12/16/11

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

This PG-13 money-printing franchise is back again. Do you know why? Because Producers J.J. Abrams and Tom Cruise are two smart fellows with a lot of clout who look for: a great director; a great script; and a great cast.

The great director is Brad Bird ("The Incredibles") who is directing his first non-animated feature. The stunts are so hair raising it might have been easier on my nerves if they HAD been animated! Particularly scaling that skyscraper in Dubai... Whew!

The great script by television scriptwriters Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, starts in Budapest where the IMF is implicated in a bombing. This means our doughty team must first clear their names. That takes them to Moscow where they learn there is also the threat of nuclear war.... So off to Mumbai... Oh, you know. Cruise is an international star and his movies always take us all over the world. That's part of the fun.

And here is a small part of that great cast:
  • Tom Cruise ("Valkyrie") continues to be an enigma to me. For such a high-profile celebrity, I don't really know much about him. He gives each movie everything he's got and we always get our money's worth.
  • Tom Wilkinson ("The Debt") is a highly capable actor who works all the time in a variety of accents. This is an A-List Actor (capital "A") who hasn't a shred of scandal associated with his name.
  • Jeremy Renner ("The Hurt Locker") is a great example of an actor who conveys energy, intelligence and subtext. He ain't purdy, but he's effective. I hope he becomes a permanent member of the IMF team: he brings both gravitas and humanity.
  • Paula Patton ("Precious") surprised me as an action star. Who knew?
  • Simon Pegg ("Star Trek") is hilarious! He never disappoints me; he is so perfect here I hope to see him bring this character back a third time in the inevitable next episode.
  • Ving Rhames ("Mission Impossible" franchise) made a cameo appearance and an affectionate murmur swept the audience.
  • Anil Kapoor ("Slumdog Millionaire") can play smarmy very nicely. Remember him as the M.C. in Slumdog?
  • Michael Nyqvist ("The Millennium Trilogy") is an experienced multi-lingual Swede who is equally comfortable in heroic or villainous roles.
You may have noticed I haven't discussed the role each actor plays in the plot. Come on... In a Tom Cruise movie is a plot important? As you might expect, there is never a dull moment. Fans know they can rely on a Cruise movie for non-stop action and breath-taking stunts. But a plot? Not so much. All I can say is that we had tons of fun watching this action fest and appreciated some poignant moments as well.

Gunshots, vehicular mayhem, brawls, riots, and blowie uppie stuff, no profanity and they all kept their clothes on. This one should be a big hit.
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This trailer is 2:31 minutes long:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2866585113/
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