Review of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
by Luke Kristopher Davis
No backup, no extraction and limited tech for Ethan Hunts newly assembled team. They are linked to an explosion within the Kremlin, Russia and throughout the film they try to prove their innocence and who the real villain is.
Brad Bird's and Cruise's film definitely has a different feel to it, the action is more gutsy, the injuries are more fatal and the plan is more impossible. The latter may be a dramatic consequence of the plot i.e. the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) has been shut down by the president and the team are literally fending for themselves. This plot decision adds a new layer of enjoyment to the film as you have this thought that if they fail, they have no extra agents and hence they all fail. Every deadly encounter with gunmen, cars and the environment holds much more tension and vulnerability.
Ethan as an agent is much more determined to complete his mission and to help reinstate the IMF's name. However, he has aged as a character (much more psychologically than physically) and this carries weight throughout the film, he does what he does best but with less invincibility.
Tom as an actor plays Ethan extremely well and keeps to the evolution and continuities of his character. He is also his own stunt man and performs the usual car jumping, wall flight engaging and action combos very well. An addition (not a small one) to his stunts sees him alongside the burj khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world. Whilst watching this I felt a tad nervous for him, it was a long way down and you feel like saying 'c'mon Ethan... there's gotta be another way'. Top marks for Cruise in this film, if it's his last one and it probably is then what a way to go.
Michael Nyqvist, the Swedish actor, known for 'the girl with the dragon tatoo' and the like stars in this film. Watch out for this one.
Ethan's team stars; Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton star as Benji, Brandt and Jane. Benji as we saw from MI3 is a gadget wizard, who knows all the gizmo tricks an impossible mission could need. He has a greater role this time round as he takes to the field and brings not only his tech skills but some well needed humor (don't worry the humor is pro).
Paula stars as an agent which we haven't seen before, she is no newbie however... she is experienced, deadly and very very sexy. She has a way with hand to hand combat and looking good under cover (in the Mission Impossible sense that is...).
Jeremy who starred with Colin Farrell in 'SWAT' plays a mysterious analyst for the secretary of the IMF. He joins Ethan when things turn ugly. His uselessness is odd until he shows who he really is....
The team are taken to corners of the globe to run from their accusers but most importantly to stop those who they accuse of planning destruction. Sublime feats, professional film-manship, excellent characters and all out action define this film.
Avoiding this blast of a film is a mission impossible.
8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment