Climbing Higher Pictures

Its been a while since we last took a ride with Ethan Hunt, leader of the Impossible Mission Taskforce. Its also been awhile since Tom Cruise had much in the way of action hero clout. With Brad Bird‘s first live action feature film, do we have the finest Mission Impossible yet, or just another pale comparison to the action movie days of old?

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Review

By Ryan Hamelin

Movie Grade: B+

See Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol on the big screen. In fact, see it on as big a screen as you can find, preferably in an IMAX theater. This is a HUGE movie, and the film is crafted to give you the biggest bang for your buck should you trek out to one of those massive screens. Several action set-pieces, including Tom Cruise dangling dangerously from the tallest building in the world, were shot on the format, and when you see it, you’ll understand why. It’s rare that the 4^th film in a series surpasses its predecessors, but a very good argument could be made for the work done here. Should this end up being the last outing of Ethan Hunt and his team, you can’t say they didn’t go out with a bang.

For starters, the film is absolutely relentless. From pretty much the opening scene onward, there’s rarely a moment to breathe. Things go wrong, the characters consider their options, and they move on to the next mission. The story is actually so linear that it can feel a little too convenient at times, and the focus, while laudable, prevents this installment from having the more relaxed meandering scope of previous outings. The world doesn’t feel so big, and even with transitional scenes that consist of, “We’re going to India” “Oh, okay, cool” you never really feel like you’ve moved all that far. In this way the story is both a strength and a weakness, never letting up on the accelerator, but curtailing a larger narrative in the process.

As for anyone who’s seen trailers or other advertising materials for the film should know, the IMF (Impossible Mission Taskforce) has been disavowed at the start of the film. What this means, is that Ethan and his team are on their own, with only the resources hidden in a single train car. When I look back on the series, I can’t ever really remember a movie where the team wasn’t pretty much on their own the whole film… maybe with occasional backup from Simon Pegg in the 3^rd one, but isn’t that kind of the way the agency operates? It’s set up like this major storytelling revelation that’s going to change the way this movie works compared to the others, and in the end, it’s basically the same deal. Do they conveniently have every piece of technology they’d ever need in the train car? Of course. Do they have exactly the right amount of contacts still in existence to do what they need to do? Of course. My point is that it’s not the story itself that is in any way revolutionary for the series, it’s the way they tell it, and the amount of fun the audience has along the way.

The biggest thing I loved about this film, is that the threat of injury is always present. I don’t know if it’s the IMAX immersion, or just Brad Bird’s tendency towards realism with his staging and execution, but you were always worried about someone getting hurt. Cruise isn’t a young man anymore, and neither is Ethan, leading to a number of moments where you see him visibly working through the logistics of what he’s trying to do in his head before he does them. It’s so refreshing to see an action hero understand his mortal peril before he tries to jump off the third story of a building, and the final confrontation is one of the most painful fight scenes I’ve seen on film, simply because you can tell how much it hurts. You see the strategy going into each moment, and Hunt trying to figure out how he can accomplish his goal and still be conscious enough to follow through should he succeed. It’s pretty remarkable actually, and a direction I never thought I’d see the series take.

I’ll end on the subject of Jeremy Renner, who has been getting a lot of advance flack of his multiple franchise commitments lately. He’s great in this film, an impressive addition to the team and the kind of guy you just can’t take your eyes off of. Does Hunt pass Brant the torch at the end? No. Could it conceivably happen in a future film… I’m a little more hesitant to say “Yes” than most. Renner is capable, to be sure, but this is Cruise’s franchise, and I think it’s more likely that, should a handoff take place, it’ll be in the final moments of a 5^th installment where it’s clear that the team will flourish under a new leader, but we as an audience won’t necessarily be asked to follow them any further. Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol refines what makes the series great and delivers the kind of ride that can only be fully appreciated on a big screen. For the first time since I can remember, I’m cautiously optimistic about what the future of this franchise has in store.