Unlike what seems to be the majority of people, I have never had a problem with Tom Cruise. True, he might be a little off his rocker in the public eye and his religious choices are questionable, but his acting is always on par. That is never more evident than when he dons the moniker of Ethan Hunt. The Mission Impossible films have never failed to disappoint when it comes to heart pounding action set pieces and Ghost Protocol continues in that tradition. The one thing that this Mission Impossible does better than all the others is make it all really fun. The first and third Mission Impossible films were good but got kind of serious when the revenge angle kicked in. The second MI veered a little too far off into the over dramatic romantic side. Ghost Protocol managed to bring the action, drama, and suspense but still kept it light enough to be fun all the way through. The premise of this outing is that someone blows up the Kremlin and MI5 gets the blame. The government shuts them down and Ethan and his team go on the run to prove they are innocent. This adventure spans from Russia to Mumbai, with a stop off in Dubai which has what I believe is the most tension filled scene since Tom Cruise hung from a rope an inch from the floor trying not to sweat or touch the ground in the first Mission Impossible.
The cast is solid as usual. Headed by Tom Cruise as Ethan, he brings his usual go hard or go home attitude. He also brings a little something else. In all the other films he has just done what was needed to be done without so much as a flinch. In this one he brings a little something extra. With a look here or a flinch there Cruise has shown something in Ethan Hunt that has not been seen up to this point; he is human. When deciding who will be the crazy guy who climbs out the window and scale the largest building in the world, Cruise doesn’t follow the norm and volunteer. He looks at everyone else and only when they know he is the only one that can do it does he reluctantly do it. New to the series is Jeremy Renner as a CIA agent along for the ride. Unlike Jonathan Reese Myers in the 3rd movie who was having fun just being along for the ride, Renner proves to be a fellow team member willing to go toe to toe with Cruise. If this is any indication of how Renner will handle the Bourne series later this year, then we are in for a treat. Also new to this series and the IMF team is Paula Patton. In another time she would have been a wonderful love interest for Ethan Hunt, but now she is just another member of the team, but she does a good job. Finally, is Simon Pegg the only returning team member and he has a bigger part. It was a smart move bringing Pegg back, because he brings a lot of what makes this film so fun. He is always there to bring a laugh to the scene.
As mentioned before Mission Impossible always brings the action and Ghost Protocol is no different. Apart from the mentioned building scaling and the Kremlin incident, we are also treated to a very intense fight in what can only be described as the coolest parking garage ever. Also we get to see a nice foot chase scene through a sandstorm, yet another example why I think Tom Cruise has the coolest run on the silver screen.
I would say if there was anywhere the film could have done a little better, it would have to be the villain(Michael Nyqvist). He never really seemed very threatening and left most of the work to his henchman. Overall, this was a great entry into the Mission Impossible franchise. If you enjoyed any of the previous movies, then you will not be disappointed with this one. This movie is for fans of the Bourne movies and the Bond films.
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