MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL

The fourth film in a series is usually the one that signals a series as over-extended (Scary Movie 4, Jaws: The Revenge, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Alien: Resurrection, Shrek Forever After, Superman IV: The Quest For Peace), and even when the films are reasonably good they are always outside the “core trilogy” that the original fans will protect forever (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Live Free or Die Hard, Terminator Salvation, and the Star Wars prequels).

The Mission: Impossible series is now an exception to the rule. M:I 3 is still the best in the series, but the newest entry has come very close to its quality. Director Brad Bird (The Incredibles) had never made a live-action film before, but the deft balance of SFX and cinematography in Ghost Protocol proves he is a top-of-the-line director. With producers Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams the film is clearly a part of the same series, but the way Bird allows comedy and suspense to bounce off each other is a major boost to an action series that could have been trounced by Sherlock Holmes.

Tom Cruise is still at center stage, which might count against the film depending on your personal views, but more than previous films in the series Ghost Protocol feels like an ensemble. Simon Pegg gets many of the best moments, but Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton both hold their own with more character development than supporting action parts usually get. And Michael Nyqvist (from the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) is an effective but under-used villain who only gets to show off in the last half hour of the film.

The actual plot is as large as one of the more ridiculous Bond films, but the speed and constant movement distracts from making logical criticisms. Essentially, like the most ridiculous Bond films, if the audience is having fun it doesn’t matter if it makes any sense. Fun is what this movie has in spades, and even though the film drags in the final scene, Ghost Protocol is one of the best big-action popcorn flicks since Star Trek.

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

Tintin has been around in comic book form since the 1920s. The comics have been translated into more than 50 languages, and been adapted for TV, radio, theatre, and film. This new 3D film is best summarized by its director, Steven Spielberg, who called it “Unapologetic, shameless adventure.”

Spielberg, who has been a fan since a critic compared Raiders of the Lost Ark to the Hergé comics, first contacted Peter Jackson about using motion capture technology to bring to life Snowy, Tintin’s dog. Apparently the two were then invited to visit the set of Avatar by James Cameron and the technology amazed them so much they decided to use mo-cap for the entire film.

I was not the least bit surprised to hear Spielberg is eager to return to direct Tintin 3 (after Peter Jackson directs Tintin 2) after seeing the film. From the opening animated titles sequence and the cameo of Hergé’s original Tintin figure this film is set up to be a lot of light fun. With the freedom to move his camera anywhere and string shots together seemlessly, Spielberg lets loose with some marvellous tracking shots and transitions. The camera moves through solid glass, in and out of windows, and rushes at speeds no real camera could go; the film is flying over streets one moment and plummeting down to a rushing river the next.

On the IMDb cast list the actors are all listed as doing the “voice” of their characters, which is not the whole truth. The mo-cap translates everything about the actors’ performances onto their digital characters, and this is one of the most compelling parts of the film. Unlike previous mo-cap films like Avatar or Robert Zemeckis’ The Polar Express, these characters do not share the same facial features of the actors. However, even through the whisky-grizzled face of Captain Haddock, Andy Serkis manages to land another marvellous performance, Daniel Craig is a terrific villain, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are the hilarious Thomson and Thompson, and Jamie Bell makes Tintin’s thirst for adventure both realistic and contagious.

By creating characters that are essentially photorealistic interpretations of the Hergé originals and then selecting actors to wear them as masks, Spielberg has finally solved the “creepy factor” of mo-cap animation. The narrative occassionally slips into adventure for the sake of adventure, but it is so much fun it doesn’t really matter.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2011)

Director David Fincher (The Social Network, Seven) and screenwriter Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List, Gangs of New York) have put together a very good adaptation that manages to match the storytelling quality of their Swedish predecessors. With only the films to go on I cannot criticize their treatment of Stieg Larsson’s novel, but by all accounts they have captured that element that has made the novels so popular around the world.

Daniel Craig is a nice fit for the role of Mikael Blomkvist. Originally I was skeptical considering the performance that Michael Nyqvist gave in the Swedish original. James Bond was not the first man who came to mind for the English-language adaptation, but with his glasses hanging under his chin from one ear, Craig fits as a nice balance to Rooney Mara’s Lisbeth Salander. No one should expect Noomi Rapace’s original to be overshadowed, but Mara does a terrific job making the part her own and becomes the troubled bedrock of the film. Fincher filled the supporting roles with all the best people: Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Donald Sumpter, and Robin Wright hold the cast together without a weak link among them.

In terms of editing, cinematography, and most other elements, the two versions of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo are a wash. Both tell the same terrific mystery and hit the same harsh notes. The place where Fincher’s film steps above is with its music. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have given Fincher another brilliant score after their Oscar-winning work on The Social Network. The internet phenomenon that was the teaser trailer for this film was scored with the Immigrant Song covered by Karen O, and it is that song that plays in full during the title sequence. Much like Fincher’s Se7en, the title sequence of this film is a harsh barrage of character imagery; computer cables, crushed flowers, oil, blood, and Lisbeth herself making a surreal vision that can only be described as the James Bond titles from Hell. It is a two-and-a-half minute unrelenting sequence that assures there will be fewer walk-outs when the story hits those uncomfortable parts.

Although I love The Social Network and appreciated the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, it is exciting to see Fincher back in another dark crime story.