Maybe what they say about sequels is true. With the exception of the likes of Godfather in the genre of serious cinema and Police Academy in the comedy space, I cannot think of too many franchises which have really made the cut with the sequels coming upto the same level as the first part. I am a huge fan of Star Wars and Indiana Jones as well. Quite a few in the animation genre - Toy Story, Cars, Shrek & Kung Fu Panda to name some. And what makes or breaks a successful franchise would be the bane of public expectation. Much like a hugely successful athlete, movie makers need to find that magic potion which will raise the bar every time that they put something out there.
So you would understand my apprehensions when I walked into watch Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol last night. Only this time, I was really hoping against hope that the strike team of IMF which caught the fancy of several people across the globe nearly 5 decades ago would come up with an entertaining and acceptable performance. Disappointingly and sadly, but not surprisingly, my expectations were belied - once again. The first edition of MI in 1996 was excellent simply because it was made in a manner well ahead of its time. The use of effects was stunning and to see a team of people do what almost everyone would perceive as Impossible was just the adrenaline rush that we were waiting for.
Most importantly, what they saw was bordering on the unbelievable but the operative word here is bordering. All of us wanted to be Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). But since then it has been downhill. Is it because of a change of directors? Moving from the inimitable Brian De Palma to one of the best action directors of our time John Woo to the little known JJ Abrams and now finally to the lesser known Brad Bird (Ratatouile & The Incredibles) seems to have done no good to the team from IMF. Tom Cruise’s acting skills have never been brilliant but what does stand out is his supreme ability to look drool worthy to the opposite sex at the age of 50!!!!! What is clearly missing is the emphasis on the villain. Jim Phelphs (Jon Voight) made way for Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) and then Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman). But in this one the villain seems to be more of a ghost (as the name of the movie would suggest). I guess much like James Bond, Ethan Hunt would be nothing without his villainous adversaries who give him the impossible opportunities.
A weak story line, several consistency errors, poor special effects, really bad sets (if you claim to be shooting in India at least make it real folks. Don’t make it obvious that you used sets) and poor screenplay dot the weakest of the 4 parts. At this rate it would not take long to make difficult seem impossible and not the other way round as is the case with the IMF. Even with Anil Kapoor’s 3 minutes and 32.83 seconds, 5 on 10 is the max I can give. I guess Don 2 will be better. Do something guys otherwise this franchise will self destruct in 5…4…Aaah you know what I mean.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2866585113/
So you would understand my apprehensions when I walked into watch Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol last night. Only this time, I was really hoping against hope that the strike team of IMF which caught the fancy of several people across the globe nearly 5 decades ago would come up with an entertaining and acceptable performance. Disappointingly and sadly, but not surprisingly, my expectations were belied - once again. The first edition of MI in 1996 was excellent simply because it was made in a manner well ahead of its time. The use of effects was stunning and to see a team of people do what almost everyone would perceive as Impossible was just the adrenaline rush that we were waiting for.
Most importantly, what they saw was bordering on the unbelievable but the operative word here is bordering. All of us wanted to be Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). But since then it has been downhill. Is it because of a change of directors? Moving from the inimitable Brian De Palma to one of the best action directors of our time John Woo to the little known JJ Abrams and now finally to the lesser known Brad Bird (Ratatouile & The Incredibles) seems to have done no good to the team from IMF. Tom Cruise’s acting skills have never been brilliant but what does stand out is his supreme ability to look drool worthy to the opposite sex at the age of 50!!!!! What is clearly missing is the emphasis on the villain. Jim Phelphs (Jon Voight) made way for Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) and then Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman). But in this one the villain seems to be more of a ghost (as the name of the movie would suggest). I guess much like James Bond, Ethan Hunt would be nothing without his villainous adversaries who give him the impossible opportunities.
A weak story line, several consistency errors, poor special effects, really bad sets (if you claim to be shooting in India at least make it real folks. Don’t make it obvious that you used sets) and poor screenplay dot the weakest of the 4 parts. At this rate it would not take long to make difficult seem impossible and not the other way round as is the case with the IMF. Even with Anil Kapoor’s 3 minutes and 32.83 seconds, 5 on 10 is the max I can give. I guess Don 2 will be better. Do something guys otherwise this franchise will self destruct in 5…4…Aaah you know what I mean.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2866585113/
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