I've enjoyed all the previous Mission: Impossible films. They've ranged a bit in quality, from flawed but exciting (M:I-2) to exciting but nearly incomprehensible (the first Mission: Impossible). The first Mission came the closest to the team aspect that made the series so memorable, but its plot was so focused on misdirection and convolution that none of the characters could be developed.
For the first time, we now have a Mission: Impossible film that has both a strong plot and some decent character development. The film starts off with an escape from a Russian prison and leads straight to massive sequence at the Kremlin. Next thing we know, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is on the run with his teammates Benji (Simon Pegg, coming back for more after Mission: Impossible 3) and Jane Carter (Paula Patton). Also in tow is Brandt (Jeremy Renner), an IMF analyst who has a few secrets of his own.
This IMF team gels in a way that no previous IMF team ever worked together before. Carter has a personal stake in this mission which comes into play when the team get to Dubai. Brandt has his own agenda the entire time, and Benji provides a good amount of welcome comic relief while still contributing to each stage of the film. And Hunt is still the leader calling the shots, but he knows he needs his team to work together the entire time. The first Mission: Impossible came close to this type of success, but by the end it still was a Tom Cruise Show.
The film was directed by Brad Bird, who is making his live action directing debut in this film. He came from the world of animation, mostly with Pixar's animated films. One of his previous films was The Incredibles, which worked perfectly in helping him prepare for this project. He knows how to build a real action sequence with a team atmosphere, and even though The Incredibles was animated, it still had some fantastic stunt work.
That leads me to the action sequences. All I can is, I hope anyone who sees this film sees it in IMAX, because that's how these action sequences are meant to be seen. When the team gets to Dubai, they find themselves at the Burj Khalifa building, the tallest building in the world. When Hunt has to climb up to the 130th floor and then swing his way back down, I found myself reliving my childhood fear of heights. There's real tension in the entire sequence, and I realized I was holding my breath with Hunt's every reach up the side of the building. I don't know how that sequence was shot (or how the studio allowed Tom Cruise to do that stunt on his own), but it's definitely the best stunt I've seen in a film in years.
As great a set piece as the Dubai sequence was, there's still more. The opening break in at the Kremlin was marvelous, and immediately following the Burj Khalifa climb is a massive car chase through a sandstorm in Dubai. Director Bird may have saved the best sequence for last though by staging a fist fight in a parking garage with the cars constantly moving around on conveyors.
If there's one failing in the film, it's a relatively weak villain. A man wants to start an all-out nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia because....because....well I don't really know why. The stakes are incredibly high though, so it's easy to pass over that minor gripe and focus on how Hunt and his IMF team will stop a war.
I'd highly recommend this film to anyone looking for a fun two hours in an IMAX theater. It's definitely the best Mission: Impossible film to date, and I'd love to see this team brought back together for another go-round.
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