Mission: Impossible Phantom Protocol - Blu-ray

Movie: Dear Action Fan. Your mission, should you agree, is to watch the fourth installment of Mission: Impossible. Why? Read quickly, because this review will self-destruct within five seconds. No, you can sit back comfortably, of course, and read at your leisure all the reasons to watch the fourth impossible mission of Tom Cruise aka Ethan Hunt.

Mission: Impossible - Phantom Protocol begins with a spectacular mission to free the imprisoned Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) from a prison in Russia. His team, made up of Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), has no idea that Hunt was in prison as part of a dangerous mission to get crucial information that could secure peace between world powers. That information leads the team straight to the Kremlin, where they are tasked with stealing vital codes before they fall into the hands of a terrorist group led by a mysterious mastermind (Michael Nyqvist). But the mission goes awry and Hunt and his team are lured into a trap. A bomb attack on the Kremlin is blamed on them. As a result, the IMF is disbanded and Jane, Benji and Ethan are branded terrorists and sought by police and intelligence agencies worldwide. With the help of agent Brandt (Jeremy Renner) the team wants to redeem themselves without any backing from their government and incidentally save the world. In Dubai, they could strike the decisive blow against their enemies - but this mission soon proves to be more impossible than thought...

With Mission: Impossible - Phantom Protocol, Brad Bird, director of animated films such as The Giant from Outer Space or The Incredibles, delivers his live-action film debut, with shooting help from producer J.J. Abrams, the director of the third part. Shot in Los Angeles, Moscow, Prague, Dubai, Mumbai and Vancouver, the action thriller has an almost classic flair to it, despite numerous contemporary special effects and daredevil action interludes, which adds a very special touch to the overall thrilling experience.

Spiced with a proper pinch of humour, for which Simon Pegg, fortunately more prominently represented in this installment, is primarily responsible, the exotic locations, the mysterious villains (Michael Nyqvist, lead actor of the Millennium trilogy and an ice-coldly beguiling Lea Seydoux), the fast-paced chases and the spectacular stunts make the fourth Mission: Impossible popcorn cinema of the very special kind worth watching. In particular, the sequence set on the facade of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai is absolutely breathtaking.

Of course, some parts of this scene were shot on a studio replica. However, a few shots, including a very dangerous fall, were staged on location with the most extreme of efforts. You may think what you will of Tom Cruise, who didn't miss the chance to climb around the facade of the skyscraper himself, of his private escapades and views. As an action hero, the man is top notch. Whether at lofty heights, in a modern parking garage, in a straight-up duel, or in the midst of a prison riot, Cruise consistently cuts a fine figure as Ethan Hunt. Certainly, especially when he uses few words or spices his performances with a bit of self-deprecation, he can really convince. But also a short moment at the end of the film, in which Hunt is allowed to show a little emotion and vulnerability, proves that Cruise is a really good actor despite all justified criticism.

But also the team, what he was given in this film to the side, can be seen. While Simon Pegg serves as the comedic element as mentioned earlier, Paula Patton gets to show off her attractive as well as combative side. And Jeremy Renner, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in The Hurt Locker, with this performance and roles in The Avengers and the next Bourbe film, is poised to become not only a compelling character actor, but also a compelling action star.

Mission: Impossible - Phantom Protocol is actually fun from the first second to the last, never boring for a moment and providing the viewer with one adrenaline rush after another. Sure, the laws of logic get defied here and there, but who cares when the result is so entertaining. No big head cinema, who is looking for pure entertainment on a very high level, should not miss this action thriller in any case. Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: Technically, the Blu-Ray is on quite a high level. The picture is clean and has excellent sharpness of detail. The scene on the facade of the hotel in Dubai thus provides perfect goosebumps even in the home cinema version. The colors are very well balanced and the contrasts are also on a very good level. And where the picture is already convincing, the sound does not disappoint at any moment. In addition to the well understandable mixed dialogue and the harmoniously used film music, especially the numerous sound effects, which come in the 7.1 Dolby TrueHD really well to the advantage, bring the home theater system mighty shaking. Very good!

Extras: Here the Blu-Ray disappoints somewhat. Not in terms of the quality of the extras. Rather, the fact that there is still over an hour of other extras, which were also reviewed by the FSK, but which are only included in exclusive editions of American and English retail chains, upsets. Whether or not there will be any way to see these extras in Germany is currently unknown. It's bad enough that DVD buyers are always at a disadvantage when it comes to bonus material. But the fact that Blu-ray buyers are now looking stupid because only a small, exclusive group of buyers will be able to enjoy all the extras is just annoying. Because can 40 minutes of extras is for a blockbuster like this simply much too little.

Qualitatively, the bonus material can convince freely. The two short documentaries, which can be found accepted in the Mission section, provide an entertaining and interesting look at the filming, with off-screen commentary on the footage from the shoot by the director and others involved. The 17 and 12 minute featurettes are nice appetizers, but are simply far too few as a comprehensive making of.

The two featurettes in Impossible Missions are more about technical aspects. Here they go into detail about the sandstorm (about 3 mins) and some of the props (about 3 mins). And finally, there are three cut scenes with optional commentary from director Brad Bird. As I said, all interesting and worth watching in terms of content. But the fact that most buyers are deprived of the majority of still existing extras is extremely annoying, especially in view of the high quality of the bonuses!

Conclusion: With Mission: Impossible - Phantom Protocol Tom Cruise has delivered the most financially successful film of his career to date. Worldwide, the action smash was able to bring in well over 600 million dollars. Also on Blu-Ray, the flick is a lot of fun, not least thanks to the excellent technical implementation. The bonus material is also impressive, but the fact that some extras are reserved for selected buyers in the U.S. and England, leaves a rather stale aftertaste. Nevertheless, applies to this Blu-Ray: absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp