What is your favorite Mission Impossible film?
Added 2023-07-11 22:44:25 +0000 UTCJust to get a sense..
Comments
Mission Impossible (1996) because Brian De Palma understood the assignment perfectly. It's a high profile spy thriller - let it be one. He set up multiple set-piece locations: Prague, Langley, London-France. He orchestrates the most ridiculous scenes you can imagine: Heist in Langley, the helicopter chase scene in the tunnel. The movie has several of the most iconic imageries in film history (stood the test of time now almost 27 years later - fishtank, balancing on wire, helicopter chase). It took a two more movies to pick off the M:I property to a completely new level, molding it into a true quality movie franchise. It's actually a testament to Tom Cruise's commitment to true Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking he experienced early in his career. Maybe the last real movie star we have - everyone else is either older or retired. Just imagine the franchise being in the hands of a Studio... would've had three reboots and multiple flops and multiple stars playing Ethan Hunt.... bleh. That's why Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible is probably the last remnant of the great 90s filmmaking franchises that still has its foundation working in the 2020s - thanks to DePalma's directing and thanks to Tom Cruise's unbending and ongoing will to create cinema no matter what.
Tom Rufer
2023-07-22 21:44:41 +0000 UTCI agree. I think it might be a fun one to do. But I'm actually already watching it, so it would be a second or third watch for me by the time I got to you guys.
Deepfocuslens
2023-07-12 22:09:39 +0000 UTCA lot of JJ Abrams movies do not hold up visually much at all. But I expected as much. I think you're right about Protocol and Fallout (what I've been chipping away at with Fallout)
Deepfocuslens
2023-07-12 22:08:57 +0000 UTCI think there's something exhaustive about all the McQuarrie entries imo. But I also admire them too, because they remain exciting. If you found Fallout exhausting, then likely Dead Reckoning will be worse for you. Very similar, but longer sequences. Agreed, second one least favorite.
Deepfocuslens
2023-07-12 22:08:14 +0000 UTCBurj Khalifa hands down is the best MI sequence of all time imo. I agree. I love that one as well. I do feel that Cruise does go for the comedy somewhat in his stunts, but not heavily so in the ways Keaton/Lloyd did. But I do think Cruise has a gift for physical comedy, and he is a good improviser. His run on its own, can be played for laughs, and it has a comedic effect in the MI series. Yet in something like Collateral, it can be bone chilling. I've noticed so many Fallout picks from you guys. So I've been chipping away at it. And yes so far, I agree it's one of the best. Really strong so far as the action scenes, but it also has a lot of balance. I'm excited to watch more.
Deepfocuslens
2023-07-12 22:06:44 +0000 UTChaha your perspective is a bit different than most I see. I dont think MI3 is terrible, but it's not great. PSH makes it worthwhile. But yes, it did set the stage for the rest of the series. And those have improved in my eyes
Deepfocuslens
2023-07-12 22:03:50 +0000 UTCThank you so much for the write up! I havent seen them all yet, but I can see that you've got a really good handle on it all. From what I've seen I agree with a lot of what you say. Maybe I should revisit Rogue Nation at some point.
Deepfocuslens
2023-07-12 22:02:23 +0000 UTCAs much as I am fond of the original film that started it all, I would have to say the quality level has increased every subsequent entry since M:I:III. While the third film isn’t great (not a huge fan of JJ Abrams), Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s villain, Owen Davian, was the best of the franchise, hands down. The opening scene of the film is super intense and not knowing what’s to come, you don’t know how to react to the events that occur in that scene. Aside from the introduction of Benji, the movie as a whole I would lump in with M:I:II in terms of the enjoyability. I’m a huge fan of John Woo’s Hong Kong and American films, so I know that it wasn’t his fault that M:I:II didn’t quite deliver. For some reason, American studios haven’t quite figured out that Woo is an auteur and you don’t mess with his films. They did the same thing with Hard Target. He had longer, better versions of both films and the studio forced cuts. For M:I:II, the original cut clocked in at 3.5 hours. They forced him to cut 90 mins out in order to get the most per theater showings. So, the scenes that were cut were largely the reason why the film made no sense. With Hard Target, it was because it was going to get an NC-17 for violence. That seems to be the MPAA’s go-to move. You threaten a movie with an NC-17 and the movie gets cut and no one is happy. From what I’ve heard from savvy filmmakers, they tell the MPAA the cuts were made and they get the rating they want and the scenes remain uncut. I would love to see John Woo’s original vision for M:I:II. I’m sure it was amazing, but no releases have ever been made available. From Ghost Protocol on, the series has gotten better and better. Yes, Ghost Protocol’s villain is the weakest of the bunch (not sure what the casting director saw in the late Michael Nyqvist, but he was wholly unconvincing). And yes, Jeremy Renner was wasted in this and Rogue Nation. The studio has planned to turn the franchise over to Brandt and Cruise’s Ethan Hunt was to ride off into the sunset. But then, I guess Cruise takes the studio into keeping him on or the studio got cold feet about turning the franchise over to an unproven actor. Either way, the story was very enjoyable and great visuals and stunts throughout. For Rogue Nation, it was the next best film after Ghost Protocol. The introduction of the character Lane was brilliant. Sean Harris’ portrayal is the best villain after Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s Davian in M:I:III. The introduction of Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa was also a pleasant surprise. When you care about a character within the first half hour of their introduction, you know the actor is doing their job. And she can clearly hold her own too which keeps her out of the “damsel in distress” territory which this series has been good to not resort to throughout the franchise. Things ramped up even more with Fallout. The action and stunts were breathtaking, the script was witty and well constructed, and the locations were beautiful throughout. And even though it’s not considered an official sequel to Rogue Nation, the story certainly felt like a sequel with Sean Harris’ Lane returning. I haven’t seen Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One yet (waiting to see it with a friend … for now 😉). Judging from the quality of the previous three films, I am inclined to say it’s the best of the franchise before I even see it. But I’ll reserve my official decision until after my first viewing. My ranking for now is as follows: 1) Mission: Impossible - Fallout 2) Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 3) Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol 4) Mission: Impossible (1996) 5) Mission: Impossible III 6) Mission: Impossible II The story and plot issues in the version of M:I:II that we got make it the weakest of the franchise. Mission: Impossible (1996) ranks above both because of the nostalgia element and because of Brian De Palma’s masterful directing and editing. It has excellent action throughout and is super suspenseful even 27 years after its debut. And the twist is a classic.
