There are very few movie franchises that can reach the sixth installment without missing the mark once. Heck, some might even say it’s…impossible. But when the impossible is your speciality, well then, the odds are in your favour, aren’t they? Yes, the Mission: Impossible franchise has been accepting missions on the big screen for 27 years now, and much like the IMF (Impossible Mission Force), these films have had to grow and adapt with each installment, and boy have they ever.
Greatly in part to Tom Cruise wanting to personally push the envelope every time out, the Mission: Impossible franchise has become synonymous with mind-blowing stunt sequences that not only put Cruise in extremely dangerous situations, but also catch it close-up on camera, which is why Cruise is so adamant that he do these scenes himself. He wants the audience to be fully engrossed by the action taking place, and in order to do that he believes being able to get right up close to his character as these stunts are happening is pivotal to that happening. And he’s not wrong!
Ghost Protocol (the fourth film in the series) has one of the greatest – if not the greatest – shots in the entire franchise, and that’s when director Brad Bird brings the camera up and over Ethan Hunt (Cruise’s character) to look out the Burj Khalifa building so the viewer can see how high up 130 floors is. The window has been removed because Hunt must climb the side of the building, so the camera is moving up and over Cruise and Hunt peaks out at the same time as the camera is looking down above him, so we feel as though we’re right there alongside him (albeit quite a lot safer). But what makes this scene so great is that Hunt never stops moving and neither does the camera. Instead of peaking out and a joke being delivered about how high they are, everything keeps moving. In one movement the camera peaks over with Hunt, and then continues out the window as Hunt steps outside and clings to the window, prepared to begin his death-defying climb. Cruise did this, and it’s clear he’s doing it, it’s clear it’s practical, and it’s so incredibly effective that it’ll probably take you a few seconds to realize you’ve been holding your breath throughout the entire shot.
These moments are what Cruise takes pride in the most and what sets the Mission: Impossible series above other action franchises. What’s also great is that each time out the stunts have to get bigger, and it’s rare that Hunt ever just does the stunt without at least taking a beat. It’s minor, but it adds a level of realism to the stunts, as while Hunt does carry an infinite amount of plot armor where the audience knows he’ll come out…well, relatively unscathed, Ethan Hunt isn’t aware of this invincibility and is still a guy who would rather find an easier solution where applicable to hacking into a system over climbing up a building or hanging off the side of an airplane. So in Rogue Nation (the fifth film) when IMF team member Benji (Simon Pegg) is explaining to Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) how in order to complete a mission, Ethan will have to hold his breath for 3 minutes, Benji says it like it’s absolutely no big deal for a guy like Ethan, but Hunt has a look on his face like, “Oh yeah, sure, no big deal at all.” They’re often subtle, and it tends to only happen during stunts where Hunt actually has time to think before he acts, but it’s a lot of fun when it happens.
What’s especially great about the Mission: Impossible franchise is how there’s so much variety within it all, especially early on. Cruise’s plan initially was to have a different director and style for each film, so that they stood on their own and had their own distinct feel. That mission was successful for the first four films, with Brian De Palma directing the first film, Mission: Impossible, back in 1996, which had more of an espionage feel to it, taking the idea from the TV show and turning it up across the board. The movie still holds up well, while also just showing how much the series has grown since it began all those years ago.
Then John Woo came on board for M:I 2, which is very Woo-esque and it’s awesome. If you don’t know Woo’s style and haven’t seen M:I 2 for whatever reason, well you’ll know what I mean by Woo-esque after you do. Woo’s take on the sequel is full of incredible action, some absolutely fantastic lines, and is a wonderful change of pace from its predecessor. What may be surprising to some is that M:I 2 was the highest grossing Mission: Impossible movie domestically all the way until Fallout knocked it out of the spot by about $5 million in 2018.
