Mission: Impossible 4: How Ghost Protocol, by Brad Bird, revived the saga

Tom Cruise has made a successful comeback thanks to this brilliantly staged sequel.

If the franchise Impossible mission is currently a hit thanks to the talents of director and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie (who will release episode 7 and its incredible new stunts in a few days), we must not forget that the strong comeback of Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt was first possible thanks to the success of Ghost protocolthe fourth opus directed by Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles), in 2011.

At its output, First insisted moreover on this comeback of Tom Cruise, whether via a portrait of the actor at the moment T, that in our reviews, because yes, the film had been entitled to two opinions, signed Gaël Golhen and Frederic Foubert. Here they are, pending its rebroadcast, at 9:10 p.m. on M6.

Tom Cruise: how Mission Impossible 4 must save the star

Frédéric Foubert’s review: After De Palma, John Woo and JJ Abrams, Tom Cruise therefore pins a new luxury Pygmalion on the franchise’s hunting board Impossible missionin the person of Brad Bird, the man behind The Incredibles And Ratatouillea genius renowned for his seething, virtuoso sense of action and his intimate understanding of the great pop mythologies.

At the controls of this fourth opus, Bird therefore delivers an action film… uh… bubbling, virtuoso, and innervated by an intimate understanding of the great pop mythologies. Logic. Either the best episode of the saga since De Palma’s inaugural masterpiece, a crazy action packed with anthology scenes that would fill a 2011 Top 5 on their own (the cartoon prison escape, the the blind in the sandstorm, the ascent of the Burj Khalifa… take your pick), which only lacks a hair of theoretical height of sight – and a less moldy McGuffin – to claim the top step of the podium . But the best thing about it is Tom Cruise himself, unleashed, magnetic and iconic as he hadn’t been since the Spielberg/Michael Mann years, very aware (and clearly delighted) to be making a come – triumphant back. “Failure is only a rehearsal for success”, philosophizes agent Ethan Hunt between two dizzying high-flying sequences. No doubt that at this time, it is first of him that Tom Cruise speaks of. About him, and his status as the most stainless movie star on the planet.

With Mission Impossible 4, Brad Bird wanted to “rediscover the pleasure of a good movie session”

Gael Golhen’s review: Forget episode 2 and 3 (that’s good the title expressly invites the reboot) and let’s go back to the first Impossible mission. De Palma’s film was a masterpiece precisely because the filmmaker had been framed. At home in the mainstream where its themes are muted and its visual genius takes on a classic dimension, the remake of the 60’s series was its best film because it was a project written by an army of screenwriters. and directed by the star (Tom Cruise). Brilliant classicism, delirious intrigue and star power on all levels.

Quite the opposite of Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol which is yet another miracle. A miracle because it constantly balances the different creative powers. Both a film by (and about) Tom Cruise and a masterpiece by Brad Bird (it’s also a screw-up by JJ Abrams, but that’s not so bad), the fourth adventure of agent Ethan Hunt brings back therefore the clocks on time. It’s probably too easy, but MI4 can first be seen as a live version of Incredibles : the feeling of floating and suspension, vertigo and speed that founded the best Pixar is there, intact. The visual fantasy, the staging ideas owe as much to the cartoon (the intro sequence with the slamming of doors worthy of a Tom and Jerry) as to the matrix of the cinema of the pioneers (Bird quotes Chaplin, but we think also to Schoedsack and the Aventuriers du Mute for the Sandstorm). And for his first live film, Bird manages to combine technical challenge and the wild logic of adventure, as in his best animations.

Yet despite the director’s will to power (which even escapes in theoretical lurches – the briefcase sequence), MI4 is also Cruise’s best film for at least six years. For Tom Cruise, who ended up eating the wall of the box office in the face, MI4 had to be redemption. It’s the case. The dialectic of the film (Ethan Hunt is literally dropped by everyone and must disappear to better be reborn) is a thinly disguised metaphor for his career. But it is especially the way in which Brad Bird films it which (d) astonishes. Icon worn out (the dumpster scene), outdated (the IMAX shows all its wrinkles), the latest Hollywood star is in all plans and offers a resounding comeback. He has never been so feline, so big and… so human.

We recognize that the characters are a little neglected on the altar of speed and visual performance, and that, as soon as JJ Abrams regains control of the company (roughly the last 10 minutes), the film borders on disaster . But all it takes is a staging idea or a (love) shot on Cruise each time for the project to rise to the top again. Clear ? The best blockbuster of the year, the best Cruise for a while and the best Bird for Ratatouille. It’s a lot.

Trailer :

The Incredibles, Ratatouille, The Iron Giant: Why Brad Bird is the most “playful” of directors