Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist

Dir. Brad Bird
Scr. Josh Appelbaum & Andre Nemec

I think the person we have to thank for the fourth instalment of this series not being tired, humourless or boring is director Brad Bird. He brings to his first live action feature a freshness that is pleasing and entirely welcome. And a relentlessness that is exhausting, but tremendously fun. Sure, the premise is pretty clichéd and, at times, laughable. But just laugh along – I don’t think this IMF team are taking themselves too seriously.

Ghost Protocol starts as it means to go on – with a ridiculous and wonderful action sequence. Ethan Hunt (Cruise), currently rotting in a Russian prison, is broken out by fellow IMF agents (Pegg and Patton). And before you can say “why the long hair Tom?” they are infiltrating the Kremlin in order to prevent nuclear war. Yup, this is old school – it’s all launch codes and satellites and warheads and madmen. And the Russians and the Yanks disliking each other immensely. When it all goes pear-shaped, the IMF is shut down and Hunt and his team are ghosts. They also happen to be the only people who can prevent global disaster. Of course.

You may think I’m mocking. And I am. But that doesn’t mean that Ghost Protocol isn’t the most entertaining of all the Mission: Impossible films. Because it is. It’s slick, with new and improved gadgets. It’s packed with humour that was sadly missing from most of the previous three outings. It’s about teamwork, which was the very strength of the original tv show. And, visually, it’s stunning. Much credit to Bird who, as we know from his previous animated outings, can certainly tell a story. The ending is incredibly naff, but I easily forgave the sentimentality. They’d earned it.

The performances are a little mixed. Cruise is Hunt, no question. He’s still looking very good and obviously performing a lot of his own stunts. Pegg is wonderful as technical genius and now qualified field agent Benji. Much of the humour comes from him and I enjoyed his wide-eyed enthusiasm. Renner is a welcome addition to the team – is there any film he isn’t in?! Badass and surprising, his performance is very good indeed. Less welcome is Patton, who is a terrible actress. Wooden and overplayed, try your best to just block her out. The characters that fill in the gaps are mostly clichéd and two-dimensional but, in such an outlandish story, they fit perfectly.

I’m not proclaiming this to be the action movie of the year, but it comes darn close. Utterly entertaining, I gasped and winced and whooped. Ghost Protocol has breathed life into a waning franchise and, of course, leaves the door open for more of Hunt and his team. Brad Bird, please come back and give us another cracking good ride!

-----------------------

Benji: Now remember: "Blue is glue!"
Ethan: And red?
Benji: Dead.