MOVIE REVIEW: Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol

Brad Bird ... Director
Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec ... Writers
Bruce Geller ... writer on original television program

STARS:

Tom Cruise ... Ethan Hunt
Jeremy Renner ... Brandt
Simon Pegg ... Benji
Paula Patton ... Jane
Michael Nyqvist ... Hendricks
Vladimir Mashkov ... Sidorov
Samuli Edelmann ... Wistrom
Ivan Shvedoff ... Leonid Lisenker
Anil Kapoor ... Brij Nath
Léa Seydoux ... Sabine Moreau
Josh Holloway ... Hanaway
Pavel Kris ... Marek Stefanski
Miraj Grbic ... Bogdan

I confess, I'm not much of a Tom Cruise fan. So, my husband and I paid IMAX prices to see Simon Pegg. I'm pleased and surprised to say it was worth it!

First of all, the IMAX version of MI4 is not 3D. Thus, you do not have to wear the stupid ill-fitting glasses, which you have to recycle and then pay for every_single_time you see a 3-D movie. For the most part, I haven't seen a lot of 3D that's worth the extra admission and glasses rental, anyway. However, MI4 was well worth the IMAX screen. The effects, particularly in Dubai, were stunning. In addition, this version of MI was much more of an ensemble cast than the prior versions. There's much more interplay among the stars and it's not just the "Tom Cruise" show. Actually, Cruise was pretty impressive. Simon Pegg as the nerd Benji promoted to a field agent, did an amazing job.


The story: The MI team's been called out to invade the Kremlin's archives to obtain Russian nuclear missile launch codes to keep them from a terrorist code-named Cobalt. The mission fails and a bomb goes off at the Kremlin. The Russians blame the US and call the bombing an "undeclared act of war." Thus, IMF and their agents are disavowed and the team has to continue to stop Cobalt in "Ghost Protocol" with no support from anyone other than themselves.

The film's nonstop action with some of the most chilling occurring in Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. I would recommend film-goers forego the large soft drink because there just isn't a convenient bathroom break.

MI4 was definitely worth the IMAX price especially since I didn't have to wear the stupid glasses. I doubt I'll ever own the film, since I tend to want to own the whole series and I just don't care that much for MI to do that, but I'd definitely recommend the film for action-adventure junkies.

Rebecca McFarland Kyle, December 2011