Mission: Impossible film franchise
The "Mission: Impossible" film franchise is a highly successful series of action films that began with the release of its first installment in 1996, based on a 1960s television series of the same name. Starring Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, the films revolve around the activities of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF), a covert espionage agency undertaking complex and dangerous operations. The franchise has evolved over the years, featuring a variety of acclaimed directors and a rotating cast, with each movie often noted for its unique aesthetic and storytelling approach.
As of 2023, the franchise includes seven films, with a combined global box office revenue of approximately $1.33 billion. The latest installment, "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One," was released in 2023, and its sequel is slated for a 2024 release. While the series has garnered both critical and commercial success, opinions on its films vary, with later entries increasingly emphasizing high-octane stunts and action sequences. Despite speculation about the future of the franchise, Tom Cruise has expressed a desire to continue exploring the character of Ethan Hunt, drawing parallels to other enduring cinematic icons. Overall, the "Mission: Impossible" franchise remains a significant player in the action genre, characterized by its blend of espionage, technological intrigue, and dynamic storytelling.
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Mission: Impossible film franchise
Mission: Impossible is a popular film franchise based on a 1960s television series. The show was first adapted into a major motion picture in 1996, with Tom Cruise starring as Ethan Hunt, an American spy unjustly accused of disloyalty. The seventh installment in the franchise, Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part One, was released in 2023, with its direct sequel, Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part Two, planned for a 2024 release.
Each entry in the franchise features Cruise as Ethan Hunt and focuses on the exploits of a fictional espionage unit known as the Impossible Mission Force (IMF). According to data published by Box Office Mojo, the seven entries in the Mission: Impossible franchise have earned a combined $1.33 billion in global box-office receipts.
Background
During the 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a deep ideological, military, and technological rivalry known as the Cold War. Espionage and counterespionage were major features of this conflict and figured prominently in the popular culture of the era. It was against this historical backdrop that the original Mission: Impossible television series was developed and released.
Mission: Impossible made its network television debut in 1966. Created and produced by Bruce Geller, the show focused on the IMF, a secret espionage unit operating outside the official confines of the US government. Plots typically revolved around the advanced spying technologies and techniques used by a small group of elite IMF agents in their missions to curtail the global spread of Communist influence. The original incarnation of Mission: Impossible ran for 171 episodes across seven seasons, airing its final installment in the spring of 1973. Geller died in a plane crash approximately five years after the conclusion of the show’s original network television run.
In 1988, the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) revived Mission: Impossible with a mostly new cast, with actor Peter Graves, who portrayed IMF spymaster Jim Phelps, being the only cast member from the original series to return in a regular role. The reboot endured 35 episodes across two seasons before ABC canceled the show in 1990.
Several years later, Cruise announced plans to adapt Mission: Impossible into a feature film franchise, marking his first project as a producer. Cruise also assumed the starring role in the first Mission: Impossible film, which was released to major box-office success in 1996. Centering on IMF agent Ethan Hunt as the main character, the Mission: Impossible film franchise reframed the IMF as a covert espionage agency tasked with operations too dangerous or sensitive for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Overview
The Mission: Impossible franchise has used a rotating lineup of highly regarded directors, star-studded casts, advanced special effects, and frenetic, mind-bending plots to carve out a unique place in the pantheon of Hollywood spy movies. The first film, Mission: Impossible (1996), was directed by renowned filmmaker Brian De Palma, one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood wave of the 1970s and the director of acclaimed films including Carrie (1976), Scarface (1983), and The Untouchables (1987). Notably, The Untouchables was also a feature-film adaptation of a successful 1960s-era television show of the same name.
The franchise’s second entry, Mission: Impossible II (2000), was directed by the prolific action-adventure filmmaker John Woo, who infused the franchise with an energetic visual aesthetic and succeeded in elevating its commercial success. Mission: Impossible II, which tracked Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt as he attempts to neutralize a dangerous lab-generated disease, improved on the $181 million box-office performance of the franchise’s debut entry by earning $215.4 million worldwide. Mission: Impossible III (2006) engaged J.J. Abrams as director and became notorious for its tumultuous development process. Abrams took over directing duties after the project’s original director, David Fincher, stepped down amid creative disagreements with the Cruise-led producing team. Multiple script rewrites led to the film’s initially planned cast being almost entirely replaced, with the ongoing delays negatively impacting the film’s box-office performance despite generally positive critical reviews.
Beginning with Mission: Impossible–Ghost Protocol (2011), subsequent entries in the franchise have adopted subtitles as its filmmakers have sought to individualize each movie in the series. Brad Bird, who won Academy Awards for the animated features The Incredibles (2005) and Ratatouille (2008), directed the fourth entry to a box-office take of $209.4 million, which ranked second among the four entries in the franchise to that point. Christopher MacQuarrie co-wrote and directed the fifth installment, Mission: Impossible–Rogue Nation (2015), and has since retained the franchise’s directing duties. MacQuarrie guided Mission: Impossible–Fallout (2018) and Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) to a combined $392.2 million in box-office earnings.
Some fans and insiders have speculated that Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part Two, which is planned for a 2024 release, may mark the franchise’s last entry, due in part to the underwhelming commercial performance of its first part. However, Cruise has stated a desire to continue making Mission: Impossible movies, referencing the manner in which Harrison Ford continued to portray Indiana Jones as an octogenarian.
On the whole, the Mission: Impossible movies have unique features among Hollywood franchises. Each entry in the series has its own defining qualities, often dramatically departing from one another aesthetically and stylistically. Initially relying on complex storytelling and a refreshingly revisionist take on spy-movie tropes, later entries in the Mission: Impossible series have become more reliant on spectacular stunts and action sequences. Fans and critics vary widely with respect to their opinions of the franchise’s high and low points.
Bibliography
“Bruce Geller Collection.” Online Archive of California, oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8qf90zg/entire‗text/. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
Chitwood, Adam. “The Wild Development History of ‘Mission: Impossible III.’“ Collider, 5 May 2021, www.collider.com/mission-impossible-3-alternate-versions/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2023.
“Franchise: Mission: Impossible.” Box Office Mojo, 2023, www.boxofficemojo.com/franchise/fr3678899973/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2023.
Gleiberman, Owen. “Is the ‘Mission: Impossible’ Series Due for a Reckoning?” Variety, 6 Aug. 2023, www.variety.com/2023/film/columns/mission-impossible-series-future-dead-reckoning-espionage-1235688839/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2023.
Hibberd, James. “All 7 ‘Mission: Impossible’ Movies Ranked, Including ‘Dead Reckoning Part One.’” The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Jul. 2023, www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/mission-impossible-movies-ranked-dead-reckoning-1235530361/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2023.
Hibberd, James. “Tom Cruise Plans to Make ‘Mission: Impossible’ Movies into His 80s.” The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Jul. 2023, www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/tom-cruise-age-mission-impossible-1235529585/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2023.
“Mission Impossible (TV Series: 1966–1973).” Internet Movie Database, 2023, www.imdb.com/title/tt0060009/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2023.
“Mission: Impossible (TV Series: 1988–1990).” Internet Movie Database, 2023, www.imdb.com/title/tt0094511/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2023.