M:I 3 brought in J.J. Abrams and his lens flairs, but it also changed up the vibe of the series once again, focusing on drama a lot more. I personally love this movie, and love how they brought Ethan into a more character driven story, over simply trying to save the world. It’s in this film that we’re introduced to Ethan’s fiancée, Julia (Michelle Monaghan). Yes, Ethan has stepped away from the field and instead trains operatives, well, until he’s pulled back in, leading to Julia being kidnapped, leading to Ethan being pulled even deeper in. Even though the forgotten love interest of Nyah (Thandiwe Newton) had Ethan reacting emotionally in M:I 2, M:I 3 does it in a way where the emotions and stakes feel real. It’s clear Ethan truly loves Julia and wants to spend his life with her and this element adds a depth to him that will continue to bloom in the films that follow.
That leads us to Ghost Protocol, which is the first time Mission: Impossible is being marketed for the stunts within it. Every movie in the franchise is a blockbuster movie, but there’s something different about Ghost Protocol that just takes the word blockbuster to another level. It also has my favourite trope in it, where the protagonist has to go rogue in order to win the day. This happens a lot to Ethan and his fellow IMF team members as the franchise goes on, but it never gets old and I always love to see it. This was also the first M:I film that continued character storylines from the previous film, with us finding out why Ethan and Julia are no longer together, which has large implications on characters in Ghost Protocol, which made the world of Mission: Impossible feel more connected. What’s even crazier is that Ghost Protocol is Bird’s live-action directorial debut! Talk about starting out in the deep end with masterful work that comes off as though he’d been doing it for his entire career.
Then Cruise met writer/director Christopher McQuarrie and out went the playbook of changing up directors and styles for each film, as McQuarrie would take over as the Mission: Impossible director (and writer/co-writer) from the fifth film, Rogue Nation, forward. What I love about Rogue Nation is how it takes the focus on espionage that the first film did so well and cranks it up to 11, with twists and turns coming from all angles. It’s just a great movie full of spies and agents and double-crosses and all sorts of fun stuff, without skipping a beat on the insane stunts that are scattered throughout the film. It’s really hard to pick favourites in this series, as they can all fluctuate depending on mood, but upon revisiting them all, Rogue Nation rose to the top in a way where it will definitely battle it out with potential challengers, mood be damned!
Lastly we have Mission: Impossible — Fallout, in which McQuarrie takes full advantage of being the first sophomore director in the series, allowing him to flesh out the story he began in Rogue Nation, continuing forward with characters and arcs in ways that hadn’t been done prior. Fallout is also fantastic, taking everything Cruise and McQuarrie did prior and upping the ante wherever they saw possible, and this is viewed as the best Mission: Impossible film by many. Is that simply because it was the most recent release at the time? Possibly, but even if that’s not the reason, one can’t hold it against anyone who does put Fallout at the top of their list, as this is a franchise where fan rankings could differ greatly, yet in the end its really putting six incredibly fun movies into whatever order pleases you, so there’s no wrong answer because, again, the series has never missed the mark.
Now, Mission: Impossible fans and Steelbook collectors have the chance to collect all six films in beautiful, similarly styled, limited edition Steelbooks. This isn’t a box set, but instead each film individually released with its own Steelbook, so if your mission is to collect all six then that’s easy enough, and Paramount designed them to match, so they’ll look great side by side on a shelf. However, if you’d rather pick and choose your favourites? Well, you can do that just as easily too.
Each Steelbook is a nice metallic silver, which hides fingerprints fairly well compared to the images on the cover. So if you’re grabbing the Steelbook and you worry about things like that, aim to avoid the pictures and hold onto the purely silver parts of the case. The cover of each Steelbook has an awesome collage of scenes and characters from that particular film, with stylistic splatters of paint helping both separate the pictures, while also connecting them at the same time. The collage of characters take up the bottom half of the cover, while the top half is dedicated to whatever look Hunt is sporting that installment, with Cruise front and center, along with the title of the movie right smack dab in the middle. It’s an absolutely awesome look, and some of the best case artwork we’ve seen from any M:I home release yet.
