Movie Marathon - The Mission: Impossible Franchise
Going stronger then ever before, the Mission: Impossible franchise welcomes its sixth instalment this summer with Mission: Impossible - Fallout that sees Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt take on his next death-defying mission. That's not bad for a star who regularly puts his body to the test with extremely dangerous stunts and has been doing so for this series for now over 20 years. But perhaps the whole experience has passed you by or its so long ago now that you just need a recap? Well fear not friend, this will hopefully get you up to speed, if you chose to accept...
Adapted from the 1960s TV series, it all began for Cruise in 1996 with the first entry directed by Brian De Palma. Known his creative and suspenseful thrillers, this bares many of the director's trademarks which sets the film apart from the action-packed series that would follow but keeps this one's identity in tact. Betrayed at the start of a mission in Europe, Cruise has to work in a small team to locate the spy who betrayed them while in hiding of his superiors and the CIA.
Still to this day, the film has not aged badly and the signature CIA break-in scene remains a timeless highlight of the series. The cast also includes Jon Voight, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames and 1990s corporate bad-guy Henry Czerny add to this suspense and intrigue as the plot unfolds. This is a solid film on its own standing through and through.
The series then took a shift in tone as John Woo took to the director's chair Mission: Impossible II in 2000. This time in search of locating a deadly disease, the sequel is the weakest link in the series but still offers enough enjoyment for fans. However, this did come in the awkward transition at the end of the 90s resulting in it becoming a (somewhat) dated product of its time. Woo's signature two guns, flying doves, dramatic slow-motion etc will also divide fans. It's still fun but personally remains the one film in the series I'm unlikely to ever rewatch in full.
There then came a long period of silence for the franchise until JJ Abrams' Mission: Impossible III in 2006, ten years after the original. Boosted by the franchise's strongest villain in the shape of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman's arms dealer, the third entry was a great return to form for the series with plenty of exciting new action sequences. The visuals were also top-notch putting the series back in the spotlight once again, even if this director's trademark was just a mystery box. There is a jaded post-9/11 sombre feel about the film but it remains highly entertaining, and introduced a comic touch in the shape of Simon Pegg's new returning role.
Dropping the four in the title, Brad Bird took a break from Pixar's animated ventures for Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol in 2011. After a disastrous explosion in the Kremlin mid-mission, IMF is disavowed leaving Hunt and a few other members of his team to go rogue and clear their organisation's name of the terrorist attack. With a lighter tone than Abrams' film before, the fourth entry is high on entertainment, with the iconic Burj Khalifa sequence being a highlight, but lacks a little on substance. The late Michael Nyqvist unfortunately makes for a forgettable villain which does hurt the film, but it succeeds on the team aspect, which also features Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton. All in all, this is still very entertaining and teased what would come next.
How long the ride will continue for remains to be seen, but if the sixth is as good as I hear it is, then we can expect plenty more to follow. The series is a great example of how to just-about dodge the crippling sequelitis that many franchises fall foul of, and offer something new every time. Fallout will buck the trend and see McQuarrie return as director for the first time in the series, so it will be interesting to see where he takes the Ethan's journey to next.
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