MISSION IMPOSSIBLE GHOST PROTOCOL (2011) Movie Review


★★★★☆

Brad Bird is a fabulous director. His best films never let up, they are a constant electrical circuit. Visuals, pacing and script all stimulate with that energy. This is a very special entry in the MI-verse. Because we have Brad Bird in one outing and the story itself feels predominantly standalone. Every action set piece stands out and builds in quality; and even though the climax pails in comparison to Burj Kalifa climb that morphs into the sand storm race they are all an 8/10 at best. 

It’s sad that Jeremy Renner and especially Paula Patton are not part of the team anymore because they leave superb impact on Ethan Hunt in terms from a chemistry standpoint and how connected they are to his backstory. Simon Pegg begins his run as a series regular and Cruise is as charismatic and physically dynamic as ever.

The only thing dragging it down is it’s villain. The late Michael Nyqvist was stellar but the script for this film grants him very little work with. It’s one thing to make plot-functional villains, which the series has been known for, but to have sparsely onscreen is another matter. This is by far the worst of the villains in MI’s already saturated rogues gallery (which the exception of Hoffman). The coolest antagonist was Lea Seydoux almost speechless assassin but that’s just the unpredictable nature of the actress

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