How do these aging actors do it? Tough guy action films, I mean. Sly Stallone (65), Liam Neeson (59), Bruce Willis (56), Nic Cage (pushing 50), among others, are all still playing the stalwart macho hero. And now, here comes Tom Cruise in his fourth go round as Ethan Hunt, leader of a crack IMF (Impossible Missions Force) team, at age 49. Now I’m not suggesting that Cruise is old, certainly not from my vantage point (age 62). I am wondering at what point does casting of a middle aged or older fellow in such roles strain credulity too much? [See my comments on Neeson’s Unknown (2011).] The good news is that Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol (a.k.a. M.I.4) is a terrific movie, and Cruise’s tough guy persona carries the film.
Gone is the boyish grin and youthful charm. Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is taut, rugged, clearly in charge, and all business. His body is buff and his face is chiseled. He does look older, mostly in a good way; but I couldn’t help noticing as he was doing his classic Cruise run (chasing a bad guy) that he was pressing a bit, and I couldn’t help imagining how brutal his exercise regime must be these days. (One odd effect of the new Cruise look is that his nose seems bigger, more prominent, in a weird sort of way, especially in extreme close ups, of which there are several in M.I.3. Anyone else notice this?)
Cruise (who also has produced all of these films) has aided his M.I. career by hiring terrific directors: Brian de Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, and now Brad Bird. Bird was a bit of a gamble in that his entire career has been directing/supervising animated material, most recently at Pixar, where he helmed The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007). Perhaps, Cruise noticed how beautifully the action moved and flowed in those projects, and how well the stories were constructed. At any rate, the gamble paid off, because the complicated story in M.I.4, involving stolen Russian launch codes and a terrorist plot to launch a nuclear missile strike at the US, is well told, and moves along deftly with thrilling action sequences and just the right touch of humor.
Cruise and Bird are helped by an outstanding supporting cast. The other members of Ethan’s M.I. team, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton and JeremyRenner have distinct personas and skills. Pegg has had a great 2011, appearing in the comedy Paul, voicing the character of Det. Thomson (or is it Thompson?) in Tintin, and now Benjy, the somewhat timorous techie guy on the team. Patton plays the girl on the team, and what a girl: she’s beautiful, sexy, forthright and tough as nails when called for – as in the all too brief girl-fight scene with the ruthless assassin Sabine Moreau (French actress LéaSeydoux). Renner’s character is inadvertently drawn into the team. He is analytical, intense, loyal, funny and human. His performance is a revelation because he plays an ordinary guy, in contrast to the nut jobs I’d seen him play in The Hurt Locker (2008) and The Town (2010). The ensemble also includes Michael Nyqvist as the bad guy, Hendricks, and the uncredited Tom Wilkinson (as the IMF Secretary) and Michelle Monaghan, in cameo reprise of her role as Ethan’s girlfriend/wife Julia.
I won’t bore you with a plot outline. If you like action pictures, you’ll want to see this one. It’s a big screen kind of movie, so don’t wait for the DVD.
In theaters.
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