Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - 4K Blu-ray Review

Movie
This was the actual film that I thought never was going to happen. After J.J. Abrams rounded out the Mission Impossible “trilogy”, it seemed that the furor had died down around the series, and Cruise was interested in doing other roles. But 5 years after Mission Impossible III we started hearing Cruise pushing to do another film. Even though the third film made over half a billion dollars off of a $150 million budget it seems that Paramount was a little reluctant to get behind another film with Ethan Hunt in it. Maybe it was because Cruise was loosing his star power (he sadly isn’t the draw he was back in the 90s and early 2000s), or maybe it was because of his age. I have no idea, all I know is that Cruise had to really put his weight behind it to make it happen. Even coming up to the theatrical release there wasn’t a lot of hype for the film. The forums were pretty “meh”, and the public pulse was pretty tepid. I had actually forgotten about it coming out until they made some big announcement at my theater that you could see it in IMAX a week before the actual wide release, so myself and my buddies figured “why not?”, and hoofed it up to our local IMAX to take a gander. Color us surprised when it was SHOCKINGLY good. For a film franchise that was almost 17 years old, and starring an aging actor, Ghost Protocol turned out to be the second best in the whole series (#1 will still be my favorite no matter what, but I rate them both 4.5/5 as I find it just the slimmest of bits worse than Mission Impossible).

Supposedly J.J. Abrams had to refuse coming back to the director’s chair due to having to shoot Super 8 (another great film), so the studios made a rather controversial decision. Even more controversial than hiring a first time director to direct a $150 million blockbuster, they decided to hire a director who had only directed ANIMATED pictures! Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Iron Giant) was their choice, and it was cited by the powers that be that it was his work on The Incredibles that caught their attention, and they wanted him to take over the spy series. Well, it was rather eyebrow raising, but it was a choice that somehow WORKED, as Bird directed an excellent film. He got rid of the Abrams “shaky cam” frustration from the third, and his eye for action is impeccable (even though it’s not animated, The Incredibles is an amazing action movie), and he brings back that sense of lighthearted adventure with some great choreography and fisticuffs. In fact, he actually brings us what is considered the BEST stunt work in the series, with the infamous Dubai tower scene with the magnetic gloves (I remember sitting in theaters with this HUGE sloppy grin on my face thinking “FINALLY, the bullet train sequence in the first movie is topped”).

Ethan Hunt is languishing in a Russian prison (for an unknown reason. All we know is that he wanted to be in there) after he and his wife parted ways (Michelle Monaghan sadly was missing for all but a final scene), but the IMF has plans for him. Benji (Simon Pegg) and Agent Jane Carter (Paula Patton) break Ethan out of prison, but it’s back to work he goes as the IMF wants him to infiltrate the Kremlin as some Russian nuclear codes have been stolen by an assassin (played by Lea Seydoux) and they think she is going to sell them to someone there. Going in is easy, getting out is easier, but something goes terribly wrong on the op. A lunatic with end of the world schemes named Kurt Hedricks (the late Michael Nyqvist) steals the other half of the nuclear launching protocols and bombs the Kremlin JUST as Ethan and his crew are completing their mission.

Ethan and his men are blamed for the op gong wrong, as the Russians fully believe the Americans bombed their most national treasure. The President has just activated the Ghost Protocol, which means the ENTIRETY of the IMF has now been disavowed and branded terrorist to the general public. Meaning that once more, Ethan and his group of IMF agents have to do what they do best. Go rogue and find Hendricks before they can start a nuclear holocaust and make them being branded rogue the LEAST of their worries.

Ghost Protocol has a few weaknesses, but it’s a giant spectacle of awesomeness, with great action, and a great team dynamic. My only real big complaint about the movie’s structure is that the main baddy is almost non existent in terms of screen time. Michael Nyqvist is fantastic as Hendricks, but he’s very obviously gone through much of the film. He doesn’t dominate the screen like Philip Seymour Hoffman, but the team dynamic makes up for it. Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames and even Paula Patton do quite well together, with Jeremy Renner being the only weak spot. Renner was for YEARS pushed as the next “go to” guy for action movies, being put as a front runner for the failed Bourne Legacy spin off, and was supposed to be the baton hand off from Cruise in this one. Watching the movie you can definitely tell that he was setup to be the next super agent with Cruise exiting, but the movies reinvigorated Cruise’s popularity in the franchise and Renner has been relegated to being another IMF agent in the upcoming films.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence




