In 2006, audiences thought they had seen the last
of Ethan Hunt, but little did they know that just five years later a new
mission would begin that would change this franchise forever. Mission:
Impossible: Ghost Protocol was a shot in the arm for this seemingly dead
franchise, and much like with Fast & Furious, this fourth installment has
brought with it a new found life and a series of fantastic sequels.
It’s evident from the beginning that these movies
are shifting to a more action oriented focus, which is a much bigger draw for general
audiences, as action films, even subpar ones, tend to do better than heist films. The Mission: Impossible series has definitely
carved out a much needed space in this genre, and Tom Cruise continues to excel
in the role of Ethan Hunt. Director Brad
Bird breathes new life into this franchise, which goes to show that just
because a director is known for mostly doing animated films (The Iron Giant,
The Incredibles, Ratatouille) doesn’t mean he can’t also excel at live action,
and he does that in spades.
On a side note, Brad Bird also managed to sneak in
a couple A113 references. For those
unaware, A113 is an inside joke created by alumni of the California Institute of
the Arts, referring to the classroom used by graphic design and character
animation students including John Lasseter, Tim Burton and Brad Bird. It has appeared in many Disney films,
including every Pixar film, and it was fantastic to see it/hear it in this one. The A113 reference pops up in two
spots (that I noticed), once spoken by Ethan as a code ("Rendezvous Alpha 1-1-3") and then
shown on Hanaway’s ring (as seen below).
Ghost Protocol starts off in a very familiar way,
with Ethan being framed for something he didn’t do. This is a classic trope for these films, but
unlike the others, this isn’t a corrupt higher up putting the blame on
Ethan. Still, he is blamed for a
terrorist attack on the Kremlin, resulting in the entire IMF agency being
disavowed by the U.S. government. Forced to go "off the grid" -- left
without resources or backup -- Hunt must somehow clear the agency's name and
prevent another attack. Complicating matters even more,
Ethan must undertake the impossible mission with a group of fellow IMF
fugitives whose actual motives are suspect.
This entire scenario allows the film to move in a different direction,
one that pushes this franchise into being one of the best action franchises of
all time.
The film starts off with an IMF
agent (whose name we learn is Hanaway, and who is played by Josh Holloway) who,
while on mission, is taken out by an assassin.
This took me off guard as I was expecting him to be part of this
film. I loved him in Lost and Colony, so
when I saw him, I just assumed he’d be a member of Ethan’s new team. But instead, they pulled an M:I-3 and killed
off the actor I knew right at the beginning.
And even though I was shocked and a little bummed, this sequence set the
tone and pace for the rest of the film.
We then move on to Ethan and
his new team, as they are in the midst of breaking Ethan out of prison. Obviously a whole lot has gone down since the
last time we visited these characters.
Ethan has his long hair again, but with a completely different attitude
now (which is good, as the last time his hair was long was in the worst film in
the franchise). They’re very vague about
what happened in between this and the previous film, at least at first. Ethan’s story had seemingly ended. He and Julia were happy and heading off to
their honeymoon. So what happened? Well, Ethan is in prison and we are told
Julia is dead, but there’s much more to the story than that. Once
Ethan is retrieved from his cell, the film really takes off. We get one of my favorite heists in the
entire franchise with the hallway hologram scene. It’s such a cool piece of tech, and seems
like it could be real. It even has a
fault, which is shown in the movie, proving that technology isn’t always
perfect.
Simon Pegg returns as Benji,
but this time he’s actually a field agent, allowing him to be a bigger part of
the movie, and they are joined by newcomer Jane, played by Paula Patton. It’s great to see Pegg back, as I loved his
small role in M:I-3, but it saddened me that Ving Rhames wasn’t the go-to tech
guy on Ethan’s team as he has been for the previous three films. However, he does pop up at the end for a
quick scene, so at least he did make an appearance. Then we have Paula Patton, who is absolutely
wonderful in this film. She’s a welcome
addition to the team, and I love that there is zero sexual tension between
them, not even a hint. We learn later on
that Jane was Hanaway’s handler, and she takes it pretty hard, especially when
faced with Hanaway’s killer. You can see
the anger in her, it’s palpable, and Patton plays it perfectly.
We eventually meet Jeremy
Renner’s character, intelligence analyst William Brandt, who travels with Ethan’s
team to Dubai to stop the sale of the nuclear launch codes taken from Hanaway
at the beginning of the film. Renner is
a badass, whether it’s in the Marvel films, The Bourne Legacy, or here. He is a true action star and it’s a shame he
doesn’t get the chance to headline more things.
Even in the 2018 comedy Tag, he showed off some action skills. He is a great fit for this team, and building
a strong team is the way to go. We saw
three films of Ethan doing his thing, now it’s time to see Ethan and his team
working together to get the job done.
And as you see in this film, Ethan would die without his team.
This is a great action film,
and the perfect start to this new set of Mission: Impossible films. It surpasses the previous ones in every way
and sets up something interesting at the end for the next one. And don’t worry folks…Tom Cruise does even
crazier stunts in the next two films.
The Merc’s Score: 9/10
Make sure to check us out and like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all of our reviews, news, trailers, and much, much more!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment