Ryan McNeil
Two weeks ago, I had a conversation about how I had somewhat reluctant plans to see the new Mission: Impossible film. As I voiced my unenthusiasm, my friend Corey Atad started listing off reasons to be excited about the film. He brought up details like Brad Bird’s direction, the use of IMAX for certain action sequences, and the way it would build upon what we saw in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3. I shrugged them off at the time, but as I watched the new film unfold, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was completely right.
Boy, do I hate when he’s right.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE- GHOST PROTOCOL (or “M:I-4 for short) begins with a killing. IMF agent Hanaway is assassinated trying to thwart an arms sale. His killing prompts agents Jane Carter and Benji Dunn (Paula Patton and Simon Pegg) to stage a jailbreak. The jail is in Moscow, an the inmate being sprung is disavowed IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). He is immediately recruited to join Carter and Dunn’s mission of picking up where Hanaway left off.
The first step to identify the parties involved in the arms deal is to break into The Kremlin – which Hunt and his team manage to do, moments before it is the target of a terrorist attack. The Russian government calls the attack an act of aggression by America. To avoid making matters worse, The US Secretary of State (Tom Wilkinson) invokes “Ghost Protocol”, meaning all IMF agents are immediately disavowed. But in his last conversation with Hunt, The Secretary learns the identity of the European terrorist who is behind both the attack and the arms deal. He is a man named Hendricks (Mikael Nyqvist), and a genuine threat to world peace.
Off the record, The Secretary tasks Hunt with Hendricks’ capture and the retrieval of the weapons in play. For good measure, Hunt gets one more addition to his team – an analyst named William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) who may shake his head at the team’s cowboy tactics, but turns out to be a valuable asset. The team has no back-up, and no supply chain, but the team’s mission (should they choose to accept it) is to chase Hendricks through Dubai and Mumbai to avoid global catastrophe.
M:I-4 marks the live-action directorial debut of Brad Bird, the brains behind animated neo-classics such as THE IRON GIANT and THE INCREDIBLES. One has to believe that handing the reigns of an action franchise over to an animation director – even one as talented as Bird – is a risk. Impressively, Bird proved equal to the task. It seems strange to say this, but he has directed these sequences like cartoons. The laws of physics take a back seat for a moment or two, and the freneticism is dialled up instead. What’s more, Bird and the screenwriters knew well enough to keep the story breezy, and not bog it down with espionage. This allows the movie to remain amusing, thrilling, and fun.
What gives much of that a real shot in the arm, is the decision to use IMAX cameras to film the action sequences – sepcifically the vertigo-inducing Burj Khalifa sequence, where Cruise scales the exterior of the hotel one hundred stories above the ground. The scene uses the broader canvas to up the audience’s sense of danger and make us feel like we’re the ones about to take the fall. It’s a shot that doesn’t play as well in any other format, and makes the case for more action films to use the full IMAX format. Amazingly, just two scenes later, the movie goes right back to IMAX for a thrilling chase in a sandstorm. Y’know, sometimes I have trouble justifying the cost of a movie ticket to potential filmgoers. Where M:I-4 is concerned , that just isn’t the case.
When the movie isn’t feeding you eye-candy, it’s doing what’s most essential for a popcorn flick of it’s ilk: It’s having fun. Much of the fun comes courtesy of Simon Pegg, who seems to make every project he’s part of just that much better. I’m not entirely sure how he does it, but he seems to have a knack of always finding the right mix of klutzy and clever. The other promising inclusion is Jeremy Renner whose star continues to rise. M:I-4 was originally supposed to be a starring role for him before Cruise decided that he wanted another kick at the can. For some actors, this would be reason to bail out or phone it in. Renner, on the other hand, makes the most of the opportunity and plays a solid multifaceted character. He is the future of the franchise, and with that in mind the future looks bright.
The unexpected side effect of this film is that it has re-invigorated my interest in the M:I franchise, and in Tom Cruise as an action star. When Corey gave me that laundry list of reasons why this film would succeed, I had no response to how it would build on M:I-3 because I hadn’t seen it. Like many others, I skipped out on it, perhaps believing that I’d outgrown it and Cruise as a star. There are many “yeah, right” moments in this film: moments that subscribe to the 007 Laws of Physics. Not many actors can sell these sorts of shenanigans, but Cruise isn’t an actor – he’s an action figure. He still has a place in my film-watching…much like a Big Mac has a place in my eating habits.
When you put it all together, M:I-4 succeeds for every reason Corey predicted it would. It is escapist entertainment that executes on every level. It allows the audience to have fun, and go home feeling like they got their money’s worth. My tempered expectations helped this films impact on me, but it doesn’t deserve the “It Doesn’t Suck!” stamp of approval. It’s better than that…just like Corey said it would be.
Did I mention how much I hate it when he’s right?
I think you just wrote your review and mine, which works for me because now I don’t have to justify not writing one.
Now that you’ve seen I was right you need to go back and see MI3. You listed the reasons I was optimistic about MI4, except for perhaps the most crucial one: JJ Abrams. He’s the guy that made MI3 awesome and he sheparded this latest installment from coming up with the idea to hiring Brad Bird to helping him convince Paramount to shoot IMAX. I give tons of credit to Bird and seeing the title card “A Brad Bird film” in the opening fille me with glee, but most of my optimism came from my perception of JJ Abrams’ good judgment.
I actually rented a copy on the way home last night, so expect to see a thought or two on M:I-3 on the next weekly round-up.
