Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol User Reviews

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Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol IMAX Poster

Mission Impossible is a odd franchise. 4 films, 4 different directors, 4 different takes on a IMF mission, and 4 varying levels of quality. Even with the dip in MI2 these movies continue to entertain with stories of Ethan Hunt and his ragtag group of agents.

Director J.J. Abrams was commended for fusing Brian De Palma and John Woo previous works into a stylish thriller. Director Brad Bird strips away all of that leaving nothing but a exhilarating macguffin filled chase across the eastern hemisphere.

Things could be going better for Ethan Hunt. When we last saw him he seemed happy finally finding a balance between work and pleasure. That was then, now he is in a Russian prison throwing a rock at a wall. The IMF doesn't wait for parole and send in Benji(Simon Pegg) and Agent Jane Carter to extract him. Another IMF agent, played by Sawyer from lost, was killed on a mission losing Russian nuclear launch codes in the process. An op to stop anyone from using the codes goes south with a nuclear bomb blowing up the Kremlin with the IMF blamed for it. Now they are all disavowed and along with chief analysis William Brandt they must stop Kurt Hendricks from inciting nuclear war between Russia and America.

All that was in about 30 minutes.

Ghost Protocol doesn't spend a lot of time explaining why they need to go to Dubai or India, only that they have to. Everything in this movie is simplified to its barest necessity. The team needs to find Hendricks who also needs the launch codes, time to go to Dubai and steal back some codes.It’s all as simple as that.

This simplicity extends to the new members of the team who have their own ghosts to deal with. These ghosts are dealt with and things carry on. They are not dwelled upon in a ponderous manner trying to gin up a connection with the audience. They are there on the fringe of everything adding a little extra motivation to our heroes.With simple motivations like guilt Bird manages to give Brant and Carter enough character and give viewers the inkling that either could be dead by the end of it.

Michael Nyqvist as Kurt Hendricks is woefully underused. Even though the character of Hendricks is a tad anachronistic for 2012 Nuqvist has a certain gravitas to the few scenes he is in. In his one major speaking scene he manages to come across as a madman but like the codes or satellites the team chases he is nothing more than a plot device.

Four films in and they still manage to top themselves in the action department. I am extremely interested in how they filmed the Dubai sequences. At the Burj Khalifa they manage to make a more amazing sequence than the pendulum jump from the third film. The simple story means that travel time between Dubai,Russia and India are all minimal and don’t leave you waiting bored for another action sequence.

Brad Birds first live action film has made a great impression and I would love to see him tackle another action heavy movie.

Ghost Protocol is a simple movie that is the easiest to follow of the four films. If you are a casual fan of the franchise or like action cinema Ghost Protocol is a must watch.