The back of each Steelbook is exactly the same, outside of different paint spatters changing the colours of the IMF logo from case to case. So, each case has the IMF Logo, which has the letters front and center, with Impossible Mission Force written on the top, and United States of America written on the bottom. It’s simple and it works, as the focus of these Steelbooks is the art on the front, so keeping the back of each case the same works in favour of the release.
The inside of each slip is also simple in design, with only the first film really taking advantage of both slip covers. Each Steelbook interior sees one of the more memorable stunts from that particular film on the right side, with the left side mainly being the same metallic silver we see everywhere else. I do believe they could’ve made these images bigger, so that they spilled over onto both slip covers and it would’ve better utilized the space, but they’re still just nice and clean looking, so it’s not a major gripe, just something that likely would’ve elevated the interiors a bit more.
Inside each Steelbook we also get a sticker of the IMF logo, which is the same in each case, so if you pick up all six films, you’ll have six identical IMF stickers to do with as you wish. While I’m sure the majority of collectors will want to pick them all up, it makes sense not to have different stickers in each, mainly because what else could they make a sticker out of? It’s just a fun bonus that’s added in there, and having multiples means you can share them with friends, or slap them on multiple items to really showcase your IMF love! Each Steelbook also comes with a 4K disc and Blu-ray version of the film, as well as a digital copy of the movie.
Overall, collecting this set is a mission fans should definitely accept! The cover art is just absolutely awesome, and just screams Mission: Impossible. It reminds me of the opening credits of the film, where the fuse is lit and we’re shown various snippets of the movie to come. I personally hate that this was ever done, as I avoid trailers and all types of spoilers before seeing a movie, so the last thing I want is to see a highlight reel of what’s ahead during the opening credits. That said, the theme song is one of the best ever, so I just look away and listen when any new M:I film comes out. That’s just me though, as I’m sure some love the teasers, but again, it’s just what I’m reminded of when I look at these covers, and in this format I love it.
4K Blu-ray Video and Audio Review
If you’re looking for a franchise that’s been around long enough to showcase how far we’ve come in remastering and restoring, Mission: Impossible is it. The 1996 original looks incredible in 4K, blowing its previous Blu-ray and DVD counterparts out of the water. Each installment comes in Dolby Vision/2160p and is full of gorgeous details, beautiful scenic views, and the action and stunts all age incredibly well, greatly in part to the practical route Cruise always wants to go, which helps avoid CGI aging poorly, which is the case a number of blockbusters face as time goes on.
Each film has their own stylistic look, and some have a filmic look to them, with a nice grainy feel remaining in 4K, but just enough to have the desired look and not a dirty or distracting look. Each movie looks clean and crisp as can be, and it doesn’t get much better than that for movie fans. The colours throughout are vibrant and the blacks and darker scenes are deep and rich. Everything is incredibly well balanced, and for those with home entertainment systems set up for 4K, this franchise is a no-brainer to own in the format.
Jumping over to the audio side of things, the first three films in the series have a fantastic 5.1 lossless Dolby TrueHD track, the fourth film, Ghost Protocol, arrives in 7.1 lossless Dolby TrueHD, and the latest pair in Rogue Nation and Fallout both come with the beloved Dolby Atmos to help put your speakers to the test. That said, the audio is solid in all formats and for all films. The score blasts through nicely, dialogue is clear and front and center throughout, while the action comes at the viewer from all angles when watching in surround sound. These movies are incredibly immersive, and the audio work on each makes sure that once you’re pulled in, you won’t be disengaged due to a lack of audio involvement. Again, this is a franchise that’s almost 30 years old and still going strong, so being able to experience the growth in technology as the series goes on is a lot of fun.
Special Features:
On the special features side of things we’ve got no new features, which isn’t surprising at all. Rogue Nation’s previous 4K releases did have some new special features, which have been marked as new for those who may not have picked it up in 4K yet, and Fallout was a 2018 release, so its abundance of features are there to enjoy. All the legacy carry over features from the previous Blu-ray releases of the films before those are here as well, which do give viewers plenty to watch if you’ve yet to do so and I’ll break them down below.
