Does the world need another “Mission: Impossible” movie? The question answers itself. The first film in the franchise was released 15 years ago. Even that old standby, the action flick, has come a long way since then. But here it is: “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” is one of the few films of this busy holiday season that doesn’t disappoint.
That’s not to say “Ghost Protocol” is a masterpiece that deserves a handful of Oscars come February. But this film does do something most others in theaters now don’t: delivers on its promises.
| On screen |
| ‘Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol’ |
| 3 out of 4 stars |
| Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton |
| Director: Brad Bird |
| Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence |
| Running time: 133 minutes |
“Ghost Protocol” is a solid action film that demonstrates there’s still life in one of Hollywood’s oldest franchises. Though the film series is only a decade and a half old, it’s based on the television series that debuted in the 1960s. Then again, perhaps its age is a blessing, not a curse. There’s something comforting, after all, about hearing those familiar words: “Your mission, should you choose to accept it. . .”
The fourth film in the franchise takes the IMF (the Impossible Missions Force) to the edge. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), after being busted out of a Russian prison in an opening sequence at once exciting and amusing, is given the impossible mission of infiltrating the Kremlin — in under five hours. He must impersonate a Russian general and steal some important data.
That doesn’t happen. Instead, he’s lucky to make it out alive when the Kremlin explodes. Then again, maybe he was meant to make it out alive: He’s blamed for the explosion, and Russia and the U.S. are immediately at the brink of what would be a very hot war. “The president has initiated ghost protocol. The entire IMF has been disavowed,” the secretary of state (Tom Wilkinson, in a welcome cameo) tells him.
They might no longer have government support, but Hunt and his team still have plenty of toys — which they’ll need if they’re to clear their name, and get back the Russian nuclear launch codes stolen from one of their agents in the opening seconds of the film.
“Ghost Protocol” is the live-action debut of Brad Bird, who directed the much-loved Pixar film “The Incredibles.” He’s working on an incredible scale here, but the final result has nothing of the amateur about it. There are plenty of surprises in store, and the sort of crazy action sequences Americans have come to expect from the genre: shootouts in the air, shootouts under water.
Tom Cruise can still carry a movie, but he’s humble enough to let the other talents here shine, too. Simon Pegg, returning from the third film, provides just the right kind of comic relief, while Paula Patton is the obligatory hot agent, who looks damn good changing outfits in a moving car. Jeremy Renner adds some intelligence. His character looks to be Cruise’s heir, someone who can take over the franchise when the actor-producer gets tired of appearing in it.
It’s hard to imagine the movies without him, though. The franchise is aging, but he barely seems to be. His character scales the exterior of the world’s tallest building at one point in this movie. Cruise did the work himself, without the help of a stunt double.
