Every Mission Impossible movie and most episodes of Inspector Gadget start this way. I’ve always found it odd that no one has ever refused the mission. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise, Days of Thunder, Oprah’s Couch) just said no, went home and chillaxed for once? Then you would have Mission Impossible with no impossible mission. What do you get when you take out all the action, danger, explosions and thrills out of a Tom Cruise film? Vanilla Sky, that’s what.
It’s hard to believe this is the fourth silver screen installment in the MI series. John Voight (Mission Impossible, 1996), director John Woo (Mission Impossible 2, 2000), and character actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Mission Impossible 3, 2006) have made their mark in past installments. Now, after 15 years, writer/director J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Super 8, LOST) has taken the helm of the franchise and got the most anyone possibly could have out of it.
MI4 follows the story of super agent Hunt (Cruise), some forgettable token hot chick (Paula Patton), and William Brandt (Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker). In terms of comic relief, Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) reprises his role as tech geek Benji. Thankfully, he’s funny in a funny way and not in a British way.
The movie follows four rogue agents whose firm, the Impossible Mission Force, has gone “Ghost Protocol”, meaning it has officially shut down and all of its agents are considered liabilities. I guess that’s what you get when the name of your employer is “The Impossible Mission Force.” Their last mission, which they did choose to accept, was to stop a doomsday scientist trying to usher in a new golden age by first wiping the slate clean with World War III.
What’s best about this movie is that it doesn’t take itself as seriously as previous installments did. Characters rightfully admit that their missions are absurdly impossible, which humanizes them a bit. One of the most stunning scenes is when Ethan scales the side of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world), which made me more than a little anxious. Renner excels as the team’s newest super agent, and heir apparent to Hunt’s lead role.
Given that Cruise is pushing 50, one would have to think that his days of being an action star are over. Still, Cruise has fared better than fellow Top Gunner Val Kilmer, who these days looks like Chaz Bono. On that note, if you have any desire to see a solid action-thriller that does not involve Michael Bay, you would be remised if you missed Ghost Protocol. It’s about as good as these movies get.
4/5 stars
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