The Mission: Impossible series
toddthatcher
ohioPosts: 74MI6 Agent
Some of you may have seen my blog posts on each and every 007 film after getting Bond 50 Blu Ray set. I'm waiting two weeks to post my final entry on Skyfall when it's released on February 12th. In the mean time, I've started a new blog series evaluating the Mission: Impossible movies and posted my entry about the 1996 original today. Please read if you like. But mostly, I'm curious to hear people's thoughts on the movies... their favorite, least favorite, similarities to 007 franchise, etc...
http://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/the-ethan-hunt-files-mission-impossible/
http://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/the-ethan-hunt-files-mission-impossible/
Comments
The original series was about a team; the movies are basically Tom Cruise jerking off to his own image.
The original team had a highly intelligent leader who devised elaborate plans and the fun was about watching the bad guy get completely "owned" even though the convoluted plots would have you believe the plans were flawed. The movies are about one guy recruiting a few extras and improvising his way into getting the bad guy who always turns out to be some traitor.
The movies may be more spectacular than the TV show and maybe as entertaining in a different way, but they completely lost the fun that made the show successful.
Well, the first MI movie had Jim Phelps. But what they did with him was just plain sad. They use some elements from the series like self destructing messages and the title sequences with snippets from the film. I enjoy the movies a lot but it's sad though they can't incorporate other characters into the films series. I'm guessing the film company bought the rights to the series just so they can use what they want and ignore the rest.
So, favourite seasons? Episodes? Characters?
My favourite season is 5, which I'm watching now in memory of Leonard Nimoy, and it really doesn't disappoint so far (the fake YOLT Japanese makeup in "Butterfly" notwithstanding).
And I just watched "Submarine" from season 4, and it all came back to me... the dossier at the beginning picking agents was dropped in season 5 in favour of a mini-PTS. Also, I remember why I enjoyed the later seasons more than the earlier ones: more domestic issues. I could never understand why so many 'un-named foreign countries' all seemed to speak English...
When the first MI movie came out I was less than impressed. But they did get better.
The series is where it's at though, man. -{
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"Hell, no! It's still Christmas, and besides, the weather is really bad in Portugal this time of the year .."
Have you seen the late 80's sequel? Where it was filmed entirely in Australia?
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https://christopherlbennett.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/mission-impossible-1966-73-full-series-overview/
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Thanks for that, chrisisall - much appreciated!
I agree, it's looks incredibly cheesy
It went rapidly downhill from there...
MI:2 was indeed that, a number two. Wrong self-indulgent director, wrong style, too many masks, just crap.
MI:3 was just forgettable, a bit of gloss and a few stunts thrown in
MI: Ghost Protocol was another turd, just stunts and cars and fake bravado. Oh, and Jeremy Renner, who I despise.
I have also grown to very much dislike Tom Cruise, who loves himself so much he should have his own babies, or go f*ck himself, or something like that.
Can't wait for MI:5
You should check it out, no Tom & lots of spy fun!
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
1. Mission Impossible (1996)
This was the one I probably remembered the best, the original 90íes blockboster directed by Brian DaPalma, which I always remembered as he also directed Scarface and Carlito's way, two of my favorite films. You can really tell how this was a huge hit in the 90'ies, it's defenitely along the lines of Tomorrow Never Dies, standard 90'ies movie action. The most memorable moments being the one where Tom Cruise hangs down the security room in CIA headquarters and the helicopter being stuck on the train in the tunner near the end of the film. I also like the inclussion of Jean Reno, always a fine actor! (Who would have been my top pick for Mathis in Bond by the way) The ending is infentive and there are a couple of twists that seem typical for DaPalma, thinking you have figured the film out, but then it pulls a little twist. I hadn't forgotten about this twist throughout all the years. A solid start to this action movie franchise.
2. Mission Impossible II (2000)
From the second one I remembered there being a hot latin chick driving an audi, and remembered it being centered around a toxin. When I rewatched it, the chick actually turned out to be British African, but she was still hot, so my memory was close enough.
