IMF Agent Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise) is in a Russian prison for killing six men who killed his wife (Michelle Monaghan). After an IMF team loses one of their own in a nuclear launch code theft, they’re ordered to break Hunt out so he can aid in the mission. The new team of Hunt, Agent Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and recently promoted field agent Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) must infiltrate the Kremlin to identify the Russian traitor who stole the launch codes previously. During the infiltration, the traitor himself is actually on-site as well. Things go wrong, a bomb goes off in the Kremlin and the Hunt is caught, leading the Russians to think America just bombed the Kremlin. Hunt escapes and eventually adds intelligence Analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) to the team. The four – now disavowed – go on to learn who the traitor is, where he’s going to sell the codes and who the buyer is. They stage an intervention at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, starting a pursuit that won’t end until the world is safe.
Every album needs a single and the Ghost Protocol “album” has an iconic one that generates the amazement, wonder and astonishment of Cruise hanging off the side of the 163-story Burj Khalifa. It’s eye-candy in the best way possible and is even more impressive when you realize Cruise did that stunt himself. Sure, he’s wired up but he really was on the side of the world’s tallest building filming those scenes.
But every album can’t just rely on its single. It needs quality deep cuts that help positively reinforce the audience’s overall impression of the artistic work. From the opening scene with Hunt in prison to the Kremlin infiltration to the launch code transaction to the launching of the missiles, Ghost Protocol has quality deep cuts too.
The negative? Patton is out of her league here. When you’re surrounded by Cruise, Renner, Pegg and Monaghan, talent deficiencies tend to shine through. When your favorite team isn’t good but sends the second baseman to play in the league’s all-star game, that second baseman is going to stand out for all the wrong reasons. Patton’s that second baseman and her over-acting is so distracting at times that it broke my focus and I remembered I was watching a movie. Had the casting agents given Léa Seydoux that part and Patton Seydoux’s, it single-handedly would’ve thrust the movie into first place among the entire M:I franchise. Instead, it’s got a ton of rewatch value but, as a seamless work of art you’re supposed to get lost in, it falls just short.
JKG SCORE: 7.5
Untitled Film Project 