The 'Mission: Impossible' Series

[El Barto]

How in the hell is this the only M:I thread I can find, and how in the hell has it been 7 years since it was posted in??  Was there never any discussion around Fallout?!?  Well whatever ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lsFs2615gw&list=WL

For as much flack as Scientologist Tom Cruise gets, the guy is Final Boss Level committed to his craft.  This was an outstanding behind the scenes segment to watch.

Very much looking forward to this next summer.

The dude's got balls, I'll give him that. Comes with being an adrenaline junky. That said, after watching this video I immediately found and watched a similar video about the exact same stunt being done in The Spy Who Loved Me. Unlike Cruise, that guy only did it once, because it was too fucking dangerous to try again. In 1977 they didn't have computer modeling. They didn't have bungee systems like that to train with. They didn't have drones to capture it from every angle (they could only afford 1 helo, and it was grounded most of the time).  They simply helicoptered the guy up to the top of the mountain, let him ski off of it, and hoped for the best. My hunch is that Cruise would have been down with doing it that way, too. Like I said, he's an adrenaline junky. He didn't have to, though. First guy did.

And while I haven't seen the finished product, I very seriously doubt it'll have anywhere near the cool factor.

[pg1067]

I watched III last night.  I'm not sure I had seen it before.  Given the release date, I might not have.  It was quite good, and I think I'd slot it above Rogue Nation but below Ghost Protocol.  I'd have to watch it a few more times to be sure.

[Stadler]

I thought this was about the TV show. I used to love that show; Peter Graves.  I wanted to be Barney Collier (the electronics expert) really bad. 

[faizoff]

I've seen random episodes of both Mission Impossible TV series, though I think I've seen episodes from the 80s version more.

Speaking of the Tom Cruise MI movies, I love them all even MI 2. I mentioned it in the previous movie thread

Been watching all the Mission Impossible movies and have been loving it. I had originally ranked Ghost Protocol as my favorite but after seeing the last three again I think Fallout is my absolutely favorite one. The last three ones are awesome and I love the direction they all went in are great fun movies, even though they essentially have the same plot.

The first MI movie is so different and to think it was released 23 years ago but still so enjoyable. It's a great spy thriller filled with all the 90s packed into it. The action scenes play out alot slower than nowadays and Tom Cruise was practically a baby in that movie.


Saw MI2 last night and it was actually better than I remember, the story is straight forward and done well. The stunts are obviously over the top but I think back when I first saw them they hit all the right testosterone teenage addled cool notes.

I'd still rank it at the bottom of all MI movies, a bit of trivia I read yesterday, the original movie cut was over 3 hours long and apparently John Woo and Tom Cruise had lots of issues throughout the movie while shooting.

Either way it was a lot more enjoyable than exepected, I'm very curious how 7 & 8 turn out. 6 had almost everything right and I kinda wished they still had Henry Cavill, he was fantastic in his role.

I still feel the same when I made this comment back in 2019/2020. MI 3 with JJ Abrams and Seymor Hoffman was the beginning of Tom Cruise running and to me it just kept getting better and better.


I'd rank them as follows, I enjoy them all and first two really different compared to the rest.


1. Fallout  - 9.5/10
2. Ghost Protocol - 9.3/10
3. Rogue Nation/MI3 - 9.2/10
4. MI - Original - 9/10
5. MI2 - 8/10

[pg1067]

Never seen the TV show and didn't know it had been resurrected in the '80s.

[Cool Chris]

I've never seen the TV show, somehow. Remember really enjoying the first movie. Watched the second at a lady friend's house. Was too preoccupied with getting her in to the bedroom to fully enjoy it. Do not recall if I have seen any of the others, probably couldn't even name them all. Why am I posting in this thread?

[DoctorAction]

Watched this tonight. Great fun. So many great action scenes. 😁

[soupytwist]

Watched this tonight. Great fun. So many great action scenes. 😁

Agreed.  Probably not as good as Fallout or Ghost Protocol, but still very good film.

[Orbert]

Dead Reckoning Part One?  So movie ends but not the story?

I'll probably just wait until Part Two comes out and watch them both.

[soupytwist]

Dead Reckoning Part One?  So movie ends but not the story?

I'll probably just wait until Part Two comes out and watch them both.

I was surprised by how neat it ended, obviously the story will continue, but it works as a standalone film.

[Orbert]

That's good to know.

[faizoff]

Saw it in Dolby, fantastic experience. The movie was super entertaining. I don't know if I like it more than the sixth one which was my absolute favorite. Time will tell, maybe after watching the 2nd part will have a better idea. Haley Atwell looked amazing in it. I think this was also the funniest in the series.

