Directed by: Brad Bird
Produced by: Tom Cruise
J.J. Abrams
Bryan Burk
Screenplay by: Andre Nemec
Josh Applebaum
Based on: Mission: Impossibe by Bruce Geller
Starring: Tom Cruise
Jeremy Renner
Simon Pegg
Paula Patton
Music by: Michael Giacchino
Lalo Schifrin (themes)
Cinematography by: Robert Elswit
Editing by: Paul Hirsch
Studio(s): Paramount Pictures
Skydance Productions
Bad Robot Productions
TC Productions
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release date(s): December 7, 2011 (Dubai)
December 16, 2011 (United States) (IMAX)
December 26, 2011 (United Kingdom)
Running time: 138 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
Production budget: $145 million
Box office revenue (as of publication): $571, 641, 000
Okay, today's movie
for review is Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. I know the movie has
been out for over a month now, but this was really the first
opportunity that I got to see it. I attended a six o' clock screening at
the terrific cinema that is The Strand, and one of the great pleasures
about that cinema is that if a movie has been out a few weeks, generally
there isn't much of a demand for it. As such, I got the pleasure of
paying my three-pounds fifty-pence to watch this film on the big screen
by myself. As for the Mission: Impossible series, we've had an
interesting relationship. I haven't seen the first two for a while, but I
remember the Brian De Palma 1996 film being a good, if slightly
overrated thriller, while John Woo's M:I-2, released in 2000 was a messy
affair, though it did have some fantastic stunts. It is J.J. Abrams'
M:I-3 that was the best of the series, a showcase for both Abrams'
talent at filming action and Tom Cruise, whose Ethan Hunt was given the
benefit of strong character development. Five years on, in the fallout
of that great film, we have Ghost Protocol. The debut live-action film
of Brad Bird, one of our great living animation directors, Ethan Hunt
and his team, Jane Carter (Paula Patton), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), and
reluctant IMF analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), are left with the
blame of a terrorist attack on the Kremlin during their operation. After
'Ghost Protocol' is activated, disbanding the entire IMF, the team
must, while fugitives, clear their name by finding out who is
responsible for the attack and prevent the terrorists goal of beginning a
nuclear war.
Starting with what is good here, I
must compliment director Brad Bird. Showing no trepidation in the
transition from animation to live-action and far from doing a for-hire
job on behalf of J.J. Abrams, he mounts this formidable steed and runs
with it. Handling the action with finesse, his visual stylistics are
that of a pure storyteller and I look forward to seeing where he goes
from here. Also, technically the film is strong, the cinematography
casting an all-seeing eye over the proceedings, while wisely it is cut
so we can admire the spectacle that is being presented. At risk of
spurring any pretence of objectivity, I must say that it is a pet peeve
at mine when an action film is cut as though Michael Myers Vs
Leatherface (as directed by Michael Bay) is being shot in the editing
suite. While I think directors like Paul Greengrass and J.J. Abrams use
the Steadicam well, I am thankful to be able to say that this film does
suffer from this terminal illness. Also, although you certainly aren't
going to get any acting masterclass, you couldn't ask for a more
charismatic bunch of actors to play the disavowed IMF team. Tom Cruise
is Tom Cruise, terrific as ever, Jeremy Renner displays his range once
again, Simon Pegg gets all the funny lines, and the film's most pleasant
surprise is Paula Patton, who gets saddled with a weak character but
comes across as a strong, empowering heroine. Finally, the stunt team
working on this film deserve an extended round of applause for their
work here. The whole thirty-minute sequence set in Dubai is among the
greatest action sequences in film history. I shit you not, I was making
noises like a poor eight-year-old woman in the throws of a vicious case
of indigestion, and as a result was thoroughly grateful for my being the
only one in the auditorium. I know there are some of your that'll be
rolling your eyes at my hyperbole, but I started feeling faint and
getting vertigo just watching it. Also, the whole structure of that
sequence, cutting back and forth between the two different meetings and
the ensuing chase that follows, is masterful, and brought out some of
the most powerful emotions I have felt watching from a film in 2011.
Nevertheless,
for all these emotions and my extreme hyperbole, this is still not a
great film, because it has a number of fundamental flaws that detract
from my enjoyment of it. Many of these emerge from the film's script.
While by no means a slapdash bit of work, Andre Nemec and Josh
Appelbaum's script feels very contrived. Every snippet of backstory or
transitory scenes of dialogue in between the action feels mechanical and
comes across as filler for the action scenes, far from the more organic
M:I-3. If there was one thing that made the predecessor stand out from
the rest was that there was clearly genuine care in Ethan Hunt's story.
Furthermore, from the antagonist standpoint, there is some terrible
characterisation. After Philip Seymour Hoffman's Owen Davian, these
villains are as flimsy as those cardboard cutouts on a shooting range,
and leads to some poor performances. Also, the film's ending is rather
rushed in the wake of the sheer carnage ensuing throughout, especially
given its long running time. Finally, though this is a minor quibble, it
is hard to top the Dubai sequence, so perhaps this would have been more
appropriate as the setting for the film's climax.
However,
despite it's decent but nevertheless flawed script, I found Mission:
Impossible - Ghost Protocol to be a very enjoyable film. Brad Bird makes
the transition from animation to live-action successfully, his eye for
spectacle translating over the medium and a big influence on the film's
strong editing and cinematography. Also, the four leads are a
charismatic bunch and do a fine job of sustaining the audiences' (as in
my) interest. Finally, I reiterate, an extended round of applause for
the stunt team, for causing this world-weary film critic to nearly faint
during the terrific Dubai sequence.
The Thin White Dude's Prognosis - 7.8/10
The Thin White Dude's Self-Diagnosis - Pretty good (given the weekend's shenanigans!)
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