Yes, No, Maybe So: "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol"
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 7:39PM The titles within this franchise always surprise with the punctuation. This one opts for one colon and a dash. A dash, huh? It must feel the need, the need for speed. This is the first time they've used a dash unless you prefer your Mission: Impossible 2 in its funkier weirdly abbreviated decapitalized M:i-2 format. Anyway.... the point is that Tom Cruise is back as agent Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol or M:I-GP Vol. 4 if you'd like to complicate it. Let's accept the mission to break down the trailer with our Yes, No, Maybe So protocol.
Tom Cruise Does His Own Stunt Running
YES You wouldn't know it from the trailer which focuses on reminding you of the stunttacular nature of this franchise and the familiar but arguably still special effect of Tom Cruise running-jumping-glaring (say what you will about Tom Cruise -- and we all have -- but there are few movie stars as committed/believable in action sequences) but Brad Bird directed this. BRAD BIRD. If it has the teensiest sliver of The Iron Giant's humanity and if the action scenes are anywhere close to as good as the ones in The Incredibles, it's going to be straight up awesome. The big question is: can Brad Bird work directing wonders with flesh & blood actors the way he can with animators?
NO -Did we really need a fourth picture? My biggest beef with this franchise, continued here with the title card insistence that only Tom Cruise is starring in the picture, is that the Mission: Impossible series would be so much better if it were more team-oriented. Ethan pulls too much focus and the team maneuvering and chemistry is the real spark it needs to generate fireworks.
Mission: Impossible - Team 4: Pegg, Renner, Cruise and Patton
MAYBE SO -On the other hand, even if they aren't given enough to do the cast is exciting: Simon Pegg, the always welcome until he gets too ubiquitous (any second now) Jeremy Renner, Josh Holloway, Michael Nykqvist, Paula Patton, Lea Seydoux, and Tom Wilkinson doing what he does best (that distinctive voice: authoritative but always suspect with hints of possible certifiable whack-a-doo pulsating underneath)
The Trailer...
Do you think Tom Cruise will have the comeback he's looking for over?
Will Brad Bird work well with actors who can talk back?
If you were an action star would you do your own stunts?
Are you a Yes, No or Maybe So?
Related Post from the Archive:
Directors of the Decade: Brad Bird "Mr Complexity"
Reader Comments (15)
Man, the Renner backlash is already prepped and planned. This bums me out.
If Brad Bird made a rat look good and entertaining, I guess he can do something about Tom Cruise.
I know, Joe! He's getting to be SOOOO ubiquitous though. I totally get that he's had this career breakthrough and he can finally start signing on to some big properties for decent money, but it seems like he's jumping into A LOT of franchises all in a row. He needs to sprinkle some more Hurt Lockers or Towns.
I'm a yes b/c I find this cast, minus Cruise, sexy as hell. I'm especially excited for Lea Seydoux as a baddie(?) since she was basically a cardboard cut out in Midnight in Paris.
I blame the film companies, though. An actor like Renner who's known more struggle than success understandably wants to take advantage of all the opportunities present. But do the company heads really think that the audience wants their new Jason Bourne (a terrible idea, IMIO) to be Hawkeye at the same time and the new Mission Impossible lead (if the rumors can be believed), all at once? WAY too much.
caroline & joe -- that's exactly it. I LOVE Jeremy Renner but I've already gone on record numerous times saying that I hate it when any actor is suddenly in every franchise. It destroys (for me) the fabric of suspension of disbelief -- if all of these separate worlds have the same faces in them it just doesn't work for me.
The worst is Samuel L Jackson who by my last count had been in about 10-12 franchises. It's like you *again*? Why is Mace Windu in this movie? Or it's like FINE. but do you care about acting at all or are you only in it for massive paychecks? So yeah... I worry for Jeremy Renner who I've rooted for a good long while.
I want to see it. I've seen some of the paparazzi shots during filming and the stunts look good. I liked the first 2 but can't recall the third.
Wow, the trailer actually hooked me. Plus Renner, Pegg, Patton and Holloway are worth the admission I'm sure. And as whack-a-doo as Tom Cruise is, I do remember a time when he wasn't including that excellent, to me, first Mission Impossible flick. Good times. So... yes for me.
Jeremy Renner is one of the best creatures around, so YES!
and I see nothing wrong when a really good actor finally manages to make it BIG and is therefore logically invited to star in a lot of blockbusters.
There's also a trailer for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy! Looks damn good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTrMc4bRcu0
Yavor -- you don't get bored of the same faces in all blockbusters?
I'm actually a full yes because Brad Bird (!), the supporting cast is fantastic and while Tom Cruise might be crazy, he is one of the best action stars we have and a great actor.
I'm a Yes. Because of Brad Bird.
The trailer itself ist a bti strange. Doesn't have the right pace and it doesn't look like anything special. Bu it will be a very good action movie. Hopefully with some depth.
I'm a maybe so. I'm not really a big fan of the franchise, but I'm curious to see Brad Bird do a live-action film.
Check out my breakdown of the new trailer for the upcoming film, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL.
http://thismovieguy.blogspot.com/2011/06/trailer-breakdown-mission-impossible.html
I'm a huge hell no!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jeremy Renner and I have for a longtime. But I have tremendous hatred for Tom Cruise so that forbids me from seeing this film.