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The Next Reel • Season 12 • Series: Mission: Impossible • Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

“You actually said that out loud? ‘Mission accomplished?’”

Ethan Hunt Shifts Gears and Finds His Groove

Brad Bird’s on board the franchise, getting a chance to not only make his first live action film but also to do so in a major franchise with giant set pieces and mega-stars. Perhaps that’s what the franchise needed, after all of Cruise’s antics around the time the third film was released. There was even talk that this film might have been his last as the franchise lead, turning it over to Jeremy Renner from this point forward. But things worked out, perhaps because of Bird’s injection of fun and levity he brought, and the franchise shited to something that would only continue improving. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our M:I series with a conversation about Bird’s 2011 film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. 

Here’s a hint at what we talk about.

This film is a blast from start to finish. We have a great team that feels cohesive both as a team in context of the film working to solve their mission as well as the actors who actually have chemistry and blend well. There’s a lot of play with the spy tech here as we get some incredible gadgets, but we also get to see what happens when our spies have to think outside the box when gadgets break or malfunction. The set pieces in this film all bring new and different energy to the franchise and the film, particularly the centerpiece of the film – Cruise scaling the side of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It’s insane and we’re here for all of it. We also have a villain that feels wonderfully villainous. Could we have used more of Michael Niqvist? Sure. But what we get works well for us. Even his threat to launch a nuke and start WWIII, while at the level of Bond villains, has a bit of a grounded feel to it. 

We talk a bit about the end of Cruise/Wagner Productions, and also ponder why Bird hasn’t had a chance to make many more live action features. Regardless, it’s a great conversation about a film that certainly set a new high bar for this franchise. We have a great time talking about it, so check it out then tune in. The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins!

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