Today’s episode of Sounds of Cinema looked back at the entire Mission: Impossible film series from the 1996 movie to the most recent installment, The Final Reckoning.
Mission: Impossible began as a television show that ran in two iterations. The original Mission: Impossible television show aired on CBS for seven seasons between 1966 and 1973 and starred Greg Morris, Peter Lupus, and Peter Graves. The show was revived in 1988 for two seasons airing on ABC, with Peter Graves returning alongside Tony Hamilton, Thaao Penghlis, and Terry Markwell. Created by Bruce Geller, the Mission: Impossible television series followed a team of government agents who were part of the clandestine Impossible Mission Force. In every episode the team would foil a plot by hostile governments or crime lords. Like a lot of television dramas from that time, most episodes followed a similar template and Mission: Impossible was distinguished by the opening “tape scene” in which the team leader was given instructions through a hidden recording that would self-destruct after it was played. The title sequence of Mission: Impossible was scored by Lalo Schifrin and the theme is one of the most popular and recognizable pieces music in television history. It’s been reused in countless movies and commercials.
In the 1990s, Hollywood was adapting television shows from the 1960s and 70s. The results were mixed. A few of the feature films were very good, namely 1991’s The Addams Family and 1993’s The Fugitive. Many others were awful including The Brady Bunch, Wild Wild West, Leave It to Beaver, and The Beverly Hillbillies. At this time, actor Tom Cruise and his team—namely his then-agent and producer Paula Wagner—were looking for a franchise that could be built around Cruise. That opportunity presented itself with the feature film version of Mission: Impossible.
1996’s Mission: Impossible was directed by Brian De Palma and the movie combined the spectacle of action filmmaking of that time with the cloak and dagger elements of espionage films from an earlier era. Compared to what the Mission: Impossible series would become, the first film is much more restrained although the CIA vault robbery set piece is now a classic sequence in this genre. The success of Mission: Impossible set up one of the most successful and longest running action franchises in Hollywood history. Read the full review.
After Brian De Palma directed 1996’s Mission: Impossible, the producers took the step of hiring different directors for each installment, with each filmmaker bringing their own cinematic style. John Woo was one of the most prominent action directors of the 1990s, having helmed The Killer, Hard Target, and Face/Off. Woo brought his distinct style to Mission: Impossible 2 and to his and the film’s credit, this is a singular entry in the series. For better and for worse, Mission: Impossible 2 is a prime example of the action filmmaking of the early 2000s and it is a unique entry in the series. But it’s also more exhausting than exhilarating. Read the full review.
Third chapters in ongoing movie franchises tend to define the tone and trajectory of the rest of the series. Mission: Impossible III was helmed by J.J. Abrams and the movie has the intense speed and mobile camera work characteristic of Abrams’ filmmaking but also the humor and humanity common to his movies. This installment pivoted the series and determined its future direction. Mission: Impossible III defines Ethan Hunt through his relationships to those closest to him, namely his wife (Michelle Monaghan). This film also has one of the best villains of the series, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Read the full review.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol was directed by Brad Bird whose filmography primarily consists of animated films, namely The Iron Giant, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles movies. Working on the momentum of the previous film, Ghost Protocol brings forward the supporting characters, especially the team members played by Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, and Paula Patton. They all participate in the story, making this about a team. This installment began the trend that would become one of the defining features of the series: a death-defying practical set piece in which Tom Cruise did his own stunts. In this case, Cruise’s character scales the outside of a skyscraper. Read the full review.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation was co-written and directed by Tom Cruise’s regular collaborator Christopher McQuarrie who would take over directing duties for the rest of the series. By the fifth installment, the Mission: Impossible series had established itself as one of the great action franchises in the history of the genre but by this point the pressure to deliver on its own reputation started wearing on the filmmaking. Rogue Nation delivers what audiences expect but it’s also dogged by the sense that we’ve seen this all before. However, Rogue Nation does introduce The Syndicate (a criminal organization originally seen in the Mission: Impossible television series) and Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), an MI6 agent who has gone undercover. Read the full review.
Mission: Impossible: Fallout marked a change for the series. Previous sequels were mostly self-contained but Fallout was a direct sequel to Rogue Nation. Fallout strikes a balance between familiar Mission: Impossible features like face masks, double crosses, and motorcycle chases while breaking up the formula. Ethan Hunt goes undercover and Fallout recalls the intrigue of the original Mission: Impossible. The film has a host of villainous and morally ambiguous characters, namely a gangster played by Vanessa Kirby and a CIA agent played by Henry Cavill. Fallout climaxes with a showstopping sequence that crosscuts a helicopter chase and a bomb diffusion. Although the scenario reworks the climax of Ghost Protocol it is one of the best action sequences of the series. Read the full review.
Any movie series that goes on long enough often succumbs to self-seriousness, self-parody, or both. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One was conceived as an epic two-part story in the sense of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. An artificial intelligence has infected the world’s computer networks including intelligence agency assets. It’s a silly premise made sillier by the filmmakers’ pretensions. However, the narrative runs breathlessly from one location to another and strings together some impressive set pieces especially an extended car chase through Rome and a climactic train crash. Read the full review.
The Mission: Impossible series seems to have reached its conclusion with The Final Reckoning, the second half of the story begun in Dead Reckoning. This is the better half. The filmmakers emphasize the physical challenges of the mission and the way governments are on the verge of panicking as a rogue artificial intelligence takes control of the world’s nuclear weapons. This proves more interesting than the AI and its villainous henchman but that element of story remains silly and the self-importance is still front and center. Ethan Hunt is elevated to the world’s only hope of salvation. But this film is a good enough resolution to the series and The Final Reckoning leaves the franchise with a sense of finality. Read the full review.
For more of Tom Cruise’s career outside of Mission: Impossible, see the Tom Cruise Retrospective commentary.
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