\t\u2018Mission: Impossible 2\u2019 (2000)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tRightly the chapter in this series with the lowest Tomatometer score (a generous 57% fresh), this follow-up to the original \u201cMission: Impossible\u201d overcompensated for criticisms that its predecessor was too complicated by telling a story that is just plain dumb. Perhaps emboldened by the silliness of his (fun) previous Hollywood movies \u201cBroken Arrow\u201d and \u201cFace\/Off,\u201d director John Woo leans heavily into his visual playbook to create a film full of balletic imagery trying to disguise absolutely preposterous storytelling and action choreography. But most of the story boils down to a fight over a girl (a hard-working Thandiwe Newton). Villain Dougray Scott, looking like an artist\u2019s rendering of a genetic splicing of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, isn\u2019t up to the task of intimidating Tom Cruise \u2014 an insult added to the injury of losing out on playing Wolverine in \u201cX-Men\u201d as a result of taking the role.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Mission: Impossible \u2014 Dead Reckoning\u2019 (2023)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tAs a set up to what\u2019s meant to be the coup de grace for the series, \u201cDead Reckoning\u201d is unfortunately a bit of a slog, even if it replicates with great energy and dexterity the elements that have made earlier chapters so entertaining. Particularly because the film only ever addresses Ethan Hunt\u2019s origin story obliquely but also because of the villain\u2019s penchant for tiresome self-seriousness, Gabriel (Esai Morales) is a fairly underwhelming final boss, necessary though he may be since his counterpart \u2014 the Entity, a rogue AI \u2014 is an oscillating electronic eyeball. Putting new recruit Grace (Hayley Atwell) through her own reluctant hero\u2019s journey takes too long \u2014 almost to the point of exasperation. But then again the whole film is kind of like that: the Rome car chase, the Venice fight, the build to Ethan\u2019s mountain jump, even the number of cars they have to climb through after stopping a runaway train \u2014 each sequence takes one or two more beats than feels necessary. Also, revealing the Sevastapol in the first scene (rather than where it belongs, in the first scene of \u201cThe Final Reckoning\u201d) means that Ethan spends the whole movie chasing after something viewers already know about, marking the first time in franchise history where it feels like the audience is ahead of the characters.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Mission: Impossible III\u2019 (2006)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tLatter-day assessments that characterize this J.J. Abrams film as a glorified episode of his TV series \u201cAlias\u201d aren\u2019t completely off base, but the future \u201cStar Trek\u201d and \u201cStar Wars\u201d fan-disappointer manages something more sly and nuanced with this franchise\u2019s mythology than he does later in his career: Abrams dismantles and deconstructs its core iconography, from a malfunctioning mask-maker to the multiple times Ethan Hunt fails to do his job or save the lives of those closest to him. An absolutely ruthless Philip Seymour Hoffman remains one of the best adversaries Cruise faces in the series, and as much as Abrams likes to cute-ify Ethan Hunt\u2019s life in between missions, he creates the super spy\u2019s purest civilian relationship with Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan), which elevates every subsequent film from (basically) a James Bond riff to a saga with meaningful emotional connections \u2014 and stakes.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Mission: Impossible \u2014 The Final Reckoning\u2019 (2025)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tThe conclusion to Ethan Hunt\u2019s story is already dividing audiences \u2014 a debate that undoubtedly will continue as the world moves forward without his essential but frequently disavowed brand of heroism. In the years to come, what will carry more weight with viewers? The first half of this film, chock-full of endless, wildly overserious exposition? Or the back half, featuring two of the most thrilling set pieces in the history of the franchise (and arguably cinema itself)? The film\u2019s derring-do is enough that the tedium of the build-up to it kind of washes away. Certainly, the entire ensemble\u2019s relentless determination to characterize Ethan Hunt as the only man on Earth with the right moral compass to defeat the Entity fails to yield new insights about him, them or the world they inhabit. It feels especially repetitive since the previous chapter already overexplained the challenges the IMF faces, and the stakes if they fail. But with its climactic piggybacking of a (literally) slow-rolling hunt through a wrecked submarine back-to-back with an aerial fight so urgent and visceral that it feels, well, impossible to believe it\u2019s real, \u201cThe Final Reckoning\u201d sticks the landing and then some.