The Mission: Impossible Film Series

Just got a nice HD print of this...great to pass the time to while waiting for Bond.

Rebecca Ferguson should've been in a Bond film too.

Let's change this to the Mission Impossible thread. 

A Mission Impossible Fallout BTS video was released highlighting Tom Cruise performing the HALO jump. While inspired by Bond it's sure to outperform the impressiveness of the TND stunt as Cruise himself has performed it. 

All the while, Daniel Craig is scared of skiing.

 

Well, a lack of commitment to his craft has never been Tom Cruise's problem.
He has also been doing most of his own car stunts for ages.

Tom impresses me in that respect.

Salomé wrote:

He has also been doing most of his own car stunts for ages.

Star cunts, surely?

Erica Ambler wrote:

Salomé wrote:

He has also been doing most of his own car stunts for ages.

Star cunts, surely?

Well since the popular theory seems to be that all of Tom Cruise's female conquests have been of the beard variety, those might be of a very limited appeal to him.

Salomé wrote:

Erica Ambler wrote:

Salomé wrote:

He has also been doing most of his own car stunts for ages.

Star cunts, surely?

Well since the popular theory seems to be that all of Tom Cruise's female conquests have been of the beard variety, those might be of a very limited appeal to him.

Never let the facts get in the way of a brilliant spoonerism. I am very impressed with myself.

bitchcraft wrote:

Tom impresses me in that respect.

How can Bond compete in the stunt department when Eon have to rewrite a ski sequence, and Craig signs his name to terrible plane/car chase.

FieldsMan wrote:

How can Bond compete in the stunt department

Bond used to set the bar for stunts, now he's playing catch up because other franchises make him look like a barefoot little boy.

The only stunt Bond 25 has to date is paying a wrist-slashing money whore a bucket of cash. Pathetic.

The thing is, he can nearly kill himself doing these spectacular stunts-but if the story is secondary it doesn't matter at all.
Still to date the most iconic moment in the series is still the Langley break-in of M:I 1-because it was directed perfectly, and had an interwoven story that mattered and had built up each setpiece. Then again, I'll be seeing the new film like I have the other sequels-but none have ever matched up to the original film which is truly great.

That said the new trailer made me literally go..."uh guys Bond did it 20 years ago. You're a bit late."

hegottheboot wrote:

The thing is, he can nearly kill himself doing these spectacular stunts-but if the story is secondary it doesn't matter at all.
Still to date the most iconic moment in the series is still the Langley break-in of M:I 1-because it was directed perfectly, and had an interwoven story that mattered and had built up each setpiece. Then again, I'll be seeing the new film like I have the other sequels-but none have ever matched up to the original film which is truly great.

That said the new trailer made me literally go..."uh guys Bond did it 20 years ago. You're a bit late."

I agree that the first is the best. Rogue Nation came close (that exceptional underwater infiltration sequence springs to mind) but loses itself somewhat at that increasingly ridiculous OTT car chase which proves to be pointless within the story.

hegottheboot wrote:

The thing is, he can nearly kill himself doing these spectacular stunts-but if the story is secondary it doesn't matter at all.
Still to date the most iconic moment in the series is still the Langley break-in of M:I 1-because it was directed perfectly, and had an interwoven story that mattered and had built up each setpiece. Then again, I'll be seeing the new film like I have the other sequels-but none have ever matched up to the original film which is truly great.

That said the new trailer made me literally go..."uh guys Bond did it 20 years ago. You're a bit late."

Even the second had something unique about it with the biological weapon concept, even if it was more schlocky. Ever since the 3rd film these have been extremely cookie-cutter, and the first is certainly far and way the best.

Absolutely! I felt as if I were watching a TV show episode..oh wait...JJ Abrams...of course I was!

At least we get 4K reissues of the series since 1-3 had very, VERY subpar releases. Of course I don't have 4K yet and it's killing me I can't see 1 in 4K now. I only have the Laserdisc, DVD, DVD SE, Scandinavian Blu-ray, novelization, CD soundtracks and maybe one day the poster of M:I 1...

Fallout is getting rave reviews, and unashamedly, I'm more excited to see this than Bond 25. It's getting the same hype as Mad Max Fury Road. That said, SP was getting rave reviews only to fall short... Hopefully Fallout kicks Eon into gear. 

Hilly could we change the title of this thread to cover all films?

Looking forward to this, have heard that the bathroom fight with Cavill is worth the price of admission itself.

After GP I realized M:I had fully surpassed Bond in the public's eye. And it's true. Better product, marketing, brand image and greater public awareness of the big stunts.

I haven't seen Fallout yet and really want to. RN was a large improvement over GP but I still wish these films were better. To me the sequels are all rather mindless but enjoyable action films that fill the empty void in the modern landscape.

But not one of them is memorable or worthwhile like the first which is an absolute masterpiece. Until they make a film that matters and is an actual spy thriller like the first-Cruise can do the biggest stunt in the world and it won't matter.

