MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL... I saw the latest installment in the 15-year-old spy movie franchise last Saturday, and needless to say, it was pretty good. Directed by Brad Bird, who helmed the Pixar animated hit The Incredibles in 2004, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol conveyed a nice blend of humor, action and drama in its storyline...which was about four renegade IMF (Impossible Missions Force) agents trying to stop a terrorist from launching nukes after he blew up the Kremlin in Russia. Simon Pegg, best known for Shaun of the Dead and being a source of comedy relief in 2009’s Star Trek, also provided a sense of humor as the computer analyst named Benji Dunn. Paula Patton, as the lovely IMF agent named Jane Carter, had a score to settle with a sexy assassin (played by Léa Seydoux, who was also in Ridley Scott's 2010 version of Robin Hood) who killed a fellow IMF agent that was also Carter’s love interest. Jeremy Renner, as the IMF chief analyst named William Brandt, kicked as much ass as Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt did...though Brandt carried a painful secret that involved Hunt and the events that transpired after 2006’s Mission: Impossible III.
As shown in its theatrical trailer and TV ads, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol did not disappoint with the action sequence that took place at the Burj Khalifa skyscraper (the tallest building in the world) in Dubai. It’s amazing to hear that Tom Cruise was actually hanging along the side of Burj Khalifa and doing his own stunts...though it’s safe to say that substantial harnessing attached to Cruise during this scene had to be removed during post-production. I won’t spoil the ending for y’all, but I must also wonder how there could be so many nice and exotic sports cars in the Indian city of Mumbai. (Pardon my ignorance since the farthest country I’ve traveled to was the Philippines—more than 20 years ago). If you’ve already seen M:I:4, then you’d know which scene I was talking about.
Brad Bird gave Ghost Protocol's story and characters as much depth, energy and excitement as he did with The Incredibles. It would be awesome if he directed a Mission: Impossible 5 in the future. And as the rumors suggest, it would also be awesome to see Jeremy Renner take the reigns from Tom Cruise if he’s done with this franchise. But if the final scene of Ghost Protocol is any indication, we may see Dunn, Carter, Brandt and Hunt working together again in M:I:5. That would be cool.
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