Mission: Impossible (film series)

Mission: Impossible is a series of American action spy films based on and a follow-on from the television series of the same name created by Bruce Geller. The series is mainly produced by and stars Tom Cruise, whose character is Ethan Hunt, an agent of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). The films have been directed, written, and scored from various filmmakers and crew, while incorporating musical themes from the original series by Lalo Schifrin.

Beginning in 1996, the films (taking place starting six years after the events of the previous TV sequel series) follow the missions of the IMF’s main field team under the leadership of Hunt to stop an enemy force all the while preventing an impending global disaster. 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 audiences alike, and is the 16th-highest-grossing film series of all time, with a worldwide gross of over $3.5 billion to date, and is often cited as one of the best action franchises to date. The sixth and most recent film, titled Mission: Impossible – Fallout, was released on July 27, 2018. The seventh and the upcoming film, with the working title Mission: Impossible 7, is scheduled to release on May 27, 2022.

All of the Mission: Impossible films are co-produced and released by Paramount Pictures and are rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association.

Films

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.

Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)

Ethan goes back in action and works with professional thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandiwe Newton). The duo go undercover to stop rogue IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) (who is also Nyah’s former lover) from stealing a deadly virus, starting a pandemic, and selling the antidote to the highest bidder.

Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Ethan is engaged to Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan), who is unaware of his true job. He 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”.

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.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

Ethan Hunt comes under threat from the Syndicate. 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.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

When an IMF mission to recover plutonium ends badly, the world is faced with the threat of the Apostles, a terrorist organization formed by former members of the Syndicate. As Ethan Hunt takes it upon himself to fulfill the original mission, the CIA begins to question his loyalty and his motives.

Future

In January 2019, it was announced that both a seventh and an eighth Mission: Impossible were in development, with Christopher McQuarrie set to return as director of both films. Reportedly to be filmed back-to-back, the movies were originally scheduled for release on July 23, 2021 and August 5, 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, these dates were changed to May 27, 2022 and July 7, 2023 respectively.

In September 2019, McQuarrie announced via his Instagram account that Hayley Atwell had joined the cast for both films, which was later confirmed by the actor. Two months later, the director also revealed the involvement of Pom Klementieff and in late December Shea Whigham was confirmed as a cast member for the two upcoming movies. In January 2020, McQuarrie further announced that Nicholas Hoult had also joined the cast and Simon Pegg confirmed his return as Benji later the same month. In February 2020, McQuarrie announced that Henry Czerny would reprise his role as Eugene Kittridge from the first film, whilst Vanessa Kirby confirmed her return as Alanna/White Widow.

Cast and crew

Cast

Crew

Reception

Box office performance

Critical and public response

Music

Change to theme music

The television version is in a rarely used ⁵
₄ time (an unusual time signature with five crotchets to a bar) and is difficult to dance to, 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.

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 time to make it more dance-friendly, although the intro is still in ⁵
₄ time. 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.