Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.

Director:

Brad Bird

Writers:

Bruce Geller (television series "Mission: Impossible"), Josh Appelbaum

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg

5 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Cruise	...	Ethan Hunt
Paula Patton	...	Jane
Simon Pegg	...	Benji
Jeremy Renner	...	Brandt
Michael Nyqvist	...	Hendricks
Vladimir Mashkov	...	Sidorov
Samuli Edelmann	...	Wistrom
Ivan Shvedoff	...	Leonid Lisenker
Anil Kapoor	...	Brij Nath
Léa Seydoux	...	Sabine Moreau
Josh Holloway	...	Hanaway
Pavel Kríz	...	Marek Stefanski
Miraj Grbic	...	Bogdan
Ilia Volok	...	The Fog
Goran Navojec	...	Burly Russian Prisoner

Storyline

In the fourth installment of the Mission Impossible series, Ethan Hunt and a new team race against time to track down Hendricks, a dangerous terrorist who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States. An attempt by the team to stop him at the Kremlin ends in a disaster, with an explosion causing severe damage to the Kremlin and the IMF being implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to invoke Ghost Protocol, under which the IMF is disavowed, and will be offered no help or backup in any form. Undaunted, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks to Dubai, and from there to Mumbai, but several spectacular action sequences later, they might still be too late to stop a disaster.

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Plot Keywords:

race against time | ethan hunt character | luther stickell character | woman murders a man | murderess | 

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Taglines:

No Plan. No Backup. No Choice.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The high-tech car that Ethan Hunt drives near the end of the film is the Vision Efficient Dynamics concept car. It is an actual prototype of the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid that entered production in late 2013. The concept car is powered by a 1.5 liter three-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine and two electric motors.

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Goofs

In the car park scene there is no reason whatsoever for 'Cobalt' to jump to his death with the nuclear launch briefcase. He could simply have thrown the briefcase without committing suicide and achieved the same aim of making it hard for Ethan to get to the case.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Russian Prisoner: [in Russian, to Burly Russian Prisoner] Hey, how did you open your cell door?

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Crazy Credits

Much like the first 'Mission: Impossible' movie, the opening credits to this film contain major plot points to the film.

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Alternate Versions

American broadcast TV replaces Ethan's response to Brandt's "Your line's too short," ("No s***!") with an alternate take ("Yeah, I know!")

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Connections

Referenced in The Angry Video Game Nerd: Mission: Impossible (N64) (2020)

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Soundtracks

Ain't That a Kick in the Head
Written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen (as James Van Heusen)
Performed by Dean Martin
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Mission Impossible to Resurrect Franchise: Solidly Accomplished

Saw this at a London IMAX press preview screening.

Clearly JJ Abram's mission impossible, should he choose to accept it, is to lead a talented team to resurrect a declining franchise and re-ignite it with renewed vigour and a very high dosage of fun and entertainment.

I'm glad to say, mission highly accomplished.

Brad Bird's first time direction of real actors (must have been a shock when they talked back at him) exhibits the same zestful energy and fun that we got from his animated films such as The Incredibles. Though not with the subtlety of his Iron Giant but this is Mission Impossible, so we cant expect that kind of subtlety here.

Story is outrageously OTT and thats how it should be for a franchise that violently throws plausibility out of the window with much deliberation. Not much else to say about the story apart from the fact that it can easily be translated into a Bond movie. We're in that kind of villainous territory here and it is fun.

The action sequences are inventive, relentless, fun and tense. Some scenes are filmed in IMAX format and when seen on an IMAX screen, are breathtaking and immersing.

As well as Brad Bird's energised and retro direction, the cast really sparkles too. Cruise rocks as an action stunt hero. In fact more so now than he ever did. His traditional self stunt work in this series continues to impress particular in his skyscraper scenes. There is also more playfulness and assuredness in a role he has now worn into nicely. Simon Pegg gets a delightfully big promotion to join Hunt's team making us laugh throughout the movie. And Paula Patton adds an elegant sexiness to the MI team missions. Another new addition to the team, Jeremy Renner also gels smoothly into the squad.

This film has drastically rejuvenated the franchise that I now highly anticipate further adventures of Ethan Hunt and his new vibrant team, equally or even more so than the next James Bond movie.

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount [France] Paramount [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian French Arabic Swedish

Release Date:

21 December 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aries

Filming Locations:

Granville Island, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$145,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,785,204, 18 December 2011

Gross USA:

$209,397,903

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$694,713,380

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, TC Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS Datasat Dolby Surround 7.1 Sonics-DDP IMAX 6-Track

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1