Mission Accomplished

Prior to seeing the fourth Mission: Impossible, I immersed myself to a Mission: Impossible marathon. The first one by Brian DePalma was fun and classic. John Woo's version took itself too far with all those slow-motion and strange story but still enjoyable. My personal best is the 2006 J.J. Abrams version, simply action film. Judging from the trailers, the fourth film looks cool but I see no Luther in the trailer so I was expecting a surprise in the film. This is a movie you can't refuse, although it is a choice should you choose to accept this.

Simply put the story is about Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) along with other three agents Benji Dunne (Simon Pegg from the third M:I), Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and the mysterious Brandt (Jeremy Renner). This group of agents is the last active part of the disavowed IMF. Disavowing IMF is only a small part of a bigger plan to put Russia and USA in a nuclear war (so old school). It is up to the four agents to stop the biggest mastermind of this crime before the world gets in World War 3.

The story is soooo flat :| I enjoyed the spectacular yet unclear story about the Rabbit's Foot in M:I 3 but this one's too easy. The only interesting bit about the story is (sadly) about Brandt. Initially, I don't like Jeremy Renner in this movie because after The Hurt Locker, he stars in too many films, such as Hansel & Gretel with Gemma Arterton, The Avengers as Hawkeye and the most irritating the Jason-Bourne-without-Jason-Bourne film, Bourne Legacy. And the rumors that Renner will take the franchise after Tom Cruise left is even more annoying. However, he seemed to be a great asset for the film. The best scene in this film is the Dubai scene and the world agrees with that so I'm not gonna discuss that. Despite the flat story, this film will kick James Bond's ass. The gadgets and globe-trotting story overwhelms James Bond's standards, especially with Bond's new direction after Casino Royale. Tom Cruise is as usual, is best when in action-mode. Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner (surprisingly) is funny and adds the humor to the film. Paula Patton is jaw-dropping. I think it's mandatory for female agents to have a superb eye-catching dress in a party. However, I like Lea Seydoux's character Moreau better. I have a thing for crazy women assassin, I think (let's forget this sentence). And where is Luther? Mission: Impossible is attached to Ving Rhames' face! The sub story with Julia (Ethan's wife, Michelle Monaghan) is quite good so I dismissed all my complaints about not having her in action anymore. Apart from the story, I'm more disappointed with the villain, played by Michael Nyqvist (Blomkvist in the original Millenium trilogy). The villain is easy for Mission: Impossible standard (reference: double-faced IMF agent, rogue IMF agent, sadistic black market arms-dealer. but a crazy war-lover activist? no). I thought Abduction was so bad that it wastes Nyqvist's quality, but this doesn't improve that. It's time for Nyqvist to have a decent Hollywood role. Maybe he should learn from Noomi Rapace who signed on to some good looking films and in good looking roles (Sherlock Holmes 2 and Prometheus, for a start). Bottom line, it's a fun film but it wouldn't hurt to include Luther Stickell and a better story. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol: rated B-