Ghuznee Film Society Review: Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol

d. Brad Bird

Starring: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Michael Nyqvist

So Brad Bird’s directed this installment, and after hitting us with the likes of The Incredibles this is his first foray into live-action film. The light hearted mood (certainly compared to #3) and intricate set-pieces certainly bear his stylistic stamp.

This is the first movie I’ve seen on the big screen in an age and the cinema’s for sure the way to go for a movie like this. The special effects are flawless and the locales are many, varied and lush, as we’ve all come to expect from the series. The unfairly maligned (in my opinion) Tom Cruise does his best as he always does but is dribbled on by a flacid supporting cast (oh, but don’t rope Simon Pegg into that statement, he’s great). The biggest letdown character-wise is the villain. For a maniacal apocalypse-inducing Russian, the guy spends all his screen time running away from Ethan and the gang, with nary a diabolically crazed monologue about nuclear war in sight. He’s just a panting plot device, which for such an outlandish guy must be frustrating.

The third act is a drag, but all the bitching out of the way, I did crank the ol’ buttocks up to the edge of my seat with this one, and for a good hour or so they stayed there. Bravo for Tom Cruise for climbing up that building in real life too, or so I’m led to believe. I got vertigo just watching you.

7/10