ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT > MOVIE REVIEWS

Mission Impossible at IMAX

The film has opened exclusively at IMAX five days before wide release

By Lori Hoffman
Add Comment Add Comment | Comments: 4 | Posted Dec. 17, 2011

Share this Story:

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

If you want to see the newest entry in the Mission Impossible franchise this weekend, Ghost Protocol, your destination will be the IMAX Theater at the Tropicana. In an unusual move, the film, which also includes an extended sneak preview of the next Batman movie, has opened at IMAX locations several days before going into wide release this Tuesday, Dec. 20.

With the added bonus of $5 off parking at the Trop with your ticket stub, it is more than worth the effort to see this bombastic entry in the series on the monster screen.

The previous Mission Impossible film, MI3, went for a major emotional payoff with Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his wife in peril, but the latest entry is a total blast of pure adrenaline, beginning with a spectacular jail break out of a Russian prison.

Directed by the former animation specialist Brad Bird (The Incredibles) and produced by Cruise and J.J. Abrams (who took over the helm of the franchise when he directed MI3) Ghost Protocol ratchets up the Cold War with a plot about an insane terrorist, Hendricks, who plans to initiate a nuclear holocaust. The madman, played by Michael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) begins his plan by blowing up the Kremlin and pinning it on Hunt.

Now Hunt’s current IM Force team (Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner) has really been disavowed and their support system disbanded. They are on their on – with just enough incredible gadgets to engage in one spectacular action sequence after another. The scene that had earned the most buzz involves Hunt forced to climb at the top of the world’s tallest building in Dubai with no ropes, only special climbing gloves that go on the fritz mid-climb.

That scene is the big ticket moment in Ghost Protocol, but my favorite was the one-on-one battle between Hunt and  Hendricks in a car park that has them falling from car to car when they aren’t beating the crap out of each other.

Ghost Protocol follows the current action film template of cramming in as many jaw-dropping scenes as possible into the mix, making full use of modern technology. It’s as if Brad Bird, making his live action debut, is determined to treat his cast as if they are animated figures in a spectacular landscape where the rules of nature don’t apply.

And, while that makes for a wild thrill ride, a tad more realism around the edges would have been nice.

That said, the latest Mission Impossible flick will keep your heart pumping.

 

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol   ***
Directed by Brad Bird; rated PG-13

 

Add to favoritesAdd to Favorites PrintPrint Send to friendSend to Friend

COMMENTS

Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Report Violation

1. SoberFilmCritic said... on Dec 18, 2011 at 11:55PM

“It's hard to believe that it's been five years since our last outing with Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the Impossible Mission Force (IMF). Having seen the latest installment in this famed action series, I have only one thing to say. Tom Cruise has still got it! For more of my thoughts on Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, check out my review on Sobriety Test Movie Reviews at http://bit.ly/vXnIAZ”

Report Violation

2. MANISH KUMAR MEENA said... on Dec 20, 2011 at 01:11AM

“MUST WATCH...I LUV THE MOVIE.....PLZ SEE.......”

Report Violation

3. MANISH KUMAR MEENA said... on Dec 20, 2011 at 01:11AM

“MUST WATCH...I LUV THE MOVIE.....PLZ SEE.......”

Report Violation

4. MANISH KUMAR MEENA said... on Dec 20, 2011 at 01:11AM

“MUST WATCH...I LUV THE MOVIE.....PLZ SEE.......”

ADD COMMENT

Rate:
(HTML and URLs prohibited)

Related Content

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
By Lori Hoffman

For movie showtimes, click here For movie capsules, click here � The Mission: Impossible franchise with Tom in Cruise control, has been delivering hot summer fun since the beginning, but with Alias ...

Related Content

Family Matters
By Lori Hoffman

The Descendants was my favorite of 26 films viewed at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, and in a year when the Oscar buzz was underwhelming coming out of the festival, Alexander Payne’s dysfunctional family dramedy earned a fair share of the acclaim.

RELATED: Un-Irked By Urkel
 George Clooney’s ‘Ides’
 Movies: TIFF 2011 Starstruck Love Oscar Results

Related Content

Robert Downey Returns as 'Sherlock Holmes'
By Lori Hoffman

I was one of those who complained that there was too much 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' and not enough Victorian milieu in Robert Downey’s Jr. first foray as the world’s most famous detective. With 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' I’m drinking the Kool Aid.

RELATED: Oscar Frontrunner


 


ACW EVENT SERIES