MI4: Ghost Protocol

(M) Paramount DVD/BD

Ghost Protocol is the first live action feature from Pixar Director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) and it is amazing.

He seems to possess the imagination that is required to take on the larger-than-life scale of this particular franchise. Not only does he deliver, he hits expectations out of the park and raises the bar for whoever dares to put their hand to the next instalment.

This is a stylish popcorn flick, make no mistake (I couldn’t adequately explain the plot if my life depended on it) but the MI Team are certainly not two dimensional action heroes. All of them add something special to the equation and it is a joy to see them bounce off one another.

Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt doesn’t hog the screen in the presence of other actors and there is a surprising amount of give and take, despite his typical intensity, which, in light of what his character has been through, makes sense. He really is a fine actor and it’s a shame that people forget that because of his off-screen antics.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the men have most of the better lines (the banter between Cruise, Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg is fantastic) although Paula Patton gets her moment to shine in the final act.

Also, the female villain (Lea Seydoux) is one of the best I’ve encountered in a long time.

This film is bursting at the seams with breathtaking action. From the opening scene where Hunt breaks out of a Russian Prison, to the unforgettable moment in which Hunt must scale the outside of a 100-story building in Abu Dubai, each instance is heart stopping as well as hilarious.

Ghost Protocol is the best Mission Impossible of the whole franchise, in this reviewer’s humble opinion. It was exhilarating on the big screen and definitely deserves a revisit on DVD.

Jasmine Edwards