Just when you thought the “Mission: Impossible” series wouldn’t get any better here comes “Ghost Protocol”. The stunts in this film aren’t just incredible, they’re the kind that makes you yell out loud even if you've seen them before. It’s a dream come true of action films.
Following the murder of an IMF agent and the theft of Russian nuclear launch codes by assassin Sabine Moreau (Léa Seydoux), Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is called upon once again. With the codes en route to a man only known as “Cobalt”, Hunt, Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) must stop him – without the help of the U. S. government, which has officially dissolved the IMF after a catastrophic mission in Russia.
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” amps up the series' trademark action. You can’t talk about this film without addressing the incredible climbing of the Burj Khalifa by Ethan. It’s a tight sequence that’ll give you vertigo and fill you with both excitement and terror – and it’s only the beginning of a mission in which everyone has to play their part to simultaneously deceive two groups of people. There’s little room for error and when you learn just what needs to be done, it seems… well, they don’t call it “impossible” for nothing. It’s just one segment of a brilliant, sweat-generation, exhilarating movie but it perfectly summarizes the whip-smart direction by Brad Bird.
You’re so caught up in the film’s individual moments you can’t even think of what’s coming next but the thrills add to the story, they're not substitutes. There are what, three? Four? Big scenes, each of which is completely different and features either incredible stunts, wonderfully inventive and cleverly used gadgets, or both. With the ample globe-trotting and the camaraderie between the members of the IMF, it delivers spectacles and just the right amount of laughs - and character exploration - to prevent the audience’s nerves from collapsing.
I suppose once you get down to it, there’s not much to this film’s villain but does it really matter? You won’t feel the 133-minute running time (that number shocked me but I double-checked and it’s correct) and anyway, his actions speak for themselves. If the tactics the IMF employ go right, he’ll be a piece of cake, maybe even a non-threat. It’s not that he’s a cartoon, it’s that he’s kept mostly mysterious and in a film like this one, where there are so many characters and other elements to juggle, knowing who to dispense screentime to is critical.
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” is a rousing success, it’s a workout for the eyes and the sweat glands, the kind that makes you want to jump in a second time once it’s over. (On Blu-ray, August 16, 2018)
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