Blu-ray Review: Fantastic Release For Great ‘Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol’

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CHICAGO – I was lucky enough to attend a press screening of Brad Bird’s “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” at the IMAX theater at Navy Pier and I wondered if my adoration for this incredibly fun movie was in part due to just being overwhelmed by the size of it in IMAX. Nope. I liked it even more the second time on Blu-ray. This is a fantastic action movie, the best film in the series and as fun a time as you could have with a new release in the genre. Don’t rent it, buy it.

Blu-ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

It doesn’t hurt that the Blu-ray release of Bird’s perfectly paced flick is a technical beauty. The film has been left alone on one HD disc without special features, allowing for minimal compression, which means the video and audio specs are absolutely amazing. The HD transfer is PERFECT, as good as any for a new Hollywood release that I’ve seen so far this year.

And the package includes over two hours of special features on a separate disc, the highlight of which for most fans will probably be the 15 minutes of deleted scenes, including an alternate opening. The cutting room floor footage is fascinating stuff because it makes clear how smart Bird was in the editing room. While all of this stuff is interesting enough to shoot it was wise to cut it for a film that’s now perfectly paced. Other special features include behind-the-scenes material that’s more interesting than average and DVD and digital versions of the film.

Last December, I thought “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” was one of the most fun flicks of the season. Now I think it’s one of the best action movies of the last few years. IMAX, Blu-ray, iPhone, DVD — it doesn’t matter how you see it but all action fans owe themselves to see it somehow.

Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Photo credit: Paramount

Synopsis:
No plan. No backup. No choice. Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his elite team (Jeremy Renner, The Avengers and Simon Pegg, Star Trek) go underground after a bombing of the Kremlin implicates the IMF as international terrorists. While trying to clear the agency’s name, the team uncovers a plot to start a nuclear war. Now, to save the world, they must use every high-tech trick in the book. The mission has never been more real, more dangerous, or more impossible.

Special Features:
o Mission Accepted: On-Set Action With Tom Cruise, J.J. Abrams & Director Brad Bird. See The Amazing Stunt Work On The World’s Tallest Building In Dubai And More!
o Impossible Missions: the Sandstorm Brought To Life And The Secrets Behind The Gadgets
o Deleted Scenes And Alternate Opening

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com