Posts tagged Mission Impossible.

Remakes galore for Tom Cruise. Even though his celebrity persona sometimes gets in the way of his legitimacy as an actor, he can act, so I’m pleased that he’ll be starring in the remake of John Sturges’s classic “The Magnficent Seven”. The original is a favorite of mine and the original original “Seven Samurai” by Kurosawa is in my top 10 movies of all time. This has a lot to live up to, but casting Cruise in a lead role is a step in the right direction, especially since he seems to have snapped out of his crazy couch jumping phase and gotten some high profile gigs.

“The Magnificent Seven” won’t be out for a while, but there are plenty of Cruise-centric projects in the works for fans to sink their teeth into. I’m actually kind of excited to indulge in the schlocky cheese-fest “Rock of Ages” promises to be. He’s also just finished with the Jack Reacher adaptation of “One Shot”, is currently filming a sci-fi epic called “Oblivion” with Joseph Kosinski, has signed on for an unnecessary re-boot of “Van Helsing” and is being courted for “Top Gun 2”.

Movie Review - Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol

Before every Tom Cruise movie I watch, I have to make a conscious effort to shove all of my personal knowledge of his life aside and remind myself that he’s a great actor with an incredibly solid track record. Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol could have easily been another vehicle for Cruise’s star power designed to rake in cash for the holidays. This is where I’ll stop talking about him, because the 4th entry into the prolific Mission Impossible series succeeds thanks to a stellar supporting cast, emphasis on teamwork and jaw-dropping action.

The film begins with a quick sequence featuring an unknown agent narrowly escaping a group of gunman before being stopped dead in his tracks by a female assassin. This introduction provides a bit of back story for Jane (Paula Patton) and her tech-wiz teammate Benji (played by an always hilarious Simon Pegg). The main and only familiar character from the previous entries in the series is Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), who is patiently waiting in a high security Russian prison to be rescued. Jane and Benji bust Hunt out of jail only to find that they’ve been selected for a top secret mission that involves infiltrating the Kremlin with limited resources. During the mission they encounter a renegade entity that derails their game plan and frames the United States for carrying out a terrorist attack on mother Russia. While the Russians are freaking out about the U.S. attacking them, the plans to launch a nuclear missile across the globe are stolen from under their noses. Hunt and his team are abandoned by their superiors and suddenly find themselves wanted as international criminals. It all moves at a breakneck pace and as a result, a lot of the character development and back stories are explained in a matter of minutes with ham-fisted dialogue. While this can be disorientating and confusing on its own, the problem is even further promulgated by the assumption that the audience has seen the first 3 films. If you haven’t caught any of the previous movies you may be left in the dark wondering who the hell they’re talking about and why they’re so conflicted or sad about it, which significantly undermines any intended emotional impact.

While the nuclear intrigue spy story of Ghost Protocol isn’t anything new it hardly matters, especially when the action is so damn good. The unique locales and gorgeous shots of Russia, Dubai and Mumbai provide the perfect backdrop to some of the slickest and impressive action sequences I’ve ever seen. The portion featuring the Burj Khalifa (the world’s tallest building) is a stunner that will have audiences sweating in their seats. The masterful camera movement and editing seals the deal, and you’ll feel like you’re hanging on for dear life as Ethan scales the massive tower. I was also particularly impressed by the final showdown between Hunt and the main baddie of the film, which takes place in a constantly moving parking garage made up of a variety of metal platforms. It’s another excellent example of the phenomenal editing by Paul Hirsch, whose impressive resume features all three of the original Star Wars films. I would highly recommend seeing Ghost Protocol on an Imax screen. You will be blown away by the sound and detail, and it’s clear that they really went the extra mile in optimizing the movie for Imax.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is without a doubt a spectacle film. It’s all about eyegasms and big explosions. With that being said, the cast is excellent, and do the most with a sometimes awkward script. As I noted earlier, the film relies a lot less on Cruise’s star power than previous entries in the series. Teamwork is the name of the game here and it’s refreshing to see a spy film where the various characters play off of each so well instead of a one man army charging in and wreaking havoc. Introducing an entirely new cast as opposed to rehashing the same familiar roles does wonders for the film, and takes a lot of the weight off of Cruise’s shoulders. Jeremy Renner in particular shines as the conflicted Agent Brandt, and may very well be the future of the Mission Impossible series. The villains are memorable as well, with Michael Nyqvist (most well known for his role as Mikael Blomqvist in the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series) as the venomous Hendricks, who is obsessed with the idea of society being reborn through nuclear war. I also must mention the beautiful Lea Seydoux (Inglorious Basterds, Midnight in Paris) who sizzles as the diamond-obsessed femme fatal Sabine Moreau. On an interesting side note, she is also the granddaughter of the chairman of Pathé, a great early innovator in film and cinema.

At first I was wary about director Brad Bird taking the wheel for MI4. I absolutely loved his animated features which include The Iron Giant, Ratatouille and The Incredibles, but I was nervous at how a live action project would turn out. Ghost Protocol blew all of my doubts out the window within the first few minutes and beat them mercilessly on the ground by the time the Dubai sequences hit full stride. If you’re looking for eye candy with some great acting and a tried-but-true spy story, put this one on the top of your list.

4.2/5

Good news for all you “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz” fans:

It’s just been announced that the tremendous trio of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright are going to start shooting the final installment of their “Blood & Ice Cream” Trilogy, titled “The World’s End”, next year!

The trilogy, named for the repeated motif of Cornetto ice cream and copious amounts of gore has developed a cult following over the years, so there’s definitely pressure for the finale to go out with a bang.

On another interesting note, the use of the three flavours/colours of Cornetto is a reference to Krzysztof Kieślowski’s “Three Colours” film trilogy, which are all very good and definitely worth checking out.

Currently there’s very little known about the plot of “The World’s End”. I can only assume by the title that it’ll have something to do with the apocalypse. The only solid bit of info released thus far about the film is that the featured flavor of ice cream will be mint chocolate chip (“Shaun of the Dead” had strawberry and “Hot Fuzz” contained the blue classic flavor of Cornetto).