MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (12/16/11): MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Josh Holloway, Samuli Edelmann, Anil Kapoor and Léa Seydoux
WRITER(S): Bruce Geller (characters/original television series); Josh Appelbaum & André Nemec(screenplay)
DIRECTOR: Brad Bird
WEB SITE: missionimpossible.com
THE PLOT: The fourth installment of the film franchise, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol finds IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) in a bit of a pickle ... And by pickle, I mean doing hard time in a Russian prison. But that is soon going to be the least of his problems - for there is a Russian extremist named Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) (code name "Cobalt") who basically wants to blow up the world to move forward with the next step of human evolution (or something like that. He's a bad guy - that's all you really need to know!).
Thus, the U.S. government needs Ethan and the rest of the IMF (which stands for "Impossible Missions Force" in case you didn't know) to stop Hendricks before his plan can come to deadly fruition. But Ethan's old team isn't readily available, which is why he's going to get sprung from prison instead by IMF computer specialist Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Agent Jane Carter (Paula Patton), who, like Ethan, is dealing with the death of a person she loved at the hands of Sabine Moreau (Léa Seydoux). I'd say more, but I'm trying to prevent giving away too much of the movie!
Ethan and his team think they are making good progress on stopping Hendricks ... And then the Kremlin blows up, with Ethan ends up getting blamed for by Russian agent (Vladimir Mashkov). This causes the U.S. President to initiate "Ghost Protocol," meaning the IMF is officially disavowed and Ethan and company are essentially on their own to stop Hendricks. But can they stop him it in time, especially once Agent Brandt (Jeremy Renner) - who may not be exactly who he seems - remains to be seen ...
THE TAKE: There are, in essence, really only three kinds of action movies: [1] The rare movies that are well thought out, possibly thought-provoking ones that balance plot, story and character development well (see Iron Man); [2] The classic 1980s/early 90s-style films where humor, body count, explosion and stunts are the soup du jour (Just about any Die Hard or Fast & Furious film) and [3] The ones that would be in the second category if they weren't littered with cheesy dialogue, bad acting, ludicrous scene and the thinnest excuse of a plot (any of the Transformers films ... And The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift).
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is fortunately in the second category ... Even though there are some times feel like it might veer off into the third.
Let me just say this now: The number of times that Cruise's Ethan Hunt character should have died in the film coupled with the sheer insanity of the film's two main action sequences is straight out of a 1980s/early 90s action movie's playbook. In other words, this is not a movie that's going to make you think, showcase the intestinal fortitude of a man discovering what he's made of or have some deep-seeded message. Nope, this movie is just about adrenaline, finding the bad guy and kicking some ass.
As long as that's all you want, Ghost Protocol is more than happy to please. Other than that, there's really not too much more to say about the film. For the film is essentially like a hit single that becomes a ringtone: Flashy and fun for a while, but lacking any special quality other than filling the temporary void ones has for something simple and fun.
Acting-wise, Patton is competent as the film's main female lead, but there's just something missing that doesn't fully make you buy into her 100 percent in the role. Renner plays his supporting role well and Pegg provides the necessary comic relief as needed. Likewise, Nyqvist and his henchman (played by Samuli Edelmann) don't really have any personality (or memorable quality) to them whatsoever. This is Americans fighting Russian bad guys, an old staple that never grows old (in Hollywood's eyes anyway). Every villain is straight out of a action movie cookbook, as is just about every other character in the movie.
(Seriously - ask yourself what the name of the villain is a day after seeing the movie and see if you can remember. Would it KILL Hollywood to give us memorable, Die Hard-style villains like Hans Gruber every once in a while again?!)
No, this movie is all about Ethan Hunt - which in turn makes it all about Tom Cruise. You know he's going to save the day, but the key that will keep you watching is all of the risks he's going to take (and the abuse to his body that follows as a result). If you still like his boyish smile and super-confident charm, then Ghost Protocol will be like stepping into your old favorite pair of sneakers as you sit and read the news on your iPad in your favorite chair.
PARTING SHOT: If you like watching stuff blow up, people get beaten up and a guy being heroic without too much dialogue or story to get in the way, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol will be a welcome gift this holiday season. The film isn't so brawny that it falls into neanderthal territory, but it's not exactly Inception, either.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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