Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

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Up to this point, my relationship with the 'Mission: Impossible' series was almost nonexistent. I saw the first film, didn't like the second, and skipped the third. What got me interested in seeing the fourth film was a combination of factors, including word-of-mouth, high praise for another death-defying stunt performed by Tom Cruise, and the cherry on top: a brand-new IMAX screen had recently been installed in my local theatre. I figured it would make for a good "first-time" experience.

I also wanted to see how Brad Bird would fare directing a live-action thrill ride, as opposed to his excellent storytelling techniques in his mostly animated resume. To my surprise, I ended up loving it and may still consider it my favourite of the series. At the time, I remember being mind-blown. Keep in mind that I was still reeling from how disappointed 'M: I-2' had made me, and regrettably, I never bothered with 'M: I-3,' so for me, this was a couple of hours of solid entertainment. Everything about this one feels "right."

As the film opens, assassin Sabine Moreau (Léa Seydoux) kills IMF agent Trevor Hanaway (Josh Holloway), who had just retrieved some Russian nuclear launch codes, which Sabine takes to sell to someone by the name of "Cobalt." This action prompts IMF to spring agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) from a Moscow prison, with the help of agent Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and now field agent Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). The reasons for Hunt's imprisonment, by the way, are slowly unveiled as the film continues, and it's all an interesting, off-screen back-story that connects to 'M: I-3.'

As IMF orders the team to infiltrate the Kremlin to get further information on "Cobalt," the Kremlin gets bombed, their cover gets blown, and they get blamed for the incident, which the Russians take as an undeclared act of war. Soon, Hunt meets with the IMF Secretary (Tom Wilkinson) and analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), who explain that the President has initiated the "Ghost Protocol," which completely disavows the IMF. But in secret, the Secretary hints to Hunt that he should continue pursuing "Cobalt," believed to be the real terrorist, in hopes of not only clearing the IMF's name but also keeping positive relations with Russia.

With this, all that remains of the IMF are Hunt, Carter, Dunn and Brandt, who stumbles into his role here but ends up being one of the more fascinating characters in the film. Between this unlikely team of four, they now must do whatever it takes to find "Cobalt" and intercept those nuclear launch codes he's hoping to use to start a Russian/American war in hopes of ushering in a new era of peace by eliminating so many of the world's populous. Or, if you like, what could be called the "Thanos" method.

This chapter became my personal favourite of the series for several reasons, including the personal IMAX experience, the recurring thrills of Cruise's stunts (this time involving a climb on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai), and a sense of humour that was not as prevalent in the previous three films. I also really love the gadgets they use here, which include a few cool things, but the coolest has to be the high-tech grip gloves Ethan uses to climb. The idea that they can fail adds significant tension to an already tense scene, and further kudos goes out to Cruise and his impressive stunt performance on that tower.

The crazy thing about this series, however, is that it gets hard to establish a favourite after this one because while the first three seem to be about the series finding its footing, they are pretty damn solid from here on in. Some are better than others, but none are really "bad" in any way. As for this chapter in particular, it will always have that personal note of the experience I had with it, and stylistically, it always felt a little more "up my alley," so it trumps the others. This movie was such an excellent balance of everything I think of when I think of 'Mission: Impossible.'

5/5

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