Fourths Of July: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL (2011)

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE is a fun series with plenty of twists and turns, but the possibility of Impossible Mission Force being shut down from a mile away. While Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his crew constantly save the day, the collateral damage rises as each film’s budget increases. The message Hunt is reminded of every time a new mission finds him is that “...as always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions…” and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL finally dispels any doubts on their commitment to that statement.

After infiltrating the Kremlin with impeccably perfect disguises, the team stumbles across another group piggybacking off their radio frequency to coordinate their own infiltration and bombing of the building. Hunt and his team escape just before the explosion but find themselves split up and, in Hunt’s case, captured and handcuffed to a hospital bed being watched by Russian SVR agent Anatoly Sidorov (Vladimir Mashkov). Breaking out of the hospital in his typically painful fashion, Hunt finds himself face-to-face with the IMF Secretary (Tom Wilkinson) letting him know that the U.S. government has disavowed them and activated ghost protocol. Instead of bringing him in as instructed, the secretary gives him an out…only to be shot in the head by pursuing Russian SVR agents.

Hunt and his crew became so fixated on perfecting their disguises and approach to the Kremlin that they didn’t think the group that killed their fellow IMF agent, Trevor Hanaway (Josh Holloway), at the beginning of the movie could return as a hiccup.

Let me not forget to mention that that very group now possesses Russian nuclear launch codes.

Let me not forget to mention that that very group now possesses Russian nuclear launch codes. This happens a lot throughout the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise, with Hunt and his team either being outsmarted by antagonists or become their own worst enemies by following their laser focus to a fault. In this movie, the U.S. government has had enough of their antics when their very presence inadvertently causes the worst U.S.-Russia tension since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

I love the premise of GHOST PROTOCOL. Although watching Ethan Hunt and his team make the impossible possible never gets old, seeing them lose their government status somehow raises the personal stakes of these characters we’ve come to know and love. While the introduction of new characters such as Agent Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and Bogdan (Miraj Grbić) fall flat and fan-favorite characters like Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) are largely absent, GHOST PROTOCOL is still a fun action spy thriller and further solidified Tom Cruise Hollywood’s last real movie star.

My favorite part of this movie is Benji’s new involvement as an IMF field agent.

Previously the technician, Benji’s scenes next to Hunt are adorably reminiscent of a kid meeting his superhero. Benji does his best and is proud when given recognition from Hunt, but even tells him that working alongside him is “like a dream come true.” interactions like this are what makes this franchise stand apart from other spy film properties.

Whereas James Bond films have a steadily rotating cast of supporting characters, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE typically keeps the main team intact around Hunt and slowly builds the characters’ relationships and interactions as if in real time between coworkers. One of the best parts of these movies is the continuity doesn’t require a viewer to watch the movies in chronological order, but it does help when empathizing with the characters and understanding what they’ve been through together.

Coming into GHOST PROTOCOL as a new fan, seeing the previous films is less important to the plot aside from getting to know the main characters Ethan Hunt and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). If I were to make any connections to the previous movies, they’d be the face-cloning being introduced in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE that is used in every entry and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III’s storyline surrounding Ethan and his now-ex-wife Julia Meade-Hunt (Michelle Monaghan). After this movie, however, I’d say the plot becomes very connected between ROGUE NATION and FALLOUT where not only is the villain carried over, but references to previous installments would go over the head of anyone who hadn’t seen them.

An important side note for GHOST PROTOCOL and the rest of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise is that Ethan Hunt was originally supposed to become the new IMF secretary at the end of this film. Bringing Agent William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) into the movie was supposed to be the gateway to a refresh of the franchise that would see Brandt as the new face of the franchise with Secretary Hunt being a background player. Christopher McQuarrie came in and did the final rewrite of the script, which saw this alternate ending cut, but led to McQuarrie’s following fifth and sixth entries to the franchise—ROGUE NATION and FALLOUT. It’s understandable that McQuarrie was given the reins to the franchise as GHOST PROTOCOL has been lauded as “the greatest spy film ever” and is the second-highest grossing MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movie.

As a huge fan of both this movie series and of spy films, I can appreciate a good burn notice story, but the premise and cold open for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL set this film up for my favorite couple of hours of a Tom Cruise film…to the point where I not only recommend everyone go watch it, but I’m not even going to spoil the ending in this article. I’ll close with my favorite line from the many reviews of this film, from none other than Roger Ebert: “[MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL] is a terrific thriller with action sequences that function as a kind of action poetry."