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Mission:
Impossible- Ghost Protocol
In
2008, Ben Stiller starred and directed in a movie that was completely
out of left field. “Tropic Thunder” was the movie about a movie
being made about a war, with one of the cast being an Australian
actor, who undergoes a skin augmentation process to become a black
man, and totally immerse himself in his character. It was a crazy and
wild comedy, and aside from it’s big stars like Stiller, Jack Black
and Robert Downey Jnr as the aforementioned “White guy playing a
Black guy”, there was one other big named actor in the film, who
kind of slipped under the radar. The character he plays was called
Les Grossman; an angry, power hungry and over the top Hollywood
agent, who helps Stiller’s character Tug Speedman, after he is
taken hostage on location. The character of Les Grossman was so
cleverly conceived, smashing every scene he was in, that I didn’t
even realise who was playing him. Honestly, it was only half way
through the film did I realise I was watching Tom Cruise on screen,
heavily disguised in make up, making him look like a fat, bald,
middle-aged man who swore, threw things at people, and also danced
like a boss.
In
the days after Tropic Thunders original audacious debut, the
character of Les Grossman took on something of a cult following. The
performance was so different, so out there and so bloody good, the
previous few years of Cruise ranting and raving about religion and
psychology, started to disappear as people forgave him for his
shortcomings. The former biggest movie star in the world, had put
himself and his career on the line to play a side character that
either could have tanked or taken off, and luckily for Cruise, his
Les Grossman creation was well received. Fans have wanted to see him
get his own movie since, and Cruise has not ruled this out as a
possibility. After a few failed attempts to retain his film glory
after M:I 3 (Lion’s for Lambs and Valkyrie did not perform well)
Cruise was gradually climbing his way back to the top, suddenly
likeable again, and reminded everyone that aside from his
questionable personal life and public comments, Cruise was still a
very talented and watchable actor. So doing the wise thing, he stuck
with that facet of his career, keeping his personal views and
“Humanitarian Work” as he called it, separate from his movie
career, and got back to the business of the movie business. This
resurgence in his popularity and respect was cemented with the fourth
entry in his successful franchise, “Mission: Impossible – Ghost
Protocol”
The
new film would either kill the franchise off or send it in a new
direction. In order to do the later, it would have to be something
special. So far, part 3 had been the best film in the series, but as
today’s sequels go, they need to get bigger and better, and if they
can pull this off in a realistic and believable way, even better.
Ghost Protocol set out with this intention, and it worked.
The
story this time centres on the status of the agency Ethan Hunt works
for, the IMF (Impossible Mission Force). In a spectacular opening
scene where The Kremlin in Moscow is bombed to the sky, the IMF are
blamed for the attack, and the entire agency is ordered to be shut
down. In major damage control, Cruise meets with one of his superiors
to asses the mess and work out where to go next. The car they are
traveling in is ambushed, as IMF has not just been shut down, but all
its agents have been made targets and are being taken out one by one,
by Russian Special Forces. Hunt and his new co-agent William Brandt
(Jeremy Renner) team up to survive, and gather their troops, Benji
(Simon Pegg) returning from part 3 and series regular Luther (Ving
Rhames). Their mission – to redeem the once mighty IMF and bring it
out of the ashes of smoke and ruin it’s fallen into, as well as
stop some bad guy who wants to steal nuclear weapons and start World
War III, or something like that.
Once
again, the series becomes a globe trotting adventure, and picks many
amazing locations to tell its story. Once such place is the city many
consider to be the City of The Future – Dubai. A glistening
metropolis in a sprawling desert, this amazing city plays host to a
good portion of the films running time. It’s tallest building, the
Burj Khalifa also figures in the now standard ““The Tom Cruise
Dangling from Mid Air Action Scene”. And this one would be the
mother of all scenes, topping anything scene in previous
installments.
Adamant
that no one else can perform the craziest stunts in the world, Cruise
willingly scales the 829 metre tall structure. In the film, he needs
to ascend 11 stories up and halfway around the other side of the
building. His go-to-guy for gadgets Benji equips him with special
gloves that can stick to any surface. With only these gloves and a
rope to assist him, Hunt casually steps out of the window, grabs onto
the glass and pulls himself up, one arm's length at a time.
Meanwhile, a massive sand storm approaches the city from behind, and
with the strong winds 2,200 feet above the ground playing havoc and
only a matter of minutes to get to the 130th
floor, Hunt will leap, jump, dive, plummet and fall in just about
every way imaginable to achieve his mission. It’s an impressive
scene, where Cruise actually scaled the outside of the building
himself. The Man of No Fear once again set the bar high for any other
aspiring actor looking to do their own stunts.
“Mission:
Impossible – Ghost Protocol” took over part 3 to become the best
film in the series. It moved at a brisk pace throughout, with a
compelling story that pits the once indestructible Ethan Hunt into a
situation he can barely survive, or seem to understand. New
characters are established, mainly Brandt, who has a shady past and
seems to know more than he’s letting on. At first, he and Hunt
clash heads and may struggle to avoid being enemies, but as their
mission forces them to work together, they learn they need to rely on
each other to survive.
The
fourth part of the franchise didn’t try to conclude things in
anyway, more so basing itself as just another entry in the series,
which at this point was still in good shape fifteen years after
premiering, and wasn’t showing any sign of slowing down. It became
one of the highest grossing films of 2011, the most successful film
in the franchise, and put Cruise firmly back on top as a bankable
movie star.
So
in a couple of days, the fifth installment “Mission: Impossible –
Rogue Nation” hits theaters. The early buzz is that Cruise and the
crew behind the scenes have done it again, and some are calling this
one the best of the series. At this point, a lot of former Tom Cruise
fans have said goodbye and walked, not being able to forgive the man
for his crazy celebrity antics a decade ago, and others are saying
he’s just too old to being doing this shit anymore. But from the
looks of the trailer Cruise still looks like he’s in good shape,
and pulls off several insane stunt’s including driving a car down a
narrow alleyway, taking part in a high speed motorbike chase, diving
into a tank of pressurised water with no oxygen tanks, and hanging
off the side of a plane as it takes off, which will surely be this
films “The Tom Cruise Dangling from Mid Air Action Scene”. I will
get around to seeing this one at some stage, and will get back to you
with my thoughts. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to
read my review! Impossible? Of course not, I’ll put the link on
Facebook as always. Seeya and enjoy the film.
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