Synopsis:The President of the United States declares Ghost Protocol, which effectively disavows the entire IMF. Blamed for the bombing of the Moscow Kremlim, it’s up to Ethan Hunt and his makeshift crew to find out who’s responsible and stop them from creating a disaster of nuclear proportions. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a 2011 action spy film, starring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Paula Patton. The film is written by André Nemec and Josh Appelbaum and is directed by Brad Bird.
Review:Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is the fourth installment in the Mission: Impossible series that initially began in 1996. Based on the television series of the same name, Ghost Protocol also brings Brad Bird’s directorial debut for a live-action film. An Academy Award winner, a notable screenwriter, voice actor, animator and director, Bird’s credentials are indeed that of acclaim. Some of his more familiar films to which he has written and directed include The Iron Giant (1999), The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007). Much like Mission: Impossible III was the directorial debut for J.J. Abrams, with Bird’s attachment it became a wonder what audiences could expect with Ghost Protocol.
It released exclusively in IMAX theatres for the first five days on December 16th, with a complete wide release in regular theatres on December 21st. And with good reason, as Ghost Protocol might perhaps be the one film you must (possibly should) see in IMAX.
With the recent re-boom of 3D movies it’s almost become an expectation to see companies taking advantage or abusing the 3D moniker. (Depending how you look 3D.) So it’s always curious when a director insists how a film should be shot and captured on screen.
“When we were first looking at the image of Tom climbing the Burj, in the long shots we could not only see the traffic in the reflections when he presses down on the glass… But you actually saw the glass warp slightly because of the pressure of his hand. You would never see that in 35mm. The fact that the screen fills your vision and is super sharp seems more life-like.” – Brad Bird, regarding filming with the IMAX format.
While the film is only partially shot with IMAX cameras, it constitutes approximately up to 30 minutes of Ghost Protocol’s 132 minute runtime. Yes, it is fairly long movie. But it’s these up to 30 minutes which effectively define the artistry of action in the latest Mission: Impossible movie. Due to the brighter and higher image quality of the IMAX format, the audience gets to see the purposeful and subtle details on an almost visceral nature. Tom Cruise scaling the Burj becomes vertigo inducing as the camera pans away, above and below in an almost frightening manner. It’s crazy, but it’s also the magic of movie making.
However it’s these types of scenes and the action in general throughout Ghost Protocol which makes this fourth installment so memorable. Bird is inherently an animator first, a person who visualizes and storyboards what he sees or describes in his mind with an exact precision. As such the action scenes themselves don’t have that normal predictability but more of an intentional characterization. So how he chooses to control, morph and effectively direct the film in its entirety from a cinematography standpoint is great to see. It’s tense when it needs to be, it’s free flowing when it’s necessary, it’s loose yet exact in the down moments, it’s easy to follow, unexpected but above all else – simply fun for the audience.
幽灵协议的情节也很直截了当，纸板在某些方面稀薄。虽然背景中有一些蒙面的子图层，这些层最终在整部电影中得到了解决。整体故事情节围绕着迈克尔·奈奎斯特（Michael Nyquist）（2009年千年系列）扮演的反派钴的需求，他倾向于根据自己的愿景将世界纳入核战争。他是一项疯狂的工作，与自己的阴暗网络有关，他曾经有一个感兴趣的人，实际上是敌人的第一名。除了国际货币基金组织找出自己是谁并阻止他的残余，幽灵协议的反派没有什么神秘的。为什么他这样做是一个通用坏人的总体。但是最后，它对情节甚至重要吗？与菲利普·西摩·霍夫曼（Philip Seymour Hoffman）饰演的该系列电影的欧文·达维安（Owen Davian）相比，有些人可能会抹黑幽灵协议的主要反派。
Nyquist的角色难以捉摸，总是被追逐。他的传记片在后台演奏，而《任务简报》在《记录》中进行了解释。就是这样，这很简单。
We don’t get the normal 20-30 minutes to setup the villain’s character himself who we know is going to die at the end of the film anyway. Instead we follow Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and get the introduction of IMF’s Secretary Chief Analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner). Secondary characters such as Sabine Moreau (Léa Seydoux), the French assassin and Anatoly Sidirov (Vladimir Mashkov), a Russion intelligence operative get more screen time. We watch the IMF team engage with one another, we see their own characterizations, it’s given enough time, weight and levity throughout the film to make us watch, laugh and want to follow them, seeing this particular mission through. Like a storyboard, the pacing of the action to comedy is injected well, connecting everyone and everything together. Ghost Protocol knows what it is doing and addresses even its own ridiculousness.
Overall:
When Renner was attached to this film and buzz about him taking over the Bourne franchise it was curious how to see how Ghost Protocol would shape up. If by some circumstance Ghost Protocol was meant to renew or refresh the Mission: Impossible franchise overall, I think from that standpoint it was a real success. From the other perspective if Ghost Protocol was meant for Cruise to in some subtle way pass the baton off to Renner going into the future, I think that question and/or debate is still really up in the air. I don’t doubt this fourth installment will see worldwide success at the box office. It has already made up a decent portion of its budget internationally and the limited release domestically was also impressive. Call the IMAX exclusivity smart marketing.
However, monetary success aside, what Ghost Protocol did for me was open up the Mission: Impossible world of espionage even further. We saw the character of Ethan Hunt work with familiar characters in the franchise whilst introduce new ones. It was one thing I always liked about the first movie, an engaging cast (even with the Emilio Estevez early exit) and which was also touched upon in the third movie with Maggie Q and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. (Something, something second film, John Woo.) I like watching the IMF team at work. It’s fun to see and is exactly what the Mission: Impossible movies should be about. The fourth installment doesn’t underutilize its characters and in fact gives you just the right amount of them. You do want to see more, but more in the sense that yeah, I’d like to see this franchise continue. But that’s the exact question, but more specifically, how will this franchise continue on from here?
克鲁斯（Cruise）的年龄在这部电影中显而易见，他仍然非常有能力，尽管他在屏幕外做什么。他在屏幕上做的事情是完全分开的。您不必喜欢他作为一个人，因为有时候这足以让某些人看电影。就个人而言，我不在乎，因为名人八卦世界对我而言，这并不重要。我只看他的电影，考虑到这一点，我喜欢克鲁斯作为演员的特征。我相信，当克鲁斯（Cruise）在电影中追逐你时，他的手艺集中在他的手艺上。该男子在屏幕上没有其他人奔跑。
The point of the matter is – I don’t see how Tom Cruise can’t not – be attached to the Mission: Impossible franchise in some way. The notion is impossible, just like the name of the franchise. I can concoct scenarios of him playing the Jon Voight-esque character and has Renner act as his ‘point man’. But I have to always expect him to be attached or perhaps it’s my own expectation/want to see him back in action. However, with how each successive Mission: Impossible film takes roughly five years to come out. Again it’s easy to speculate based on timing and who eventually becomes involved.
在任何情况下我看到更有可能bac巡航k for a fifth movie with perhaps Simon Pegg in tow, Renner not being involved at all, Ving Rhames back on the team and even more IMF crew introduced. So it becomes more of a question of what team does the impossible mission that go around. If you have an IMAX in your area, make the trip like I did, it’s rare to see blockbuster films have visual purpose but above all intent in respect to utilizing a specific film format. I do simply recommend checking Ghost Protocol out as its good popcorn entertainment.
I give Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol an incredibly solid 8 out of 10.