TenzingNorgay82
2023-07-12 04:53:49 +0000 UTCI've actually never seen a single one. Even as a kid, I never caught one just by chance. It wasn't until college when the fourth one came out that I heard much about it which by that point I was tired of blockbuster action films and getting more into character driven stories.
Wolfman Brandon
2023-07-12 02:52:03 +0000 UTCMy ranking is 1. Ghost Protocol 2. Fallout 3. Dead Reckoning pt.1 4. Rogue Nation 5. MI:3 6. MI:1 7: MI:2
kron
2023-07-12 01:05:17 +0000 UTCPrior to the newest film: 1. Ghost Protocol 2. Rogue Nation 3. Mission Impossible 4. Fallout 5. Mission Impossible II 6. Mission Impossible III After seeing Dead Reckoning, I'd probably put that number one. Both DR and GP had fantastic visual storytelling. They don't get bogged down in the convoluted story so much. They give you what you need to enjoy a high stakes spy thriller. Rogue Nation has some obvious faults, but I really love Ilsa Faust's character and the reversals in that movie are great. It has the best mask reveal in the series. The first movie gets a lot of points for precedence and there's really not a lot of movies like it. Fallout was good I just felt like it was a little played out. I don't remember anything about it really. Mission Impossible II was always good but it was off brand and off trend so people pretend to hate it. It's a great John Woo action flick which was never what MI was about but if you abandon that prejudice it's still great. Mission Impossible III is terrible. I hate Abrams directing style. PSH is fantastic in it and this movie introduced Simon Pegg into the cast. It sort of set the bedrock for what the series went on to be so I can't disavow it entirely but I hate watching it. Spastic and confusing.
Arthur Augustyn
2023-07-12 00:11:23 +0000 UTCI would have to go with Fallout. I just think every element comes together the best in that one in terms of story, villain, and action. It’s not that they do anything more remarkable storywise than they do anywhere else, but…you feel the stakes are higher in this one, with the tension raised a notch or two more than any other M:I movie, especially in the third act. That has a lot to do with the set pieces and the solid presence of Henry Cavill as Cruise’s ally/foil. There’s a great HALO jump scene, an awesome brawl in a bathroom, and a climactic helicopter chase that’s breathtakingly tense precisely because it seems all too real. Ghost Protocol is a close second. It’s got a paltry villain and they never really figure out what to do with Jeremy Renner so he winds up being wasted, but it boasts the greatest set piece of the franchise: Cruise’s vertiginous, high-anxiety free climb up the Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world. That sequence, especially when the camera’s looking down on Cruise and the ground that has to be a mile down, gets you feeling like you’re right there on the building with him, one slip up away from falling to your death. It’s the quintessential sequence for what makes the franchise (at least the latter entries) so appealing: Cruise’s cool, ironclad commitment to daredevil theatrics that are awe-inspiring because they’re happening right before your eyes. And he makes it fit organically into a story. There’s a kind of purity to his stunts that brings about a kind of elation that CGI, for all its spectacle, couldn’t begin to match. In their jacked up, blockbuster way, they’re of the same spirit as the kind of crazy things you used to love Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd for being able to pull off in their movies. Cruise doesn’t go for the joke like they do, but you get the same kind of thrill at watching someone put himself on the line.
Bennett Oliver
2023-07-11 23:34:04 +0000 UTCHmm, I don't know. I haven't seen the first one in a long time. Fallout is my favorite film among those directed by Christopher McQuarrie.
Oskitello
2023-07-11 23:10:09 +0000 UTCYeah, I'll always have a nostalgic attachment to 3. PSH is still the villain to be beat for me in the series.
Tyler Shobe
2023-07-11 22:59:08 +0000 UTCThe first one. Love the surprising opening. De Palmas direction goes a long way. 3-6 I like about same. All pretty good. Fallout to me is kind overrated and exhausting by the end but still a lot of fun. The second one has always been my least favorite. Not down with Woo’s direction, too many slow mo’s.
Stephen
2023-07-11 22:59:03 +0000 UTCI love them all, and I think it’s the best American action franchise ever, but it’s gotta be a tie between Fallout and Ghost Protocol. Those two films have the most satisfying teamwork, and the best use of IMAX cinematography I think. BUT I am also very biased towards M:I:III because it was my gateway drug into the filmography of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Sadly, the shaky handheld cinematography knocks it down a peg or two.
Jared Angcanan
2023-07-11 22:51:41 +0000 UTCFallout for sure. Henry Cavill is a great counterpart to Tom, the stunts are as impressive as they've ever been and I think it's the best looking one since it's DP'd by Alex Garland's go to cinematographer. It also has a lot of dialogue-less storytelling which I think is super effective and results in some chill inducing moments. Maybe a crazy idea but maybe it could be our next movie livestream? Normally we're watching a movie you've seen a ton. Could be fun to do something that's your first watch?
Tyler Shobe
2023-07-11 22:47:16 +0000 UTC
