Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

It’s interesting: The “James Bond” franchise has recently distanced itself from the use of high-tech gadgets while the “Mission: Impossible” franchise is now fully embracing them. Look at “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace,” 007’s last two adventures, and the closest thing you’ll see to a proper gadget in either of the two films is an in-car defibrillator that Bond-girl Vesper Lynd uses to get Bond’s ticker ticking again when he’s fatally poisoned – this is opposed to the famously ginormous assortment of sophisticated gizmos used in the previous 20 films in the legendary spy series, from magnetic watches to an invisible car.

Now take a look at “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” the fourth film in the very popular action series starring Tom Cruise as IMF Agent Ethan Hunt. Here, it’s like Ethan won that hilariously convoluted competition in “The Gadget Show:” we have magnetic underwear, electromagnetic climbing gloves, facial-recognition contact lenses, contact lenses that print its user’s sight when its user blinks twice, retinal scanners, a big screen that replicates the image behind it, a suit containing a massive inflatable landing platform and, of course, a device that can make flawless face masks. Also, in one scene, in a very unsubtle case of shameless product placement, an iPad is used (don’t you have enough money already, Apple?).

Yes, it’s gadgets galore in “M:I4,” and the film is all the better for it; “Ghost Protocol” is fast, fun, silly and fun – did I mention it was fun? This is the first film in the inherently goofy “M:I” franchise to fully embrace its inherent goofiness, cruising along with an endearing sense of humour without entirely mocking itself; we, as an audience, are often laughing along with the film, but we’re still fully engaged in the action-packed narrative and taking the whole thing fairly seriously.

In this perilous adventure, Mr Hunt is on a mission to stop World War III from materialising, a task he must accomplish while on the run from the law. Why’s he on the run from the law? Well, Ethan and his crack team (played by Simon Pegg and Paula Patton) are disavowed by IMF and considered to be terrorists after a sneaky raid for archive files in the Moscow Kremlin ends in the Kremlin being blown up by a bunch of villainous gits.

It soon transpires that the leader of these villainous gits is Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”), a Russian nuclear strategist and total nutcase who wishes to spark nuclear war between Russia and the USA. Ethan, Benji (Pegg), Jane (Patton) and mysterious IMF chief analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”) must work together not only to stop Hendricks from attaining nuclear launch codes, but also to clear their names and blow some shit up.

At several points throughout its runtime, “Ghost Protocol” reminded me of Steven Spielberg’s very recent “Tintin” adaptation, in that both films consist of near-relentless action and seem to feed off of a never-ending source of energy and pizzazz. It’s true: “M:I4” is chock-a-block with increasingly outlandish and perfectly preposterous set-pieces that, as is always the case in spy movies, take us on a bit of a world tour; we go from Moscow in Russia to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and finally to Mumbai in India.

The set-pieces themselves, and there are many to mention, are magnificently exhilarating and uncontrollably lively, beginning with an intricate escape from a Moscow jail and ending with a punch-up in a multi-level automated car garage. But the most exhilarating set-piece is the one you’ve undoubtedly seen splattered all over the trailers and TV spots, and understandably so. Yes, this is the sequence set inside (and outside) the Burj Khalifa, aka the tallest building in the world, which Ethan is forced to scale using the aforementioned electromagnetic climbing gloves.

Like a fly on a 2,700 ft windshield, Ethan is left sticking to the windows of what is at the very least the one hundredth floor of this inconceivably tall structure. His life is wholly relying on these high-tech gloves, which stick to a solid surface after a hard slam and pull away via a curling movement; they also turn out to be more than a little faulty. At one point, he falls down several floors, which I’m not ashamed to admit caused my heart to nearly explode – I can’t imagine what the sequence must be like for an acrophobic to watch. Cruise apparently did this stunt himself; if so, he is either a braver or crazier man than most, or maybe both.

Perhaps the reason for the film’s unyielding energy is the mentality of Brad Bird, the film’s director. Bird, a two-time Oscar-winner, has previously directed three films; these are “The Iron Giant,” “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille,” all of which are animated. As you probably know, animation is a medium in which much energy and imagination is required; Bird more than accomplished this with the three aforementioned films – it seems Bird has continued this mentality with “Ghost Protocol,” his first live-action feature, and I must say it works wonders.

I suppose you’re wondering where “Ghost Protocol” sits with its three predecessors. I’ll say this: It is better than “Mission Impossible,” it is substantially better than “Mission Impossible II,” and it is at the very least on a par with “Mission Impossible III.” Anyway, comparisons aside, “Ghost Protocol” is a breath-taking slice of white-knuckle action and a tremendous piece of blockbuster entertainment that should only be missed if you’re a severe acrophobic.

9/10