Mission: Impossible (1996) Legacy Special Features:
- Mission: Remarkable — 40 Years of Creating the Impossible
- Mission: Explosive Exploits
- Mission: Spies Among Us
- Mission: Catching the Train
- Mission: International Spy Museum
- Mission: Agent Dossiers
- Excellence in Film
- Generation: Cruise
- Photo Gallery
- Mission: Marketing
Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) Legacy Special Features:
- Audio Commentary: Director John Woo
- Behind the Mission
- Mission Incredible
- Impossible Shots
- Music Video: “I Disappear” by Metallica
- Alterante Title Sequence
- Excellence in Film
- Generation: Cruise
Mission: Impossible 3 (2006) Legacy Special Features:
- Audio Commentary: Tom Cruise and Director J.J. Abrams.
- The Making of the Mission
- Inside the IMF
- Mission Action: Inside the Action Unit
- Visualizing the Mission
- Mission: Metamorphosis
- Scoring the Mission
- Moviefone Unscripted: Tom Cruise/J.J. Abrams
- Launching the Mission
- Deleted Scenes
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
- Photo Gallery
- Excellence in Film
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) Legacy Special Features:
- Mission Accepted — Suiting Up in Prague
- Mission Accepted — Heating Up in Dubai
- Mission Accepted — Vancouver Fisticuffs
- Impossible Missions — The Russian Prison
- Impossible Missions — Shooting in IMAX
- Impossible Missions — Art Department
- Impossible Missions — A Roll of Film
- Impossible Missions — Life Masks
- Impossible Missions — Stepping Into the Storm
- Impossible Missions — The Sandstorm
- Impossible Missions — Dubai Car Crash
- Impossible Missions — Lens on the Burj
- Impossible Missions — Props
- Impossible Missions — Composer
- Deleted Scenes
- Trailers
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) Legacy & Previously Released with 4K Special Features:
Disc One:
- Audio Commentary: Actor Tom Cruise and Director Christopher McQuarrie.
- Lighting the Fuse
- Cruise Control
- Heroes…
- Cruising Altitude
- Mission: Immersible
- Sand Theft Auto
- The Missions Continue
Disc Two:
- Lighting the Fuse
- Cruise Control
- Heroes…
- ...And Rogues (New to 4K release)
- Top Crews (New to 4K release)
- Travel Agents (New to 4K release)
- Opera-Tion Turandot (New to 4K release)
- Practically Impossible (New to 4K release)
- Stunts (New to 4K release)
- Cut! (New to 4K release)
- Variations on a Theme (New to 4K release)
- The Missions Continue
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) Previously Released Blu-ray Special Features:
4K/Blu-ray Disc One:
- Audio Commentary: Director Christopher McQuarrie and Actor Tom Cruise.
- Audio Commentary: Director Christopher McQuarrie and Editor Eddie Hamilton.
- Audio Commentary: Composer Lorne Balfe.
- Isolated Score Track: A very cool option, which is the film sans by dialogue and sound effects. It’s the score and nothing but the score, in Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
Blu-ray Disc Two:
- Behind the Fallout
- Light the Fuse
- Top of the World
- The Big Swing: Deleted Scene Breakdown
- Rendezvous in Paris
- The Fall
- The Hunt Is On
- Cliffside Clash
- Deleted Scenes Montage
- Foot Chase Musical Breakdown
- The Ultimate Mission
- Storyboards
- Theatrical Trailer
Paramount Pictures Presents Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible 2, Mission: Impossible 3, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Mission: Impossible – Fallout Limited Edition Steelbooks. Starring: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Fergusson, Michelle Monaghan, Jeremy Renner, Henry Czerny, Henry Cavill, Venessa Kirby, Sean Harris, Alec Baldwin, Angela Bassett, Jean Reno, Thandiwe Newton, Dougray Scott, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Maggie Q, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Billy Crudup, Josh Holloway, Michael Nyqvist. Running time: 771 Minutes. Rating: 14A/PG. Released on 4K Blu-ray: June 27 – July 11, 2023.
