Subtlety and restraint are not words one normally associates with the fourth entry of a Hollywood action franchise but in the case of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, they are entirely appropriate. Expectedly, this breathless white-knuckler delivers some of the most convincing action set-pieces in recent memory, but it’s the performance of Tom Cruise in his meal-ticket role of Ethan Hunt that resonates the loudest.
Cruise plays the rogue M:I agent with ease and barely breaks a sweat in conveying the stoic, haunted action-man archetype. That his furrowed brow and pared-back acting allows his co-stars to carry many of the film’s best moments indicates that Cruise, often accused of over-using that famous grin and bigscreen charm, can pare back his onscreen persona without losing his charisma. The level of trust Cruise exhibits – in sharing the glory of the best Mission: Impossible film to date and dimming the spotlight on his own mega-watt star power – will do much to extinguish lingering cynicism about his superstar status.
Continuing in the M:I movie series tradition of having a new director for each entry, animation maestro Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles) takes the rein of his first live-action film and instantly establishes his credibility with a cracking pre-credit sequence that combines many of the elements fans have come to expect (international locales, mortal danger, high-tech hardware). This time, the MacGuffin is a suitcase full of missile launch codes, just one of many old-school touches that draw on quaint Cold War tensions to drive the very modern story. The plotting bounces the team from Moscow, where Hunt barely survives the destruction of the Kremlin (for which M:I is blamed and effectively disbanded – the 'Ghost Protocol’ of the title), to Dubai, where our heroes hole up at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.
It is in Dubai that Ghost Protocol finds its surest footing. Taking the action outside the glass panels of the tower, Cruise and Bird create some vertigo-inducing spectacle while crisply staging crucial exposition. A foot/car chase through the streets in the midst of a blinding sandstorm is the film’s pulsating zenith, though the sequence casts a long shadow; a third act that takes the team into Mumbai (allowing for a fun cameo by Indian star Anil Kapoor) never attains the giddiness of the Dubai-set excitement. The threat of nuclear annihilation has dissipated by the time Cruise and Nyqvist go fist-to-fist in a downtown car park, despite the combat being staged with precision. A nifty Seattle-set coda adds poignancy to Hunt’s emotional make-up, providing fans with a couple of nice moments from series regulars while setting up the next instalment.
Reflecting his small screen origins circa late 1960s, Cruise’s Ethan Hunt has grown into an American spin on the modern James Bond character – brooding, damaged, driven. Like the Bond films, the M:I franchise has continually upped the stakes in terms of action, intrigue and back-story with each instalment. I would argue that the Bond films have not gotten any better in recent years and that Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol improves exponentially on past efforts (only John Woo’s woeful first sequel let the team down). It’s superb entertainment and Cruise’s best work in years.
