Viewed in
2011
Formats
IMAX
Premise
In the fourth installment of the Tom Cruise-led franchise, The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.
Liked
Action scenes, Cruise, Simon Pegg.
Thoughts
Pretty good for a big budget spectacle. The coolest part was Cruise's cat-and-mouse chase on foot during a haboob. I also liked that the climax was a cool modern twist on elevator chases. Overall, it was high quality action, often shot in IMAX, but they weren't always wow-inducing, such as the famous skyscraper scene, which should've been. That scene had moments that weren't told well, action-wise.
It had a strong cast of good actors. Tom Cruise still proved that he can carry an action flick and still had his fastball, even if his distinct running style looked goofy. I loved that his character kept mistiming his jumps and painfully bashing his head into stuff. Simon Pegg and Cruise were excellent at selling the tech geek versus no-nonsense action man routine. Speaking of humor, I did enjoy the occasional random comedy. It's not his fault, but every time Anil Kapoor appeared onscreen, I end up hearing him yelling in my head, "Who wants to be a millionaire?!" from Slumdog Millionaire.
Lastly, I liked how they kept the legacy of the franchise with brief appearances from cast members from previous titles.
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol won't blow you out the water, but it was definitely well-done and enjoyable. This was arguably the best of the Mission Impossible movies in terms of quality, story, and characters, though I'll always adore the stylish Brian de Palma one.
Random
I'm preaching to the choir, but Bane's voice was hilariously distorted and indecipherable in The Dark Knight Rises trailer.