Move over Bond 25 (haha no - you were never there to begin with). McQuarrie is to write and direct MI: 7 and 8 back-to-back.

https://variety.com/2019/film/news/christopher-mcquarrie-mission-impossible-films-back-to-back-1202986902/?fbclid=IwAR2YK_RXbVTdaI_b52D_fgujXe-SvSn8BNZ1QY6qmMlcpqXRJP3vXS1pDdQ

Good thing Tom Cruise hasn't aged since he was 15, looks like Mission Impossible is looking to match Bond films for number of films.

And the way things are going, at a quicker rate too.

Ugh. I honestly miss when the MI films brought in a new director for each flick which is what made the series so eclectically exciting. McQuarrie coming back for two just disappoints me, especially since I didn't think FALLOUT was that great. I suppose this means Solomon Lane will be the villain again. Yawn.

Eh, to be honest I wish the Bond producers had their shit together to this extent. No 4-years-and-change gap between entries and February(!) release dates for the M:I franchise.

Funny, because that's how M:I used to function for 20 years. Every 4 to 6 years Cruise would do one of these gigs. Given how much trouble Paramount has had with their other franchises, it makes sense they'd wanna push for even more M:I films sooner, especially with an assured director like McQuarrie.

I know it was never gonna happen, but I always hoped we'd get back more to a suspense thriller type like the first film at some point. With McQuarrie returning, I guess we should expect things to get even more explody.

Anyway, here's how I'd rank the flicks:

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE
GHOST PROTOCOL
ROGUE NATION
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II
FALLOUT
*large chasm*
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III

Makeshift Python wrote:

Ugh. I honestly miss when the MI films brought in a new director for each flick which is what made the series so eclectically exciting. McQuarrie coming back for two just disappoints me, especially since I didn't think FALLOUT was that great.. Yawn.

Ah of course you don't.  

Aside from the first, the last three have been the best in the series. I believe McQuarrie did work on Ghost Protocol.

BI wrote:

Eh, to be honest I wish the Bond producers had their shit together to this extent. No 4-years-and-change gap between entries and February(!) release dates for the M:I franchise.

Exactly.

MP wrote:

I know it was never gonna happen, but I always hoped we'd get back more to a suspense thriller type like the first film at some point. With McQuarrie returning, I guess we should expect things to get even more explody.

I wouldn't be totally against that. I really like the first. That might happen once Cruise becomes too old for jaw-dropping stunts.

I'd rank them:

Fallout
Mission: Impossible
Rogue Nation
Ghost Protocol
II
III

III is the only one I haven't rewatched since the 1st time. I'd thought it was the worst of the bunch.

FieldsMan wrote:

Makeshift Python wrote:

Ugh. I honestly miss when the MI films brought in a new director for each flick which is what made the series so eclectically exciting. McQuarrie coming back for two just disappoints me, especially since I didn't think FALLOUT was that great.. Yawn.

Ah of course you don't.  

Aside from the first, the last three have been the best in the series. I believe McQuarrie did work on Ghost Protocol.

Doing a quick rewrite of GP on the fly isn't quite the same as directing. I like what he brought for ROGUE NATION, but I rather he been the director of the JACK REACHER films. But it seems Tom Cruise has essentially made him his main writer, as he's pretty much written almost every Cruise project since VALKYRIE.

Of other directors Cruise has worked with, I would have liked to see Doug Liman direct a M:I film.

Quote :

III is the only one I haven't rewatched since the 1st time. I'd thought it was the worst of the bunch.

It's the one I've rewatched the least. Last I saw it was on the countdown for FALLOUT and it's really bizarre to watch today. Immediately coming after the first two, it feels amateurish. I suspect Cruise wanted to evoke the BOURNE films as much as he wanted Abrams for his ALIAS series, but Abrams wasn't up to the task (and having Orci and Kurtzman as your screenwriters didn't help). It just feels inelegant with what came before, and even more so with everything that came after. It's even weirder seeing Simon Pegg so underutilized in light of his expanded role in the following films. I guess he was originally envisioned as a Q type character that only briefly appeared in HQ.

M:I is a masterpiece that challenges a classic franchise and its fans, is a thinking man's thriller dressed as a summer popcorn film, the best Cruise performance bar none, the best DePalma film period, and along with RONIN the last great serious spy film made for adults with the exception of THE BOURNE IDENTITY. (Outside of the Brosnan era.)

The sequels are all forgettable decent films that are competently made so they outshine everything else on the market including the plummeting abominations. The worst is III which is forgettable in every way, II is misguided but knows how to go over the top, IV figures out the formula everyone likes but isn't well plotted yet is well edited, V is a step in the right direction with a stronger story finally but is underwhelming and Fallout is a big step backwards in terms of story.

Liman would do wonders with M:I in its current let's make a big quirky action caper film state. But until that or they finally get serious and make a fun thinking man's spy actioner again...I'm bored.