Movie Preview: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

This coming December 16, 2011, we will all be privy to Mission Impossible IV, now known under the title Ghost Protocol. While information about the production has slowly leaked out – the trailer is now out – it would seem that who’s who and what’s what may not be 100% certain. According to IMDb, the story is credited to Tom Cruise and J. J. Abrams and the screenplay to Josh Applebaum and André Nemec. Tom Cruise of course is back as Ethan Hunt along with Ving Rhames who has also been in all of the M:i movies in the role of Luther Stickell. Sitting in the director’s chair is Brad Bird whose claim to fame lies with animation notably The Incredibles.

Filming has supposedly taken place in Dubai, Prague, Moscow, Mumbai, and Vancouver. The trailer shows Cruise scaling the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest structure at 828 m (2,717 ft).

Details about the movie’s plot are negligible if not non existent. While the Wikipedia entry on the film has a section on the plot, this is merely a retelling of what’s in the trailer released on June 29, 2011. It contains no other details. MovienewZ writes: This is not just another mission. The IMF is shut down when it’s implicated in a global terrorist bombing plot. Ghost Protocol is initiated and Ethan Hunt and his rogue new team must go undercover to clear their organization’s name. No help, no contact, off the grid. You have never seen a mission grittier and more intense than this.

By the numbers
In looking back on the series, the first three films, we see the following figures:

Mission Impossible (1996)
Budget: $80 million
Gross: $458 million (worldwide)
Rotten Tomatoes: 56%

Mission Impossible II (2000)
Budget: $125 million
Gross: $546 million (worldwide)
Rotten Tomatoes: 57%

Mission Impossible III (2006)
Budget: $150 million
Gross: $398 million (worldwide)
Rotten Tomatoes: 70%

It’s interesting to note the jump in the film’s rating on Rotten Tomatoes for number three in the franchise. Was the addition of Philip Seymour Hoffman as the bad guy that much of a plus to change the quality of the entire film in the eyes of the critics? I also note that J. J. Abrams was involved in the creation of the story for number three and directed the movie, his first involvement in the series.

Uploaded by trailers on Jun 28, 2011
Official Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0LQnQSrC-g

References

Wikipedia: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (also known as Mission: Impossible IV) is an upcoming action film. It is the fourth film in the Mission: Impossible film series. It stars Tom Cruise, who reprises his role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt. The film, directed by Brad Bird, has been written by J. J. Abrams, André Nemec and Josh Appelbaum. It is produced by Abrams, Cruise and Paula Wagner and will be released in the United States on December 16, 2011.

Wikipedia: Mission: Impossible (film series)
The Mission: Impossible films are a series of action films based on the television series of the same name. The films feature Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, an I.M.F agent.

Wikipedia: Mission: Impossible (film)
Mission: Impossible is a 1996 action thriller directed by Brian De Palma and starring Tom Cruise. Following on from the television series of the same name, the plot follows a new agent, Ethan Hunt and his mission to uncover the mole within the CIA who has framed him for the murders of his entire IMF team.

Wikipedia: Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible II (also known as M:i-2) is a 2000 action film directed by John Woo, and starring Tom Cruise, who also served as the film’s producer.

Wikipedia: Mission: Impossible III
Mission: Impossible III (also known as M:i:III) is a 2006 action film.

IMDb: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Wikipedia: Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa (“Khalifa Tower”), known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is currently the tallest structure ever built, at 828 m (2,717 ft).

official web site: Ghost Protocol
[This web site as of this writing only has the trailer, nothing else.]

Wikipedia: J. J. Abrams
Jeffrey Jacob “J.J.” Abrams (born June 27, 1966), is an American film and television producer, screenwriter, director, actor, and composer. He wrote and produced feature films before co-creating the television series Felicity (1998–2002). He also created Alias (2001–2006) and co-created Lost (2004–2010), Fringe (2008–present), and Undercovers (2010). Abrams directed the films Mission: Impossible III (2006), Star Trek (2009), and Super 8 (2011) and produced the films Cloverfield (2008) and Morning Glory (2010).

Wikipedia: Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards.

official web site: Tom Cruise
[Biography, photo gallery, blog]

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