jeremy Renner), to take out “Cobalt” before he is able to start global nuclear war.

Like I said, Ghost Protocol was much more than I ever expected it to be. It was action packed, visually stunning, and most of all a lot of fun. I knew that I could trust Brad Bird after The Incredibles but it was going to be interested to see how his transition to live action was going to turn out. Luckily for him, he was not only successful but also impressive.

The visuals are what drive this film from the start with the impressive camera work. From the opening chase scene to the opening credits and even the final battle, you forget you are watching a movie and totally get soaked into the Mission Impossible world and you don’t want to leave for one second. The opening credits were enjoyable as well and probably some of the best opening credits of the year. The explosion at the Kremlin is on an epic scale and I know my theater was shaking the whole time. I would highly suggest seeing this movie in IMAX because the scale of the whole movie is perfect IMAX material.

Though the best scene of the movie comes at the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai. Being the tallest building in the world, you can expect everything to be epic here and it is! The IMAX was perfect for filming its scenes and the height adds so much tension and action to the material. I know I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and, being scared of heights, was actual in fear of Ethan Hunt’s life at many points. One of the best shots includes Hunt literally jumping out of a window with nothing more than a rope, free falling to the ground, and I know I jumped out of my seat. I don’t want to ruin anymore of the scene but it works in suspense and tension perfectly.

The gadgets are some of the best part of the film and play into the fun that I was hoping for from this film. From the wall crawling hands to the road map on the car windshield, I was geeking out at all the fun technology. One of my favorite parts was the contact lens that was basically a computer that could search faces in a crowd and even replicate documents.

Bird best ability throughout the film though was the suspense. In almost every sequence Bird is able to hold on to the audience and play with them. It is high tense every step of the way and you won’t know if the team is successful or not until the last possible second. The perfect blend of action and tension is what drives this film and it works. The fight scenes dominate and there are some really cool sequences that take this film to the next level. Never does this films feel flat or boring, nor will it lose your attention. The last scene especially will have you high strung, I know I was freaking out wondering if they would even succeed or not.

The plot doesn’t ever go too deep or complicated and fits the movie perfectly. It is quick and to the point and moves the movie along and it shouldn’t do more than that. It was also nice seeing Tom Cruise in top acting form again. Jeremy Renner is a nice addition for action but his subplot with Hunt felt a little forced and unnecessary but luckily it doesn’t get in the way of the film. Pegg is hilarious as expected and Patton is gorgeous and perfect for the femme fatale role.

It is also important to comment on the amazing music for this film done by Michael Giacchino. It makes a nice combination of the classic original score and modernizes it to a grand scale that matches the film. It flows smoothly with the scenes and helps notch up the audience’s tension.

This film plays into everything that you should expect. The action is glorious and highly enjoyable. The comedy is all over the place and hilarious. The gadgets are awesome and technologically epic. Brad Bird once again hits a home run with Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol and I cannot wait to see more from him. If you haven’t seen any of the other movies, don’t worry your still going to highly enjoy this. I highly enjoyed it and it feels like a summer blockbuster in December. Make sure to get out to the theater for his flick as it is one you do not want to miss.