Mission: Impossible (film series)
Mission: Impossible | |
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File:Missionimpossibleblurayboxset.jpg Blu-ray box set of the six films | |
Directed by | Brian De Palma (1) John Woo (2) J. J. Abrams (3) Brad Bird (4) Christopher McQuarrie (5–6) |
Produced by | Tom Cruise Paula Wagner (1–3) J. J. Abrams (4–6) Bryan Burk (4–5) David Ellison (5) Dana Goldberg (5) Don Granger (5) Christopher McQuarrie (6) Jake Myers (6) |
Starring | Tom Cruise Ving Rhames Simon Pegg (See below) |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | 1996 – present |
Running time | 769 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | Total (6 films): $828 million |
Box office | Total (6 films): $3.570 billion |
Mission: Impossible is a series of American action films based on the television series of the same name. The series is co-produced by and stars Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, an agent of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF).
Beginning in 1996, the films follow the missions of the IMF's main field team under the leadership of Hunt, who is forced to take over after the team is betrayed from within during the first film. The series focuses on Hunt as the lead character as opposed to the ensemble cast structure of the television series, although some characters, such as Luther Stickell (played by Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (played by Simon Pegg) have recurring roles in the films.
The series has received a positive reception from critics and is the 16th-highest-grossing film series of all time, with a worldwide gross of over $3.5 billion to date.[1] The sixth and most recent film, titled Mission: Impossible – Fallout, was released in July 2018.
Films
Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mission: Impossible | May 22, 1996 | Brian De Palma | David Koepp and Robert Towne | David Koepp and Steven Zaillian | Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner |
Mission: Impossible 2 | May 24, 2000 | John Woo | Robert Towne | Ronald D. Moore & Brannon Braga | |
Mission: Impossible III | May 5, 2006 | J. J. Abrams | Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & J. J. Abrams | ||
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol |
December 16, 2011 | Brad Bird | Josh Appelbaum & André Nemec | Tom Cruise, J. J. Abrams and Bryan Burk | |
Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation |
July 31, 2015 | Christopher McQuarrie | Christopher McQuarrie and Drew Pearce | Tom Cruise, J. J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger | |
Mission: Impossible Fallout |
July 27, 2018 | Christopher McQuarrie | Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, Jake Myers and J. J. Abrams |
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Ethan Hunt is framed for the murder of his IMF team during a botched mission in Prague and accused of selling government secrets to an arms dealer known only as "Max". On the run, Ethan seeks to uncover the real traitor and clear his name. The film was directed by Brian De Palma.
Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
Ethan sends international thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton) undercover to stop rogue IMF agent, and Nyah's former lover, Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) from stealing a deadly virus to start a pandemic and sell the antidote to the highest bidder. The film was directed by John Woo.
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Ethan, retired from being an IMF team leader and engaged to be married, assembles a team to face the elusive arms and information broker Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who intends to sell a mysterious dangerous object known as "The Rabbit's Foot". The film was directed by J.J. Abrams.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
Ethan and the entire IMF are blamed for the bombing of the Kremlin while investigating an individual known only as "Cobalt" (Michael Nyqvist). He and three other agents are left to stop him from starting a global nuclear war. The film was directed by Brad Bird.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
Ethan Hunt comes under threat from the Syndicate, a near-mythical organization of rogue agents who kill to order. Faced with the IMF's disbandment, Hunt assembles his team for their mission to prove the Syndicate's existence and bring the organization down by any means necessary. The film was directed by Christopher McQuarrie.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
When an IMF mission ends badly, the world is faced with dire consequences. As Ethan Hunt takes it upon himself to fulfill his original briefing, the CIA begins to question his loyalty and his motives. The film was written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie.