[faizoff]

Dead Reckoning Part One?  So movie ends but not the story?

I'll probably just wait until Part Two comes out and watch them both.

I was surprised by how neat it ended, obviously the story will continue, but it works as a standalone film.

Yeah I think it's a good end of part 1. There is quite a bit of resolution at the same time some stuff left to be resolved later. It was very well paced, I wasnt bored for a second.

[DoctorAction]

The photography was outstanding throughout. The car chase scene felt sooo fast and thrilling. And the train scenes had me grimacing and laughing at the same time. Really good fun.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Dead Reckoning was amazing as expected. There was only one plot point, which I want to be very careful not to spoil but it had to do with a specific character, that I thought was a bit weird. I'm really excited for the final part in a few years! I don't usually go into anything with specific expectations but I really hope they don't kill Ethan in the last one. That's kind of the way a lot of stories end these days but I don't think it would feel right for this particular franchise.

[faizoff]

I can't remember the exact details, but I think Tom Cruise had initially said that he'd be done after the 8th one. But I think he changed his mind after Indiana Jones came out with an 80 year old Harrison Ford so he now wants to make them well into his 80s. though I read it as an off the cuff comment, not sure if it was intended as factual.

[pg1067]

Dead Reckoning Part One?  So movie ends but not the story?

I'll probably just wait until Part Two comes out and watch them both.

I was surprised by how neat it ended, obviously the story will continue, but it works as a standalone film.

Yeah I think it's a good end of part 1. There is quite a bit of resolution at the same time some stuff left to be resolved later. It was very well paced, I wasnt bored for a second.

I agree.  A clear set up to Part Two, but it totally works on its own.  It's definitely on par with any of MI4-MI6.

I'm really excited for the final part in a few years!

Part Two is scheduled for release in June 2024.

I really hope they don't kill Ethan in the last one. That's kind of the way a lot of stories end these days but I don't think it would feel right for this particular franchise.

Agree.  I hope they set it up for someone else to move into the same role:  Phelps --> Hunt -->

[jingle.boy]

Just saw it tonight with jingle.son. Very well done. No cliffhanger, but a great setup for a continued storyline. Loved the introduction of Haley Atwell. Didn’t even feel like a 2:43 long movie. Very well paced, and only a few ‘cmon’ moments (where Fallout more than a few).

Jingle.son told me they haven’t started filming pt2 yet??  If that’s the case, given the turmoil in “Hollywood”, there’s zero chance this comes out next summer.

[The Realm]

They have definitely filmed a large chunk of Part 2 already but have not finished. There are pics on the internet of Part 2 set pieces including one where Tom Cruise is hanging off an old fashioned bi-plane.

I have seen Part 1 twice. Enjoyed it just as much the second time, great movie.

[faizoff]

Right I too read that they have filmed a good portion of Part II. The original plan was to film them both back to back but the delaying of Maverick changed that schedule. I don't know if all the writing is done for the 2nd part. Either way, I seriously doubt the movie is going to be released next summer unless the actor's and writer's strike ends soon.

[jingle.boy]

Ok… good to know.  Maybe I misheard/misunderstood jingle.son in that filming wasn’t *finished*.

[pg1067]

Just saw it tonight with jingle.son. Very well done. No cliffhanger, but a great setup for a continued storyline. Loved the introduction of Haley Atwell. Didn’t even feel like a 2:43 long movie. Very well paced, and only a few ‘cmon’ moments (where Fallout more than a few).

Jingle.son told me they haven’t started filming pt2 yet??  If that’s the case, given the turmoil in “Hollywood”, there’s zero chance this comes out next summer.

Agree with the highlighted, and I'm actually surprised to read that it was that long.

As far as Part 2, filming began in March 2022, although it seems that filming may have been suspended earlier this month because of the SAG/AFTRA strike.

[ErHaO]

Saw Dead Reckoning. I enjoyed it but it ranks on the lower end of the series for me.

Some plot threads were a bit odd or not really built up well. And I thought too much in the film played out in generic hallways/alleys/offices/etc. Perhaps most of the budget went to specific stunts and actors. Also a good chunk of the action scenes had a lot of quick cuts of close ups (mainly those with Cruise), which is something I dislike in any action film.

Still, a very solid film in what is an amazingly consistent action series. One thing I thoroughly enjoyed was actually the collapsing train sequence. Usually this type of scene looks super fake / gravity defying and I have basically only enjoyed it in videogames (Ucharted series, in particular the train in 2 and boat in 3). But this was really well done and quite inventive with each cabin having different obstacles that made sense.

Looking forward to the next one. Hopefully it won't be of lesser quality because of the strikes.

