Movie Review:- Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is the fourth movie in the spy thriller based on the 1960s TV show Mission: Impossible.  Thankfully this film acknowledges previous storyline threads left hanging in the series and doesn't just explain them away in a single line of dialogue.  

Brad Bird's (Ratatouille, The Incredibles) first foray into live-action does not disappoint and keeps us guessing as to what will happen next onscreen.  Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), our link through all the previous films, is back again, having recently been sprung by his old team from a Moscow prison only to break into the Kremlin to steal back some nuclear codes that have been stolen on a former mission gone wrong.  Just a typical day at the office!

Little does Hunt and his team know that they're being set up when part of the Kremlin is blown up and suspected to be the work of rogue spies, namely themselves.  As Ethan is informed by the IMF Secretary (Tom Wilkinson), the IMF no longer exists as the President has initiated Ghost Protocol.  (So that's where the title comes from.)  It's up to him, his team of Agents Jane Carter and Benji Dunn (Paula Patton, Simon Pegg) and newly acquired member and analyst, William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) to fix what has gone wrong and now blamed on them.  

In order to clear their names (and save the world, of course), they travel to Dubai to the hotel Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, to intercept a meeting and steal back the nuclear codes.  This is  by far the coolest and nerve-wracking sequences of the entire film.  Knowing that Tom Cruise performed those stunts himself makes it that much more amazing to watch.  Every member of IMF team does an incredible job and they almost manage to pull off the assignment.

So there's still the main villain (Michael Nyqvist), intent on starting a war between Russia and USA (Wasn't this also the plot to X-Men: First Class?), to hunt down and neutralize in a corner of the world I know well makes an appearance in the big climax.  Yes, the save the world sequence is held in Mumbai, in theory only.  The locations are definitely not in Mumbai but I must say that the high-tech car driven by Cruise at the end must be coveted by every driver, it forewarns you of pedestrians and gives your GPS right on the windshield.

Usually the technology in a spy thriller always seems so over the top and far-fetched and there a few occasions of that here too.  I would like to officially call a ban on the use of masks in this series.  Just say no, please!  But I admit to loving that Apple products such as your iPad or iPhone can pretty much be used to control anything.  Even the cool eye contact lens screen/printer seemed plausible.  If Google has its way, this could be our reality someday.

Despite holding his own in the film and in a lot of physical fights, Cruise is starting to look a bit old for the franchise.  Jeremy Renner's (who I was so sure would be an Oscar winner back in 2010) character Brandt was introduced that if Cruise no longer starred in it, he could take over.  After The Bourne Legacy, this would be the second franchise on Renner's shoulders.  Other notable but brief appearances came from Lea Seydoux (Midnight in Paris), Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire) and Josh Holloway (Lost), whom I didn't recognize without his trademark Sawyer beard at first.  I wish his role had be a bit more larger.

The latest Mission: Impossible is highly enjoyable and I wish I gotten a chance to see this in IMAX.  The film, with the deft direction of Brad Bird and a splendid soundtrack by Michael Giacchino, is totally worth every penny you spend on it.  The title sequence is also well done and reminded me a bit of The Incredibles.  A worthy addition to the franchise.

Directed by Brad Bird; Written by Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Based on the TV Series by Bruce Gellar; Cinematography by Robert Elswit; Edited by Paul Hirsch; Music by Michael Giacchino.

Rating:

Weekly News Roundup: Tarsem Singh's Snow White, Brad Bird on his live-action debut and Tobey Maguire in Life of Pi.

I go away for a week and suddenly there's movie news and trailers all over the place.  Don't worry, I'm going to try to play catch up now.  Let's get to it then.

Snow White and her Prince Charming

• Out of all the projects currently in production on Snow White, I'd bet my money on Tarsem Singh's Untitled Snow White Project that has picked up quite a cast.  Julia Roberts is the Evil Queen, Armie Hammer (The Social Network) is Prince Charming and Lily Collins (The Blind Side), daughter of Phil Collins, has been named as Snow White.  Trust me, it's not going to be boring.  Comingsoon.net has a great video interview with the director here where he talks about his plans for the movie.  
• Steven Spielberg is back to serious filmmaking, the kind that's going to get him back on the award podiums.  The long neglected Abraham Lincoln biopic, Lincoln, is back on, this time casting Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln.  Here's a fun fact, Field has never worked with Spielberg before, while Daniel Day-Lewis will be Lincoln.
• James Cameron and Peter Jackson talk about speeding up 3D by using 48 frames per second in their next 3D projects The Hobbit and the Avatar sequels.
• Brad Bird discusses with EW his first live-action film, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and how live-action differs from animated filmmaking.
• Tobey Maguire joins the cast of Life of Pi as the interviewer who learns the story about Pi's journey across the seas.

What to Watch - List of Upcoming Films in 2011.

2011, already! Confused about what films are releasing this year? Never fear! I'm putting together a list of movies that I want to watch in this new year and I'm sure some of the titles will match what you would like to see as well.  Let's get started, shall we?

JANUARY

Country Strong

Directed by: Shana Feste

Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, Leighton Meester

The Way Back

Directed by: Peter Weir

Starring: Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, Mark Strong, Saoirse Ronan

The Company Men

Directed by: John Wells

Starring: Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello

Read on for the rest of months here...

