Impossible? I think not- MI 4: Ghost Protocol

Mission accomplished?
Movie: Mission Impossible - 4 Ghost Protocol
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg

PLOT:
After breaking Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise)-the infamous IMF operative out of prison-the team discovers there is some guy a.k.a COBALT trying to get his hands on Russian Nuke launch codes. Ethan and his team then try to break in and steal information on him at the KREMLIN, one the the most secure buildings in Russia. But it doesn't go well and they come back empty handed and the building is bombed. The blame lands squarely on Ethan's team. The IMF is disavowed. With no friends and no IMF back up the rouge team must get their hands on COBALT and the codes before its too late. That takes them from Russia to Dubai to Mumbai, where it all ends. Suicide mission or Mission possible?

Good news first:
The movie has us hooked from the very first scene. The long winding fuse that leads into the opening titles just give you a sense of what you can expect with flashes of scenes to come.

Cruise and his aging body have you wishing you could rewind the clock and go back to MI-2, but the action makes up for that disappointment in spades.

Special agent Jane (Paula Patton) and Benji (Simon Pegg), the comical British technician from the previous installment hack into the Russian Prison security and with Dean Martin music playing in the background, Ethan all but saunters out of that Prison. pffft ..it's like stealing candy from a baby.

Well it's much like watching a Rajinikanth movie really. Cruise gets bonked on the head, has several mild concussions and still manages to walk out without spilling a drop. So get this. If your one of those indi movie freaks. This ain't for you.

After the third installment you think... well we've seen him jump from one building to another, what more can he show us? Director Brad Bird, whose earlier stints in animated hits like Ratatouille and the incredibles could not have possibly prepared him for the adrenaline pumping blockbuster franchise, but somehow finds a way to step it up. And how!

How about Cruise climbing from the 123 rd floor of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai with nothing more than Spidey gloves? It will literally take your breath away.

You're in for a doozy! They break into the KREMLIN, with of course fake ID's and Russian accent.DA it's true, the masks always work. One thing that strikes you here is that the team is not perfect, they make mistakes. Lot's of them. And you'd think equipment failure doesn't happen in high budget secret ops. Oh but it does! And inconveniently when you are over a 100 stories above the ground.

The KREMLIN is blown up and Ethan lands at the hospital, but manages to get out of handcuff the old fashioned way- a paper clip. Ah simplicity, it's refreshing.

But throughout the movie Cruise goes about wrecking beautiful BMW's. It's painful to watch them get smashed.

The car chase scene in the middle of a sand storm, a routine happening in Dubai all but restores your faith in action movies.

While the plot itself was uninspired, the actors, the surprising bursts of humour and the thrilling action sequences make this a flat out popcorn entertainer. So buy a tub and settle down.

Brant (Jeremy Renner) of hurt locker fame really took the cake in terms of performance. So believable and likable. What a trouper.

The bad and the ugly:
Anil Kapoor was for me the biggest disappointment. Having proved his potential in 24, the hugely popular TV series in America, he played a billionaire bimbo, that quite frankly belied his true abilities.

And what's with showing all Telegu sign boards, when your are supposed to be in Mumbai? Bird, I know Americans really don't care. But really, research please. Or you could've just asked Anil Kapoor!And MH comes in front of a bloody license plate.

Oh the details do matter! But I did get a kick out of watching them set the nuke from the Sun Tv office. Symbolic really :) But the Chennai audience did get a kick out of watching Ktv and Sun Tv up on the big screen for just a min.

The climax was shoddy in it's execution and ruined the otherwise perfect build up. The frantic pace toward the end was really its undoing.

But you gotta admit its a visual feast and I only wish I had an IMAX theater here to do it justice.

Bottomline: There's a tub of popcorn with your name on it. Go get it.