4K Video: Video:

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol was the first (to my knowledge) of the Mission Impossible films that was shot and mastered in full 4K, and the results are absolutely jaw dropping. The 2012 Blu-ray was a picture perfect 1080p image, but that wasn’t the top rung of the ladder. Ghost Protocol easily steps it up a BIG notch with this 4K UHD 2160p release. The digitally shot film is crystal clear from the moment we open up to agent Hanaway getting shot, and it only gets better from there. There is a slight bluish tinge to the film with elements of yellow and green thrown in (the yellow is most prominent in Dubai), but this is a fairly neutral looking image for the most part. Clarity is razor sharp, with incredible moments of revealing detail, such as when Ethan looks out at the incoming sand storm in the tower sequence, or when dust is falling on him as he makes his way through the tunnel. Allowing every little bit of dirt to be visible on his face. Black levels are one of the most impressive I have seen, with great shadow detail, and no signs of crush or banding in any major capacity. My ONLY issue with the blacks is that there are a couple of short scenes (such as when the Secretary extracts Ethan from Russia) that look a bit milky, but those are very fleeting and not enough for me to pull the score down at all.






Audio:

Deviating from the first 3 films, Ghost Protocol doesn’t get an audio upgrade from the 2012 Blu-ray, and that is due to the fact that Ghost Protocol already featured a stunning Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track and didn’t have the lossy Dolby Digital that the first three films were saddled with. Paramount has decided to transfer that same track over and I have zero problems with that as the 7.1 mix is nothing short of perfection. Even though it isn’t the latest and greatest Atmos technology, the “paltry” 7.1 track is an incredibly immersive experience with a TON of really nuanced levels to it. Whether it be the humming of a hard drive in the corner of the room, or the crushing sound of debris falling from the sky, Ghost Protocol’s 7.1 experience is amazing. Ever sound has a distinct tone and level to it, making it absolutely unique throughout the movie. Gunshots ring out with extreme authority, and the surround channels are just awash with all sorts of noises. Background, explosions, the score, it all is just a wild swirling vortex that pulls the listener into the excitement of it all. LFE is simply devastating, with deep waves of bass that just pummel the listener at times. The bombing of the Kremlin is one of the best moments of the film, and one that is sure to light up your subs like nothing else. While I’m always puzzled by Paramount’s indecision on which films get an Atmos upgrade and which don’t, but Ghost Protocol has an absolutely amazing 7.1 Dolby TrueHD audio mix, and it still holds true 6 years later.







Extras:

• Mission Accepted -- Suiting Up in Prague
• Mission Accepted -- Heating Up in Dubai
• Mission Accepted -- Vancouver Fisticuffs
• Impossible Missions -- The Russian Prison
• Impossible Missions -- Shooting in IMAX
• Impossible Missions -- Art Department
• Impossible Missions -- A Roll of Film
• Impossible Missions -- Life Masks
• Impossible Missions -- Stepping Into the Storm
• Impossible Missions -- The Sandstorm
• Impossible Missions -- Dubai Car Crash
• Impossible Missions -- Lens on the Burj
• Impossible Missions -- Props
• Impossible Missions -- Composer
• Deleted Scenes
• Trailers






I’m always shocked how far the Mission Impossible series has come. Tom Cruise is no longer a baby faced little agent, and despite his age he is still doing most of his own stunts (a stipulation he has when he makes these films). His charisma and charm have kept the series going so far, and the addition of new blood in the ensemble cast has been a boon in keeping the series fresh and exciting. It’s pretty obvious that this was the film that they were considering “passing the torch” from Tom to maybe Jeremy, but as history has proven, sometimes you don’t get rid of the golden goose. Which in this case turns out to be Cruise. The film itself is fun, exciting, and has one of the best action sequences in the entire franchise as well. The 4K UHD disc is incredible in terms of technical specs, and it also houses the special extras disc from the Best Buy exclusive Blu-ray (for some reason they had a Best Buy exclusive with extra special features, while the wide release had a trimmed down set). The audio mix is the same as the Blu-ray, but the 4K picture is definitely improved, and makes for the weight of the “shall I upgrade?” decision. Definitely grab it if you can.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton
Directed by: Brad Bird
Written by: Bruce Geller (TV series), josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec (Screenplay)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Studio: Paramount
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 133 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: June 26th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

all the Mission Impossible films on 4K have been great upgrades over their Blu-ray counterparts IMO