5 star movie but 3 star blu ray disc
Rating By : A. Leung “An Alicegator- chomp, chomp, chomp”, 
I think there are several reviews already with the same complaints but I just thought I would add my voice to the chorus.
No spoilers.
The Movie- 5 Stars
This movie has a ton of “hands-down” moments. Among them:
- Probably one of the best pure action movies I have ever seen. Yes, the plot is silly, but this is not a movie you walk into expecting it to change your perspective on life. It’s just a fun and exciting movie which puts a very nice spin on the tired franchise with the Murphy’s Law conundrums. Part of the fun is watching how Tom Cruise and team find their way around everything that the plot throws at them. One of my favorite sequences in MI3 was the Italy scenes where a daring heist is carried off flawlessly. In this movie, you have tons of heist scenes where absolutely nothing goes right and the movie still manages to find that tricky signature balance between action/plausibility/humor that carries the viewer from scene to scene with bated breath.
- Direction/editing was first-rate. Brad Bird really has the chops to carry this off and I look forward to his next big screen popcorn pleaser.
- Acting. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY runs like Tom Cruise. Despite his tarnished public image, Cruise proves once again why he is the king of action movies. His intensity and star mega power is on full display here and his physical investment is right up there on the screen. He is nicely matched with the supporting cast—Paula Patton is the feminine charm (and how nice it is to see an actress who is not a 20 year old stick and is believable being super sexy and kicking butt!), Simon Pegg is used in just the right amounts and Jeremy Renner is adequate in his role as well, though I am not sure if he can match Cruise on pure charisma if the plan is to have him take over the series someday. He does have amazing arm veins though.
- The Imax scenes in the theatre were jaw-dropping and perfectly blended into the regular scenes. And this leads me to my complaints.
The Blu-Ray Disc- 3 stars
I cannot emphasize how incredibly disappointed I was that these Imax scenes were not presented in the disc.
I have no idea why they skimped out on this, but those panoramic sweeping vista moments were a key highlight to this movie. The opening scenes in Prague set the stage, the Dubai scenes contributed to that sense of vertigo and epic stomach churning anxiety. Why would they not include these on the Blu Ray?
“The Dark Knight” Blu Ray, still my favorite disc, proved you can do this well for the home audience. When I ordered MI4, I was most looking forward to seeing those Imax scenes again and was extremely disappointed they were not included. And yes, that was enough to dock 2 stars for me, despite the movie’s excellence.
Do I regret this purchase? Yeah, I kinda do. I am super picky with my Blu Ray purchases because I went a little nuts purchasing 100′s of DVD’s and promised myself only to buy Blu Rays which were superlative. I was really hoping this would be one of them and I feel a bit cheated because in my opinion, this was not the whole movie. Those Imax scenes were a labor of love to shoot and specifically part of Brad Bird’s vision and it is a huge disservice to have not included them.
ETA: I actually did a little research as to why Brad Bird did not include the 16:9 aspect ratio to accommodate the Imax scenes…apparently, this was so that there would be no impact on people who have constant height projection systems. Again, this was Mr. Bird’s choice and I guess I have to respect it.
One more thing I did want to add which I did not mention in my review—the Blu Ray itself *is* pretty incredible in both picture and sound. Really great quality. My only nitpick was the exclusion of 16:9 aspect Imax scenes, which even though there is now a real reason for it, I wish were still included as an extra.
Source:
http://moviestowatchlist.com/movie-review-mission-impossible-ghost-protocol-two-disc-blu-ray-dvd-combo-digital-copy