Ghost Protocol Is Where Mission: Impossible Became an Event
The setup
After the Kremlin is bombed, the IMF is shut down and Ethan Hunt's team is left without official support as they try to stop a nuclear war.
This time around Ethan and his crew have to stop a nuclear terrorist from basically ending the world. Things take a bad turn as the Kremlin gets blown up and it turns out to be the fault of Ethan’s employer, the IMF. So ghost Protocol kicks in. The IMF is shut down and Ethan and his team are disavowed. Now they’ve got no one but each other.
Tom Cruise is clearly an absolute mad man. Climbing up the outside of the tallest building in the world? He just sees this building and says "right, I wanna climb that!" I love that he just seems like hes always after his next adrenaline fix and constantly looking for crazy things that he can add into these movies. Truly, Hollywoods last action star.
The villain in this movie is a bit of a step down from what we had in MI3, but that's nobody's fault. How can anybody be expected to follow on from what Phillip Seymor Hoffman put into that role.
Also missing was Ving Rhames. Luther is one of the best characters of this whole franchise but he had a mere appearance towards the very end of the film.
But what really makes this movie work for me is Simon Pegg who has got way more to do than he did when they were just trying out for their field exam. He’s brilliantly playing Benji. Again it brings some lightheartedness to what is an intense thrill ride of a movie
This is an awesome film! While some parts are crazy and stupid, overall it was great and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout all the way!
Positives
The Burj Khalifa, brilliant team chemistry, Simon Pegg, inventive set pieces
Negatives
A few convenient bits of plotting, Jeremy Renner's Brandt never becomes as important as the film initially suggests.
Verdict
The film where the franchise finds its modern identity and proves that watching Tom Cruise risk his life can somehow count as blockbuster entertainment.
