Reviewed by Alicia Glass
Review Rating: 7
After a mission at the Russian Kremlin goes bad, Ethan Hunt and a new team track nuclear terrorist Cobalt.
The whole thing starts with a break-in, or is it break-out, of Ethan Hunt in a Russian prison. Why was he there in the first place? It is actually revealed in the movie later, so pay attention! IMF has a new mission for Hunt, Benji and Carter – go secret out files fro, the Kremlin itself, on suspected nuclear terrorist Cobalt. Sure, we’re infiltrating the Kremlin next! Which of course involves this high tech sleight of hand and plenty of comedic relief from Benji, who’s new to the field. And of course just as the mission goes a bit south, BOOM goes the Kremlin! IMF is ultimately blamed for the incident, the President invokes Ghost Protocol, which effectively ends IMF and sends Hunt and the rest rogue. A Russian officer joins the hunt for Hunt, after a harrowing escape from the hospital. Brandt, the supposed chief analyst, joins what’s left of the team after a cut-short meeting with a government official.
And, let’s see if you can keep up with me here, it’s off to Dubai and the tallest building in the world! (Or 2nd tallest or whatever.) Then there’s this whole attempt at a switcheroo involving diamonds, and thieves and bodyguards and Hunt climbing the windows outside on the what it is, 33rd story up – something like that. I know Tom Cruise does all his own stunts in this movie but he’s what, 50 now? And I’m not quite as impressed as I used to be by all that. At least the movie wasn’t in 3D. There’s a whole sandstorm inDubai car and foot chase scene too, involving mainly Cruise.
From there we go to Mumbai, to the extra fancy home of some bigwig the whole team has to take over, and a climactic scene in an automatic car park (literally, yes) with Hunt and Cobalt, oh no will they be able to save the world in time?! Stay tuned to find out.
I don’t need to give it away – it’s Mission Impossible, of course they save the world. Tom Cruise is just fine as Ethan Hunt, at least they kept the same actor. MI almost always gets a new crew per movie, and Ghost Protocol is no exception – comedic relief Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), devastating Agent Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and tortured analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner). The action scenes are as always way over the top but quite good for all that, but I have to ask – what is the point of going all Ghost Protocol and Rogue on the IMF inside one of their movies? Aren’t they an elite spy group that gets avowed no knowledge of if they get caught anyway? The idea that Hunt and his pals get cut off and have to support themselves is a bit stale before it even gets baked. The plot is a little underdone in some places, but of course the action scenes make up for it. And even covers the cheesy ending, yes she’s still alive and misses you, whereafter he disappears into the smoke, like a ghost.