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Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol

December 19, 2011 by · Comments Off on Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol 

Mission Impossible Ghost ProtocolMission Impossible Ghost Protocol, All that’s missing is the emaciated model wearing a couture trash bag, a half-n*ked man draped over a vintage motorbike and a python, because everything else about Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol feels like a Eurotrash fashion spread.

Standing super-coiffed, but not too precious, at the centre of this glossy frame is aging action hero and one-time boy wonder, Tom Cruise – a man with a mission of his very own.

Circling the scrap heap of outdated stars seeking one last shot at greatness, Cruise needed to reignite the afterburners of his career after the stalled performance of Knight and Day. He also needed to put the couch-jumping episode behind him once and for all.

This fourth Mission: Impossible movie goes some distance in helping Cruise get his action mojo back, but for all the crafty gadgets and gorgeous locales, there’s something off in this Vancouver-shot spectacle – and it’s more than the fake Seattle street signs.

In the film, Cruise takes on the role of super-spy Ethan Hunt one more time in this action thriller based on the old TV series. Pulling together a group of disavowed agents to stop a nuclear terrorist, Cruise’s Hunt does everything an action hero is supposed to do – and he does it without a single hair out of place.

There’s an undeniable feeling that Cruise has lorded over every single shot to make sure he looks good. Whether it’s the right light to accentuate his azure-blue irises or the casual toss of his perfectly treated hair, Cruise’s appearance is so manicured, it’s distracting.

Unfortunately, the surrounding talent gets short shrift.

Tom Wilkinson appears for about 30 seconds of brilliance, and Academy-Award nominee Jeremy Renner takes on the potentially recurring role of a field agent turned analyst. These two stars have so much heft on screen, they make Cruise’s limits more obvious, because they deliver their dialogue without the faux gravitas that plagues Cruise’s more emotional work.

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