It is important to remind the readers that the director of the movie is Brad Bird. He is the guy who presented us ‘Incredibles’ and ‘Ratatouille’, both awesome movies, both entertaining movies. The very fact that such a guy is directing Mission Impossible, makes this movie all the more better. Okay, I am a big fan of this dude, but no this review is not biased. For those who came late, Mission Impossible movies is about Ethan hunt and his revolving team, taking on impossible missions and save the world. There are deceptions, there are high octane stunts and many a times, the plot is simple but is complicated enough so as to keep you on the edge.
This time, it looks like they have gone with mixing up all the good things from the first three movies. The movie gets its turns and twists from the first one, high octane action (if you thought no MI movie could top the second in terms of action, this one will) from the second movie, the team work and gadgets from the third movie is all here. The best part is the tight presentation, the perfect balance of humor, action and character development, which results in this movie being the best. This film series has averted Sequilitis completely. That is a big wow.
One can’t help but fall in love with the innovative credits, as the MI theme plays. This of course was done extremely well in the first movie and is an excellent homage here. The great thing about these opening credits is that it is teasing you what is going to happen but with such quick cuts, so that you can anticipate the course of the movie. It is like the opening credits are playing a game of ‘fill in the blanks’ with your mind. It’s engaging because your brain kicks in to solve the puzzle but then forgets about it because of what is happening of the screen. Also, it almost seems like the writers this time wanted to avoid the frequent complaints thrown at the previous entries in the series, like abuse of masks and the MI theme and too much focus on Hunt character. This is especially jarring in the second movie and to some extent in the third movie. So, this time, believe it or not, there are no latex masks. Yup! Also, the team members get to do something, instead of the script focusing solely on Ethan Hunt. I am not sure if I can make this claim, but I believe the internet, where all that takes is a simple Bing search to find out fan reaction, is helping Hollywood read from our lips. Thanks internet J
The action set pieces will feel familiar but subtle variations and generous dose of action hero/super spy deconstruction make it seem fresh. There is the obviously awesome sequence built around the Burj Khalifa. It is really the best action scene I have seen this year. What makes all this thrilling and exhilarating (there’s a word I never thought I would use in describing an action scene) is the fact that Tom Cruise did in fact do the stunt himself. Not believing me? Just do a quick search in YouTube and you will see him dangling on cables with cameras rolling around him. The guy is the dude! I can only imagine how much insurance premium the production had to pay to let him do this stunt. While all the marketing made sure that we can expect the building climbing awesomeness, I was completely impressed with the ensuing chase through the sand filled city of Dubai. It is a standard issue chase, where hunt runs down some bad guy. However, the addition of sand makes it a) scenery porn b) day blindness, which is quiet simply the most innovative obstacle course I have seen in a chase scene. Normally, you can have guns, bad guys, missiles blocking an on-the-chase hero, but here the impediment is caused by something about which you cannot be angry or get frustrated. You got to just accept the fact that nature is interfering with your chase and simply have to go with it. To top it all, Mr. Bird makes it all the more realistic by having the chaser and the chase wear glasses and neckerchief to cope with the enormous amount of beautiful sand engulfing them. Normally, I make it a point to try and identify which of the scenes are special effects and which is not, but for this sand filled chase, I completely forgot about it and sat back and let my eyes enjoy.
Also, the movie goes out of its way to ground things in reality as much as possible, while completely refusing to apologize for any plot holes, as long as they do not hamper the flow of entertainment. There are little things but they add up. Like the previously mentioned neckerchief or equipment malfunctioning (because IMF is now off the grid and cannot afford state of the art equipment) or dodging traffic (I mean, the whole world knows that Mumbai has terrific traffic). The villain is simply one guy and is not intimidating at all. Oddly, one would fail to notice this not until hours after the movie is over! This is the case because how well written and well acted the other characters are. As usual Tom Cruise owns the show as Ethan Hunt, but the others are not behind. Paula Patton is obviously not as hot as the other girls in spy movies but oh boy does she turn up the heat when the occasion calls for it. I do feel that Jeremy Renner’s Brandt is there do give some tension to the movie and nothing else. The winning character would be that of Simon Pegg’s Benji. The guy is a geek and takes a minor but important level up in badassness and you can count on him to give cheeky humor. Not sure, if it counts but the gadgets used in the movie have a character of their own. Sure, they are unrealistic but the movie tries really hard to convince us that, they could be real. Again, the gadgets are introduced in conjunction with the character of Benji, which means every few minutes expect some gadget which makes you go ‘awe…’ and followed by a joke which makes you smile.
So, let me see if I can get this sentence right. *cracks knuckles and resumes typing* If you chose to accept my recommendation to watch this movie, you will be rewarded with one of the most satisfying entertainment experiences of the whole year. If you or any of your friends and family decide to watch this movie again, and one more time after that because they simply can’t help it, I will disavow any such recommendations. Hopefully, this review/blog entry will self-destruct in 5 seconds: D
Rating: 4 out of 4
Cast: Paula Patton, Léa Seydoux, Anil Kapoor, Michael Nyqvist, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Tom Cruise
Director: Brad Bird
Running Time: 2 Hours and 13 minutes
Release Date: 15th December 2011
