MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE- GHOST PROTOCOL starts with an IMF agent (played by Josh Holloway of LOST fame) who is being chased and ends up getting killed by a female assassin.   Soon IMF agents Benji Dunn and Jane Cater are breaking Ethan hunt out of a Russian prison.   He is given a mission to break into the Kremlin to get the identity of a person of interest code named Cobalt who wants stolen Russian missile codes.   Before Ethan knows, he and his team are set up for the bombing of the Kremlin and the whole IMF is disavowed through Ghost Protocol (and Ethan branded as a traitor).   Ethan and his team in addition to a former field agent, William Brandt, are racing against the clock to prevent nuclear war and clear the name of the IMF.   They are on their way to such locales as Dubai and Mumbai.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE- GHOST PROTOCOL is an energetic action film.   It flows like visual poetry mixed with some dashes of humor.    I like the team dynamic is there even more than the last MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE film.   The sequences in Dubai are the action highlights of the film and the climax in no way tops that.   MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE- GHOST PROTOCOL is an excellent live action debut from Brad Bird (who previously directed three animated films).   Cruise is at ease and in his element when the action scenes are flowing while Simon Pegg is welcome comic relief.   It is sad that Josh Holloway (Sawyer on LOST) has only a small part in this movie.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE- GHOST PROTOCOL is every bit as good as the last MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE film.  If a fifth film is made and as good as this one, I eagerly await the fun and the action of that film.   It is rare for a fourth film in a series to be as good or as better as the films that came before it, but MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE- GHOST PROTOCOL delivers the good and comes closer and closer to the dynamics of the IMF team in the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE TV series.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

MISSION ACCEPTED- 

SUITING UP IN PRAGUE-  a look at the stunt work and various details they filmed in Prague.   This featurette and the other features loads of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew in addition to how it is directing a MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE film (and why Tom Cruise wanted Brad Bird for the fourth film).

HEATING UP IN DUBAI-   J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk dreamed of shooting a movie in Dubai.  Tom Cruise had the same idea and he wanted to do a stunt on the tallest building in the world.  this featurette covers the various prep work and safety precautions that the crew and cast took while filming at the tallest building in the world.

VANCOUVER FISTICUFFS-  shooting on soundstages in Vancouver and a shipbuilding hanger (for the car garage sequence during the climax)

IMPOSSIBLE MISSIONS-  These 11 additional featurettes could have been edited into the other behind-the-scenes material.  They cover the difficulties shooting in IMAX, the process of loading and unloading film, a very detailed look at the prep and shoot of the sandstorm sequence and the car crash that didn't go as planned that they had to restage it days later, and the recording of the music score.

THE RUSSIAN PRISON-

SHOOTING IN IMAX-

ART DEPARTMENT

A ROLL OF FILM

LIFE MASKS

STEPPING INTO THE STORM

THE SANDSTORM

DUBAI CAR CRASH

LENS OF THE BURJ

PROPS

COMPOSER

Also included on the second Blu-ray disc are eight deleted scenes (15 minutes in total) with optional commentary by director Brad Bird.   All of the scenes were either cut for pacing reasons or didn't fit into the finished flow of the film  Rounding out the disc extras are the two theatrical trailers (one has too many quick cuts while the second trailer could have used a little of the footage from the first trailer which means the best trailer could have been a combo of the two trailers).   Also in this three disc set is the DVD version of the film and a code to get an Ultraviolet digital copy of the film for streaming and download.

FINAL ANALYSIS-  MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE GHOST PROTOCOL is one of the best in the series.   The action sequences are quite awesome to watch, but the film never tops the middle act where the film is at its best.  The Behind-The-Scenes material is quite interesting to watch and provides insights into the process of making this sequel.   The film is available in three versions- the two disc combo, the three disc Best Buy exclusive, and the DVD single disc.   Even if Tom Cruise freaks you out, this is one of the best action films from 2011.

this review is (c)4-20-2012 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com