[Orbert]

The train was pulled by a steam locomotive.  Very cool, still in use in parts of Europe.  Steam locomotives generate steam via a boiler which is heated by someone shoveling coal into a firebox.  They made a point of showing the fireman feeding the coal into the firebox so the train can go.  They made a point of showing how the bad guys got rid of the engine crew, therefore no one was feeding the fire anymore.  Yet the train scene went on for like half an hour (maybe only 15-20 minutes, but damn, it went on a long time) and the engine would've been out of fuel in minutes.  Oh no!  The train is speeding out of control!  There's no one to apply the brakes!  Yeah, there's no one feeding the fire, either, so the train should've stopped a long time ago.  By the end of it, I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe because that damned scene kept going on and on and on, crash, smash, boom, creak, crash, boom, creak, creak, crash...  What a fucking scene!  So exciting!  And didn't make a goddamned bit a sense.  Oh, that's right; it's a Mission: Impossible movie.

The thing is, I can buy that Ethan Hunt is practically superhuman and can climb, run, do card tricks, whatever.  I can even buy that he can jump off of a moving vehicle and grab something and land on his feet and whatever other silly shit is going on.  But how in the hell is a steam locomotive still pulling a train at 100 miles an hour through the fucking mountains when it ran out of fuel half an hour ago and you even made a point of showing that that's the case?

[PixelDream]

I rewatched Rogue Nation, Ghost Protocol and Fallout recently. I love this series. I’m mostly into dark/twisted/supernatural/trippy films but MI is my go-to for no frills espionage action thrillers. Tom Cruise is the man! I loved Top Gun: Maverick as well. So good.

[Orbert]

Tom Cruise gets a lot of shit for his beliefs and other stuff in his personal life, and honestly I don't care a whole lot about that.  He makes fun movies.  I came down kinda hard on Dead Reckoning Part One but it was really just that train scene that was totally ridiculous.  Okay, and some of the plot elements, and the writing, but still the movie overall was quite entertaining.  Most of it doesn't survive scrutiny, but it keeps moving so you don't have time to scrutinize.  I even like his Jack Reacher movies, and one-offs like Knight and Day.  Fun stuff, and somehow he's believeable at least in the moment, which is (mostly) all that matters.

[BlackInk]

lol, I am currently watching this movie and am in the middle of the train sequence. Never thought about the fuel thing before.

Rewatching this over the past few days really made me realize, at least more than I had before, that Dead Reckoning Part 1 really isn't that good of a movie. The writing, at least in the early scenes, is just... not that good and really cheesy. But at the same time, I do agree that these are fun movies, so I guess in the end some awkward writing really isn't that big of a deal. Maybe the cheese is part of the point, what do I know.

[Orbert]

Standard action movie protocol: Keep things moving so that audiences don't have time to think about how ridiculous it all is.  Cruise does this about as well as anyone out there.

[pg1067]

I think it's full, after-the-fact, to watch the "Everything Wrong With" videos on YouTube.  Some of them are downright hilarious.

[Orbert]

Absolutely.  Those, "Honest Trailers", "Cinema Sins", all those can be great fun.  But there's also a danger in getting too enrapt with them and becoming so cynical that you can't enjoy a good mindless action flick.  I think what Cruise does really well is present an action flick that isn't totally mindless.  He goes to some trouble to set things up as ridiculous but somehow believeable.

[PixelDream]

Tom Cruise gets a lot of shit for his beliefs and other stuff in his personal life, and honestly I don't care a whole lot about that.  He makes fun movies.  I came down kinda hard on Dead Reckoning Part One but it was really just that train scene that was totally ridiculous.  Okay, and some of the plot elements, and the writing, but still the movie overall was quite entertaining.  Most of it doesn't survive scrutiny, but it keeps moving so you don't have time to scrutinize.  I even like his Jack Reacher movies, and one-offs like Knight and Day.  Fun stuff, and somehow he's believeable at least in the moment, which is (mostly) all that matters.

Yeah I especially liked the first Jack Reacher film.

Believe it or not I initially wanted to say something about his beliefs as well but decided not to. But now I see you articulating more or less my thoughts as well. I don’t care about that, he’s a fantastic actor in any case.

[Orbert]

I try to separate the art from the artist.  Sometimes it's easier, sometimes it's a bit harder, but mostly I get tired of reading stuff about how someone wanted to like a certain movie, but the lead actor is a certain religion, or anti-vaxx, or vegan, or whatever it is that someone wants to get hung up about.  WTF does that have to do with the movie?  I figured mentioning it in passing on the way to saying that I like his films overall would cover that base.