Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Review

by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)
May 3rd, 2006

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2

Hello, summer! RUN TOM RUN, being marketed as MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, will have your juices flowing and your heart pumping with a high tech thriller that is hands-down the best of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE series. With enough pyrotechnics to reheat every kernel of stale popcorn that you bought at the concession stand, the film sizzles. My personal tribute to it was that, after "forty-five" minutes, I happened to look at my watch. I was shocked to discover that an hour and a half had already passed, proving that time goes fast, really fast, if you're having fun. Packed with entertainment and enough plot holes to drive a truck through, the movie asks nothing of you other than to grab ahold of your armrest and hang on.

Fresh from receiving his Academy Award for CAPOTE, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the bad guy for a change. As Owen Davian, Hoffman plays a so-called "invisible man," since he has managed to operate under the radar, selling terrorist organizations all of the hideous weaponry they want. This time Davian is selling something called the "rabbit's foot" to some mysterious group. What exactly the rabbit's foot is and who is trying to buy it is a mystery.

In a James Bond-like world in which a good guy being outmatched by only five-to-one is barely a challenge, Cruise stars as Ethan Hunt. Hunt's team has several members but none is funnier than Ving Rhames's Luther Stickell. Rhames doesn't get much screen time, but every minute of it is a delight, full of sharp humor.

As Hunt and his team work around the world, most notably in Vatican City and in Shanghai, they make the most of the beautiful settings to showcase their considerable talents. Like a carefully choreographed ballet, every movement is executed and planned with split-second timing. The movie's sound is especially impressive with the subwoofers being taxed to their limits as large objects crash to the ground. One particularly well-executed sequence has Hunt's crew in one helicopter being chased by another one, as they work their way through a wind farm of massive windmills. When the windmills fall to earth, the furious sound of their impact suggests that tidal waves in nearby lakes are likely.

The intricate plot suggests that there must be a mole high up in the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) organization. As soon as you realize that it is never who you think it is, you know immediately who it must be. But solving mysteries is not what the movie is about. This is an action thriller with people in genuine and palpable danger. Most of all you want to root for your team to make it out alive. Your heart will worry, even if your mind has no doubts that all will live to be ready for the fourth one in a series that is getting better.

Why the improvement this time? J.J. Abrams, in his feature film directorial debut, brings the same special sauce that has made his "Alias" and "Lost" television series such popular shows. And, with the big budget of a major motion picture, he gets to stage some pretty elaborate sequences with explosions galore.

So what does a rabbit foot that is worth eight-hundred-and-fifty million dollars look like and what does it do? I'm not telling. But suffice it to say, it doesn't matter. You'll never care. You'll just want to bring your guys home safe and ready for the next mission.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III runs a blazingly fast 2:06. It is rated PG-13 for "intense sequences of frenetic violence & menace, disturbing images & some sensuality" and would be acceptable for kids around 10 and up.

The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, May 5, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.

Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com

Email: [email protected]

***********************************************************************

Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email?
Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.

More on 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol'...


Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.