Quick News Update: Super 8 and Mission Impossible 4's new title

The blog postings have been scarce lately and I apologize.  I'm currently finishing up The Hunger Games series and it's extremely gripping.  But in the meantime, here's a bit of news to tide you over.

• JJ Abrams Super 8 gets a release date of June 10th, 2011.  Then the suspense will finally be over. 
• Oh, Lord! Step Up 4Ever planned for 2012.  This was inevitable.  The dance off continues.  
• Jeremy Piven will play the villain in the next Spy Kids movie.  I thought this franchise was done, but who knew there was story enough for another one.
• George Clooney is back to directing with Ides of March, an adaptation of Broadway's Farragut North.  His leading man in the film will be Ryan Gosling.  I sense Oscar already.
• As Super 8 gets a release date, so does Mission Impossible 4 gets an official title, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.  What is up with the seriously uncool names?  Does a random movie title generator spit out these names? What does it even mean?  Rant over.  

December 2011: The busiest movie month?

Come next December 2011, I'm going to have to have start living on weekends at the movie theaters because it seems like every movie is releasing that very month.  At least the ones I want to see anyway.  Lets look at the evidence.

It's starts off with December 9th.  Martin Scorsese's Hugo Cabret is up first.  His first 3D venture is about a young boy, Hugo, who lives in a train station in 1930s Paris and has to solve a mystery surrounding his late father.  The cast includes Asa Butterfield as Hugo, Chole Moretz, Jude Law, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley and Christopher Lee.  I'm really looking forward to see how Scorsese tackles 3D.

It goes up against New Year's Eve, the followup to Valentine's Day.  It's just an excuse to see as many good-looking and famous actors in one film.  Gary Marshall will be back as director.

The weekend after that brings Mission Impossible 4 and Sherlock Holmes 2 on December 16th.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo comes out on December 21st.  Do you know how it's been since Daniel Craig has a release, I can't possibly wait that long?  December 23 belongs to Cameron Crowe's movie with Matt Damon, We Bought a Zoo, which sounds very promising and The Muppets are back on the screen on Christmas Day with Jason Segel and Amy Adams.

And finally, my very own dilemma on December 28th, which Steven Spielberg film to watch first?  Will it be War Horse, a WWI epic about a boy and his horse or The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.  Hate the title, though I can't wait to see the collaboration with Peter Jackson.  So long between releases and they both end up on the same day! How is that fair?

So there you have it.  This isn't counting the other films that have yet to decide their release dates but all I know is we'll be spoiled for choices unless the studios blink first and decide to change their release date.

Casting Updates

• Did Hollywood learn nothing from not one but two live action/CG Garfield movies? Warner Bros. is setting out to make a live action/CG hybrid, much like Garfield, out of Pepe Le Pew and will feature his beleaguered love, Penelope Pussycat. Mike Myers is said to voice the character of Pepe. WB wants to re-introduce its Looney Tunes characters to the new generation. How about some traditional 2D cartoons for yore, Bugs vs. Daffy, Porky, Marvin the Martian and more? I'd love to see those again. However, be glad Pepe will only limit itself to 3D, not 4D. 
• More news coming out of the M:I 4 front. Brad Bird has added some international names to his cast and possibly these could be the villains, Tom Cruise and his posse could be up against. Lea Seydoux (Robin Hood) and Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire) have been added to play supporting roles in the film. Good for Anil Kapoor for getting noticed beyond Slumdog but I hope he doesn't get perennially typecast as the baddie. 
• Bourne will be back but not Matt Damon. Tony Gilroy, who is directing this installment, has said that this is standalone project and won't feature Damon's character Jason Bourne but will still be a Bourne film. 
• Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is putting together a British cast that reads that who's who's of British cinema. Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Dev Patel are all headed to India to film the story about a bunch of English retirees who decide that India will be the best place for them to spend their retired lives.

'One Day' First Look

• USA Today has a first look into One Day, currently filming and being directed by Lone Scherfig (An Education).  Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess play Emma and Dexter, university friends, who meet every day over 20 years on July 15 on St. Swithin's Day in UK (kinda like Groundhog day in USA).  The movie is based on David Nicholl's very popular book by the same name (which I have yet to finish) and was already on my must-see list when I saw this was being made into a movie.  In the meanwhile, next assignment, find time and finish reading the book.   
• Have you been wondering what Sawyer aka Josh Holloway has been upto now he's no longer on Lost?  He's joining Tom Cruise's posse over at Mission Impossible 4.  I know I'm always bemoaning the fact the Hollywood relies waaay to much on its sequels but come on, it's Mission Impossible.  Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) is directing and J.J. Abrams will be producing.  Also in the cast are Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Paula Patton (Precious), Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames.  I'm beginning to care again.  Don't let me down.  
• MI 4's competition for next December 2011 is another sequel, Sherlock Holmes 2.  The casting news has been fast and furious these past couple of days.  Joining Noomi Rapace and Stephen Fry will be Jared Harris (Mad Men, Fringe) as Sherlock's nemesis, Professor Moriarity.  Guy Ritchie is back to direct this one.