Originally published by L.S. Media. January 1st 2012.
L.S. Media Rating **
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Tom Wilkinson, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Anil Kapoor, Josh Holloway.
Style over substance; perhaps significantly so to the point that Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is a feast for the eyes but will eventually leave you feeling empty and a little unfulfilled. The fourth in the highly successful franchise is no doubt a perfect vehicle for Tom Cruise. As with the action films that he has made, he seems to revel in being the hero, an action man who really does the genre justice and like Steve McQueen before him, does his own stunts to the point where many a seasoned stunt double would balk at the idea of hanging off the world’s tallest building.
What happens though when the action man roles dry up? It’s been years since a role of magnitude came along for a man that this quite rightly lauded in the film industry, a film that people could say he was magnificent and filled the screen by presence alone. For the Mission Impossible film that was left to the obvious talent of Simon Pegg and the visually stunning special effects. Other than that, it’s possible to believe that this film was all about creating a need for selling spin off merchandise, that quite frankly may be needed to keep corporate types happy but is it really needed any more. Certainly a case for the studio dollar practicing its ventriloquism act on the cinematic dummy.
The effects are outstanding and impressive but as Andrea Arnold proved in this year’s spell binding adaptation of Wuthering Heights, sometimes, less is more. Yes to see Tom Cruise climb outside of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai had those in attendance in the theatre gripping the sides of their chairs and raising their hands to cover their eyes and the scene of the iconic seat of Russian power, the Kremlin, being blown up is a touch that perhaps subconsciously the writer and director had at the back of their mind with events in the Middle East and now in Russia being played out. Sometimes art imitates the real world quite well, even if it seems surreal.
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol had in truth the feel of comic book action films but without the warmth that it is generated by the rabid fans of Marvel, D.C. or a million other publishers and was only saved by the effects and by the presence of Simon Pegg who added an element of comic strength in an otherwise dull and predictable dialogue.
No doubt there will be a fifth installment of the franchise and even a sixth but some things shouldn’t go on forever, mission impossible indeed.
Ian D. Hall