As for writing your review with mine, feel free to link it to your hearts content and keep it in your hip pocket for the next time I try to convince you that you are wrong.
lol! i can’t wait to see this! woohoo! die hard tom cruise fan
If you’re a fan, then you’re in for a great time. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
Didn’t care much about MI3, it’s easily the worst of the bunch.
MI4 on the other hand, is quite good. The action sequences on the IMAX camera are sensational. The plot is really just an excuse for these sequences, but when it’s done this well, then the story is not a big issue. Have to see the movie on IMAX though, otherwise the movie probably won’t work as well.
A copy of M:I-3 is sitting on my TV stand ready to be watched this week. I’ve heard a lot of like-minded people rave about it, so maybe I just need to give it a fair shake. We shall see!
And isn’t the plot always just an excuse to move from one action set-piece to the next?
IMAX, Tom Cruise diving off the Dubai tower, Brad Bird. All I need.
Buckle up brother – you’re in for one wild ride.
Glad you like this, Ryan. It’s truly an escapist entertainment at its best… and that Burj Khalifa scene is the stuff the MI franchise is made of!! It’s like a roller coaster ride, once that scene is over, I wish I could rewind it and watch it again 🙂
Insane isn’t it? Obviously I’d seen that shot on the poster, but watching it in context made it that much more spectacular! I might have to get to another showing of this before it leaves the IMAX screen just to get one more hit.
I was so very pleasantly surprised by this, that I think it just marginally eclipsed my excitement for the preview of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. I might even buy this particular instalment on blu-ray for those IMAX sequences.
Great execution, I felt very absorbed and invested in the characters, particularly Pegg and Renner, both of whom anchored the film for me in a big way. Not to mention some of the “failed” stunts, which maintained that in action films, physics should not be ignored all of the time.
Somebody somewhere wrote that the “failed” stunts were a slight nod at Ethan’s age starting to catch up with him. I kinda like that, after all – Cruise will be fifty next year!
Glad I could make it worth your while buddy, and not just “THE DARK KNIGHT Scene and some crummy flick”
I saw this yesterday and had a blast. I was expecting something pretty special (considering some strong reviews) but it delivered. The action sequences are spectacular, the gadgets cool, the humour effective (you’re spot on about Simon Pegg). It’s one of the best popcorn blockbusters of the year. Sure, the story is slim (an evil Russian requires some nuclear codes to start a World War) – but it’s enough to have the characters Globe-hopping to the various locations around the world. The film peaked in Dubai, with the ending a little disappointing, I thought. But when an action star like Cruise teams up with Brad Bird, a man who clearly knows how to stage an action scene, the parts are there. Sure enough, they delivered.
Sounds like you had a blast. Just curious – did you manage to catch it on an IMAX screen?
No, but I saw it in V-Max which is the next best thing.
I just came back from the theatre. It was a lot of fun. Some of the things, since I’m from Dubai and India, were a tad bit too unbelievable, but I had a blast. I really loved Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg in it.
I never thought Brad Bird could pull this off. I agree with you when you say he crafted some of these films like those in animated films. That’s what made them so much fun.
Oh – now I’m curious! Give us the local take: What was unbelievable in the Dubai/Mumbai scenes?
The sandstorm- I’ve never ever seen anything like that. Maybe it might feel like that, but it does not look that disastrous.
The sexy cars- you will never find them in the streets of India, and you just won’t be able to drive them.
But I had fun watching the film.
I figured the sandstorm was something you were going to mention. I have to imagine they went all biblical with it for dramatic effect. The car on the other hand I never thought about, but that makes complete sense now that you mention it.
Good points – I’ll never look at the moments the same way now!
Great review! I didn’t have the highest expectations either, my interest lay solely in seeing Bird’s live-action debut. But I really enjoyed it, it was just FUN! And the imax sequences were gorgeous.
I haven’t seen any of the other MI films but now I think I’ll check out at least one. I’ve heard the third one is actually pretty cool, especially for Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
The third one was talked up to me as well, and when I watched it last week I was actually a bit disappointed. The funny thing about them all is that because each one is done by a different (and always very famous) director, the style keeps changing from film to film.
Yeah, I really dug it!
I still think that the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE franchise needs to work on it’s plot progression and lead character. Ethan Hunt just isn’t all that interesting of a hero, and the stories in each movie need work, this one especially. (To my knowledge, this is the only one that actually deals with nukes.) Also, the villain in this one was pretty ho-hum.
And yet, it’s easily my favorite of the franchise. Like you said, Bird directed this thing like a cartoon, so all sense of realism and physics and gravity are thrown out the window. And it was awesome!!!! Especially in IMAX!!
Good review. Please read mine! I miss your comments.
I don’t think M:I has ever been all that interested in character development…or compelling villains for that matter. So you’re right on those fronts.
But speaking of that villain, when you do eventually get around to watching the Swedish DRAGON TATTOO, remember M:I-4, because you’ll see the actor who played this villain in a new light as Mikael Blomkvist
I hate when Corey is right, too.
It’s a good piece of entertainment, few films I saw this year could hold up to it on that level, but I was a bit put-off by how they tried, and failed, to humanize the characters. The film didn’t earn the ending at all.
Crazy, isn’t it?
Perhaps you, like I, benefitted from the bar being set a little lower than usual. But as much as originality and character depth was short-changed, I feel lime M:I-4 made up for it by not trying to do too much and creating well-executed action scenes.
If only the blockbusters could always be this much fun.