Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol- Movie Review

I have full confidence when saying Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol was the best action film of 2011. It had everything a fan of the Mission Possible series could possibly want and even non-fans could be sucked into the excitement as well. While most film franchises fail around their forth outing, Ghost Protocol proves to be the strongest entry in the series and put Tom Cruise back on the map as a blockbuster action star.
            The biggest reason Ghost Protocol works so well is because of its director. Brad Bird, who came out of the Pixar animation world, is the man behind such fascinating cartoon adventures as The Iron Giant, The Incredibles and Ratatouille. You may think to yourself, “Wait a second, those are animated movies. How in the world could this man pull of such a breath-taking, live-action film?”  That question was going through the minds of many before the film’s release, but Bird used his skills in animation to create what can be considered a live-action cartoon full of amazing spectacle. Scenes like a prison escape set to the musical stylings of Dean Martin, car chases through exotic sandstorms and a scene on the Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world) in which Ethan Hunt (Cruise) must scale the side of it, are examples of a what the mind of an animator can do while working with live action. The scene on the Burj Khalifa literally made my palms sweat while watching and it is a one that will go down as one of the great stunt works of all time.  Fun fact: Tom Cruise did all of his own stunt work for that scene and all the others in the film.

            In addition to the action, another reason this film is superior to its predecessors is because this story got the idea of a team perfectly.  In the last couple films, Ethan Hunt has either been on his own or with a team whose characters are wasted and underused. Here, he is joined by Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton, all of whom contribute greatly to the story. They are actually people we care about and want to see return in the next installment rather than just filler characters as someone for Ethan to talk to.  Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker and The Town) especially gets some great screen time to show off both his action hero status and serious side all in one.

            The main issue I had with the film was that it needed a stronger villain.  Michael Nyqvis (from the original The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), plays a terrorist who wanted to use nuclear launch codes to fire a missile.   Seriously?  It’s a bit cliché and no match for the memorable action and dangerous, yet lovable, team of heroes.   You would think the man they are up against would have a little more meat to him and have a plan with a few more surprises to it as well. Also, I’m not one of those guys that nitpicks unrealistic action scenes and shouts “Well, that would never happen!” But there comes a point where you just can’t help but a sigh at how silly and unrealistic (even for a Mission Impossible movie) some of the stunts actually are.  I don’t care how tough you are, you aren’t just going to dive bomb a car off of a twenty story parking garage and be saved by the airbag. But again, that’s just me nitpicking on an otherwise amazing action flick.
            I can’t stress enough, though, how much I love this movie. Back in December, I got the opportunity to attend the red carpet premier in New York City and watch the screening in the same theater along with Tom Cruise and the rest of the cast and crew. It was an amazing experience that boosted my love for it even more. Naturally, I had to pick up the Blu-Ray when it was released last week to watch these amazing action scenes again and again. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is not only one of my favorite movies of last year, but one of my favorite action movies of all time. If you are a fan of action, breathtaking stunts, Tom Cruise or just thrilling movies in general, I see no reason why you shouldn’t check this out. 

Grade: A