Cruise control

Just when you thought that Tom Cruise might push his movie franchise Mission: Impossible one movie too far, he again delivers an action packed thrill ride with Ghost Protocol. Mixing insane action sequences with a light hearted but plausible storyline, this instalment proves why Cruise remains a mainstay, if somewhat jaded, star of Hollywood.

Ghost Protocol finds Ethan Hunt (Cruise) locked in prison and escapes thanks to M:i3 computer analyst turn field agent Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and new comer Jane Carter (Paula Patton). In this typical Hunt sequence, he not only changes up the mission on the fly but is able to get his fair share of martial arts moves in too, proving that he may be older but he hasn’t lost any of his skills. From there things get progressively worse: their next mission ends up with Hunt suspected of blowing up the Krelim, the IMF is disavowed and only Hunt, Dunn, Carter and government analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) remain to stop the impending nuclear holocaust. Over the top? Maybe but then again this is an action film not an art house drama.

The cast and script writing on Ghost Protocol make this a worthy successor in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Pegg provides light relief throughout and his commentary during the Kremlin mission compliment Hunt’s straight man performance. Brandt is equally funny but he is able to back it up with strong action sequences and an emotional intertwining storyline with Hunt. Patton is solid as the newer IMF agent and doesn’t overplay her role. This is all tied together with a strong script that has strong messages about the risk of nuclear holocaust and the need for teamwork.

The star for me though is Cruise. In reprising the role of Hunt almost 16 years after the first film, released in 1996, he knows better than to be the same energiser bunny that we saw exploding out of the restaurant or jumping from an exploding helicopter onto a fast moving train. Cruise adds a sense of irony and lethargy to his performance, seen in his reluctance to jump from the hospital early on in the film, but maintains his desire to stop the bad guy despite any odds. His defiant cry of “mission accomplished” at the end is both comic and serious: Ethan Hunt still had the drive to save the world, even if he is a bit slower than he used to be. It reminded me most of Mel Gibson’s later performances in the Lethal Weapon series that showed both a maturation of actor and character.

It wouldn’t be a Mission: Impossible film without the gadgets and again Ghost Protocol delivers on this front. I won’t spoil the movie by revealing all of them but just as nanotechnology makes your mobile phone as versatile as your laptop so too does IMF technology. Importantly though, the technology doesn’t overshadow the action but gives some plausibility to the intense action sequences.

All up then, Ghost Protocol delivers on the tried and true Mission: Impossible formula. With strong performances by the whole cast, intense and breath taking action sequences and cool gadgets to boot, Cruise again reminds us why he is a Hollywood star.