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Mission: Impossible \u2014 Ghost Protocol\u2019 (2011)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tMaking his own live-action feature debut, Pixar stalwart Brad Bird translates Abrams\u2019 snarky wit as an ironic counterpoint to tension-relieving humanity, with the series\u2019 biggest action canvas yet. Introducing Jeremy Renner as a \u201cno, we promise he was never supposed to be a replacement\u201d co-star for Tom Cruise, the film\u2019s success revitalized \u201cMission: Impossible\u201d at the time, eliminating the need to even consider swapping out (or letting free) its tireless star. But as a high-stakes tentpole film with a well-modulated sense of humor about itself (\u201cMission accomplished!\u201d triumphantly \u2014 if mistakenly \u2014 shouts Ethan at one point), \u201cGhost Protocol\u201d firmly and permanently roots the series in the realm of adult entertainment by finding a perfect balance between briskness and nail-biting intensity \u2014 something that the best subsequent installments not only carried forward, but further deepened.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Mission: Impossible\u2019 (1996)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tThough it looks almost quaint in comparison to the ambitious, muscular chapters that followed, O.G. auteur-turned-crowd pleaser Brian De Palma delivers a franchise-starter that codifies all of the essential ingredients needed for a \u201cMission: Impossible\u201d film (with proportions to be determined by each subsequent director). The vault heist remains an all-time gold standard for action set pieces (here or elsewhere), and it\u2019s where Cruise first really began to hone the smoldering, delicately-cheeky intensity that has made him an A-list mainstay for decades. Those old enough may remember David Koepp and Robert Towne\u2019s script absolutely bewildering audiences at the time of its release, but in retrospect not only was it deceptively \u2014 and delightfully \u2014 complex, but ultimately a template for intriguing misdirection that, like so many other elements in the film, has become a franchise hallmark.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Mission: Impossible \u2014 Fallout\u2019 (2018)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection \/ Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tAn oversized version of its predecessor \u201cRogue Nation,\u201d \u201cFallout\u201d gives you the sense that Christopher McQuarrie had not only gotten his sea legs beneath him, but started running with the speed of Ethan Hunt. Bringing back Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) as a frenemy yet again feels just a bit like the filmmaker walking back what he previously accomplished just to keep her around as a simultaneous screen magnet and plot device, not that anyone minds because Ferguson is just as good here as before. But Henry Cavill absolutely lights up the film as August Walker, a double operative who thrillingly \u2014 and unambiguously \u2014 hates Ethan on sight, resulting in a friction that overshadows the elaborate machinations of the terrorist groups he leads. Meanwhile, the set pieces are unilaterally great here, from the HALO jump to the nightclub fight to the breakout of Solomon Lane to the helicopter chase that wraps the film. But after the tightly-plotted perfection of \u201cRogue Nation,\u201d the freedom the filmmakers indulge here leaves audiences feeling like they\u2019ve just eaten an especially rich meal: satisfying but just a tiny bit overstuffed.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Mission: Impossible \u2014 Rogue Nation\u2019 (2015)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tThe apotheosis of Tom Cruise\u2019s collaboration on the franchise with any of its directors, Christopher McQuarrie\u2019s \u201cRogue Nation\u201d delivers massive (and in one case literally) operatic set pieces in a story that operates with Swiss-clock precision. Introduced unforgettably in this film, Rebecca Ferguson\u2019s Ilsa Faust remains the second-best character ever created for \u201cMission: Impossible,\u201d and her role creates a thrilling dynamic that gives Ethan an adversary who\u2019s also a friend, both to complicate the plot and enhance its emotionality. In an \u201cembarrassment of riches\u201d quandary, it\u2019s a toss-up whether the opening plane sequence, the opera assassination, the underwater vault or the motorcycle chase is the best sequence in the film. But McQuarrie\u2019s seemingly inexhaustible creativity strengthens all of the characters and supercharges the world they operate in, turning a film series into a bona fide saga.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For almost 30 years, Tom Cruise\u2019s \u201cMission: Impossible\u201d has supplied moviegoers with the most consistent and thrilling spy-themed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3935],"tags":[77,42516,25206,3943,15763,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-128574","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-mission-impossible","10":"tag-mission-impossible-the-final-reckoning","11":"tag-movies","12":"tag-tom-cruise","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114564029064929383","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}