The toxin was there too, as was the forgetable villian who's one of the weaker ones in this franchise if you ask me. Still though, there were some elements in this one that reminded me of Bond. Ethan meeting the chick, Nya, flirting in the bathtub, winning her trust through various elaborate situations. You can also tell that this was a completely different director, a very brownish movie, lots of slowmo and with one of the most memorable moments for me being the bike chase, and the mask trick which is reused to suprise the audience, as the villian kills his own henchmen. It was enjoyable, but really came down to being a standard action movie with Nya being the most intresting character. (Not just because she's hot.)
3. Mission Impossible III (2006)
I had seen this before, but really had trouble remembering any of it when I saw it again. Somehow it was more forgetable than the first two. I like that they tried to make Ethan Hunt a more three dimensional character as they gave him a wife, and making him a retired agent who wants to enjoy a quiet marriage. Of course the woman eventually ends up becoming part of the villian's plot. Philip Hoffman portrayed a villian you really grow to hate throughout this film, which means he did a good job. He had that quiet but very dangerous quality over him. The most memorable action setpiece was the one in the Vatican. But it was really much of the same for me unfortunately. Good action and an enjoyable ride, but probably the weakest in the series.
4. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)
I had never seen this one before. I'm not going to lie: I was suprised to see Lea Seydoux turn up in the first few minutes of the films. I knew when she became a Bond girl that she initially played a chick in one of the Mission Impossible movies, but I completely forgot about it when I turned this one on. Still though, this was a massive improvement over the third one, with the scenes in Dubai being the ultimate action setpiece, it was really good. Also thought the new IMF girl who had to seduce the Indian hotshot was smoking hot, which was nice! I liked the reveal of Ethan's wife still being alive at the end of the film, but him explaining know one can know, as he guards over her in the background. That's certainly an intresting development that gave a little more depth to Ethan's character, even though it was in the very end. The team that got introduced here clicked really well! In particular Brandt with his mysterious past and Benji who is hilarious comic relief. A real enjoyable watch!
5. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015)
Again, I hadn't seen this one up untill just now. I have to say, this was by far the best one if you ask me. I was suprised how rediciously similar this movie was to SPECTRE though, I mean, I've heared some people claim that, but I hadn't had the chance to see for myself. The Agent goes rogue after his agency is about to be closed down by another agency, while the agent finds out there is a hidden organisation in the shadows, and to uncover it, he needs to go from Austria to Morocco and ends up in London in the climax. The similarities between these movies are endless! It can't possibly be a coincidence right? Did they make use of the leaked script of SPECTRE when this was in production? I'm sure I can find out myself when doing some research, but I decided to write down my thoughts first... If someone can explain why these movies are so similar, that'd be great!
Still though, this film was really enjoyable! And finally they brought in some continuity by bringing back past characters, and all the right ones too! They bring back Brandt and Benji, along with Luther, who is pretty much the only character that is always included. There's not a single mention of Ethan's wife anymore though, which I thought could have atleast have been mentioned. The action scenes were amazing, the plot was intriguing and left me wondering throughout the entire thing. I was genuinly suprised by some of the twists at the ending!
In short, I would say the Mission Impossible series are enjoyable films, but to me, they fall short on some substance. The majority of them come down to (pretty good) action movies with lots of explosions, elaborate heists and plots and stunts. Apart from maybe the last one, they're not exactly movies I would give a rewatch anytime soon. That got me thinking, that is something that Bond DOES seem to give me. With Bond, there's always something new to see when rewatching the films, it's an immensely diverse franchise, with over the top action films, down to earth spy thrillers, really story driven and character driven films along with silly and tacky films. There's a certain magic that comes into play with the Bond films, weither that are the excotic locations, the pretty girls with the suggestive names, the larger than life villians, the gadgets or maybe all of that. (Granted, Bond has a lot more films in the series to reflect up on) To me, only really the fifth one came close to that magic, and is defenitely a match for SPECTRE! (But seriously, can someone explain how it happened that the plot became so identical? Was it the leaked script?!)
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