Review of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) by Cheyne L — 24 May 2013

There's no question that this is yet another great installment, but it falls short of perfect by more than a little, because when it comes down to it, even action movies should have heart .. I personally enjoyed more the grittiness and genuine emotions of the third installment by JJ Abrams (Star Trek, Super 8), and while this entry by Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille), has all the cool gadgets and quick pacing, there are some scenes that fall flat, depending mostly on special effects and tension building you know will be cleanly resolved .

. it's light action entertainment, fluffy action with little feeling of true peril .. the films best attributes come early in many departments; humor, the opening jail scene, suspense, the second scene in the russian hallway, and spectacle, the scene on the side of the Burj Khalifa .

. this film never planned on taking itself seriously, and not that there's anything wrong with that, but I can't help but compare it to superior MI3, where human emotions of grief and love came first .

. MI3 also featured a much more menacing villain who was radically defined by his lack of empathy, threatening loved ones with a intense malice and treacherous methods .. but the danger of MI4 is broad, a plot revolving around world nuclear annihilation .

. it's just so typical and just an excuse for the actors to do some clever stunts .. mind you, beautifully photographed stunts .. MI4 looks amazing, and is super fun, but I guess i'm just asking, where's the heart? while this is still Cruise's show, it's good to see Jeremy Renner (The Town, The Hurt Locker) with some solid screen time, he's a great actor who brings a lot to this film .

. but like I said, it's a flick where you just kinda shut off your mind and enjoy the ride, there's no real danger, you know there will be no success by the rather unclearly motivated villain, where in the third, the threat of a loved one getting hurt seemed much more immediate, I mean, if the villain succeeds in MI4, at least we'll all go down together .

.