Principal cast
Additional crew and production details
Crew/detail | Film | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mission: Impossible | Mission: Impossible 2 | Mission: Impossible III | Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol |
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation |
Mission: Impossible - Fallout | |
Composer | Danny Elfman | Hans Zimmer | Michael Giacchino | Joe Kraemer | Lorne Balfe | |
Editor | Paul Hirsch | Christian Wagner Steven Kemper |
Maryann Brandon Mary Jo Markey |
Paul Hirsch | Eddie Hamilton | |
Cinematographer | Stephen H. Burum | Jeffrey L. Kimball | Dan Mindel | Robert Elswit | Rob Hardy | |
Production companies | Cruise/Wagner Productions | Skydance Productions TC Productions Bad Robot Productions | ||||
Distributor | Paramount Pictures | |||||
Running time | 110 minutes | 123 minutes | 126 minutes | 132 minutes | 131 minutes | 147 minutes |
Reception
Box office performance
Film | U.S. release date | Box office gross | All-time Ranking | Budget | Ref(s) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. and Canada | Other territories | Worldwide | U.S. and Canada | Worldwide | ||||
Mission: Impossible | May 22, 1996 | $180,981,856 | $276,714,503 | $457,696,359 | #239 | #226 | $80 million | [2] |
Mission: Impossible 2 | May 24, 2000 | $215,409,889 | $330,978,216 | $546,388,105 | #171 | #167 | $125 million | [3] |
Mission: Impossible III | May 5, 2006 | $134,029,801 | $263,820,211 | $397,850,012 | #427 | #275 | $150 million | [4] |
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol | December 16, 2011 | $209,397,903 | $485,315,477 | $694,713,380 | #180 | #109 | $145 million | [5] |
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation | July 31, 2015 | $195,042,377 | $487,671,890 | $682,714,267 | #206 | #111 | $150 million | [6] |
Mission: Impossible – Fallout | July 27, 2018 | $220,150,420 | $570,473,501 | $790,623,921 | #155 | #79 | $178 million | [7] |
Total | $1,155,012,246 | $2,414,973,798 | $3,569,986,044 | #21 | #16 | $828 million | [8] |
Critical response
Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
---|---|---|---|
Mission: Impossible | 64% (55 reviews)[9] | 59 (29 critics)[10] | B+[11] |
Mission: Impossible 2 | 57% (146 reviews)[12] | 59 (40 critics)[13] | B[11] |
Mission: Impossible III | 70% (221 reviews)[14] | 66 (42 critics)[15] | A−[11] |
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol | 93% (238 reviews)[16] | 73 (47 critics)[17] | A−[11] |
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation | 93% (295 reviews)[18] | 75 (46 critics)[19] | A−[11] |
Mission: Impossible – Fallout | 97% (351 reviews)[20] | 86 (60 critics)[21] | A[11] |
Average | 79% | 70 | A− |
Controversy
Some fans of the TV series were upset that Jim Phelps, team leader in the series, became a traitor in the first film, selling the details of government agents to an arms dealer. Actor Greg Morris, who portrayed Barney Collier in the original television series, was so disgusted with the film's treatment of the Phelps character that he walked out of the theater before the film ended.[22] Martin Landau, who portrayed Rollin Hand in the original series, was equally negative concerning the films. In an MTV interview in October 2009, Landau stated: "When they were working on an early incarnation of the first one – not the script they ultimately did – they wanted the entire team to be destroyed, done away with one at a time, and I was against that", he said. "It was basically an action-adventure movie and not 'Mission.' 'Mission' was a mind game. The ideal mission was getting in and getting out without anyone ever knowing we were there. So the whole texture changed. Why volunteer to essentially have our characters commit suicide? I passed on it. The script wasn't that good either."[23]
Change to theme music
The television version is in a rarely used 5/4 (five quarter-notes to a measure) time and is difficult to dance to,[24] as was proven by a memorable segment of American Bandstand in which teenage dancers were caught off-guard by Dick Clark's playing of the Lalo Schifrin single release.
The opening theme music for the first six films are stylized renditions of Schifrin's original iconic theme, preserving the 5/4 rhythm, by Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, Michael Giacchino, Joe Kraemer and Lorne Balfe, respectively. Most of the versions included in the score also retained the 5/4 time signature.[24]
However, for Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr.'s version featured on the first film's motion picture soundtrack, the time signature was changed to standard pop 4/4 (four quarter-notes to a measure) time to make it more dance-friendly, although the intro is still in 5/4 time.[24] Also, the Limp Bizkit song "Take a Look Around" from the soundtrack to the second film was set to a similar 4/4 modification of the theme, with an interlude in 5/4.
References
- ^ "Mission Impossible Moviesat the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible (1996)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible III (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible Movies at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible Reviews". Metacritic.
- ^ a b c d e f "Cinemascore". cinemascore.com.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible II Reviews". Metacritic.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible III (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible III Reviews". Metacritic.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Reviews". Metacritic.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Reviews". Metacritic.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible – Fallout Reviews". Metacritic.
- ^ 'Mission: Impossible' TV stars disgruntled. CNN. May 29, 1996.
- ^ Martin Landau Discusses 'Mission: Impossible' Movies, MTV Movies Blog, October 29, 2009
- ^ a b c They Shot, He Scored by Dave Karger. Published June 7, 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
External links
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