Review: 'Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol'

Film: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Director: Brad Bird

Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Anil Kapoor, Michael Nyqvist

Rating: ***

 

The heart-stopping infiltrations, devious impersonations and ingenious gadgets are back with Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt busting out from a Moscow jail to assemble a team to infiltrate the Moscow Kremlin. Hunt, with boffin Benji Dunn (Pegg) and the hands-on field agent Jane Carter (Patton), must abort his mission thanks to a Ra’s Al-Ghulesque maniac Kurt Hendricks (Nyqvist), in a quest to herald nuclear decimation, blows the iconic complex to smithereens. With relations with Russia at its worse since the Cuban missile crisis, the United States disavows the spying body, leaving the Hunt and co, wanted as terrorists by the Russians, to fend for themselves with the threat of a nuclear holocaust looming large. Joining them is William Brandt (Renner), an IMF analyst who suspiciously seems to be more than a mere pen pusher.

Ghost Protocol is a pacey action thriller that doesn’t look over its shoulder, especially in the Dubai scenes. When in action, ‘past his prime’ aren’t words you would apply to Tom Cruise. (So what if his hair is a bit unkempt and his face is a bit weathered? ) While the rocksteady Renner, the ever-funny Pegg and the gorgeous Paula Patton put up solid performances, don't expect Anil Kapoor as the sleazy millionaire playboy Brij Nath to get the lion's share of the limelight.

 

Some scenes such as the one where Hunt’s perilously climbs up the glassy facade of the Burj Khalifa, filmed in stunningly detailed Imax, is destined to go down in action cinema history and the high-octane sandstorm chase that follows suit isn’t so bad either.

 

Director Brad Bird, with his flair for finely balancing story and art in his animated features The Iron Giant, The Incredibles and Ratatouille, injects the right doses of action at the right points in time without adopting an overly cumbersome plot for his first live-action film. While in terms of twists and turns, nothing beats David Koepp's labyrinthine Mission: Impossible script, Bird, doesn’t fall back on the theme of unpredictability and betrayal that underlies the duplicitous world of international espionage. Ghost Protocol, instead, is a first-rate action movie with sequences that are at the same time, unlike John Woo’s sequel, not too stupid and over-the-top. Also, the film is less of a one-man show with each member, given the delicateness of the operation, contributing in their own way towards the cause.

 

Ghost Protocol breathes new life into the franchise and piques the interest with an expert touch throughout. This is one sequel not to be disavowed by fans.