Mission Impossible
Harbin Pelletier
Mission: Impossible is a series of American action spy films, based on the 1966 TV series created by Bruce Geller. The series is mainly produced by and stars Tom Cruise, who plays Ethan Hunt, an agent of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). The films have been directed, written, and scored by various filmmakers and crew, while incorporating musical themes from the original series by Lalo Schifrin.
Starting 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 Hunt's leadership, to stop an enemy force and prevent an impending global disaster. The series focuses on Hunt's character, and like the television series' structure, is complemented by an ensemble cast, such as Luther Stickell (played by Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (played by Simon Pegg), who have recurring roles.
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.
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.
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".
Ethan and the entire IMF are framed for the bombing of the Kremlin while investigating an individual known only as "Cobalt" (Michael Nyqvist). Ethan and three other agents are left to stop Cobalt from starting a global nuclear war.
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.
When an IMF mission to recover plutonium goes wrong, the world is faced with the threat of the Apostles, a terrorist group 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.
An AI called the Entity is responsible for the sinking of the next-generation Russian submarine Sevastopol. The Entity has since gone rogue and entrenched itself into cyberspace; the secret to stopping or controlling it lies with the key, which Ethan Hunt and the IMF must track down, as various world powers and nefarious forces race to obtain the key in order to use the Entity for their own purpose.
In January 2019, an eighth Mission: Impossible film was announced to be in development, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and filmed back-to-back with the seventh film.[3][4] It was scheduled to be released on August 5, 2022, but was delayed to November 4, 2022, then to July 7, 2023, then to June 28, 2024, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6] It was later delayed to May 23, 2025 due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
Hayley Atwell joined the cast in September 2019,[7] followed by Pom Klementieff and Shea Whigham.[8][9] In January 2020, Nicholas Hoult and Simon Pegg were announced to be appearing in the film,[10][11] but Hoult was later replaced by Esai Morales in both films due to scheduling conflicts.[12]
In February 2020, it was announced that Henry Czerny and Vanessa Kirby would return as Eugene Kittridge and Alanna Mitsopolis, respectively.[13][14] In February 2021, Deadline Hollywood reported that Part Two would no longer be filmed back-to-back with Part One.[15] Filming of Part Two began shortly after production wrapped on Part One.[16] It was initially billed that both films would be a send-off for Ethan Hunt.[17] The subtitle, Dead Reckoning Part Two, was removed from the film in October 2023.[18]
The Mission: Impossible film series has received positive reviews from critics and audiences, with the latter four attracting significant praise directed towards their direction, cinematography, stunts, action sequences, performances, and musical scores.
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,[45] as was demonstrated 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 seven 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.[citation needed]
In January 2019, Cruise announced the next two Mission: Impossible films would be shot back-to-back, with McQuarrie writing and directing both. Returning and new cast members were announced soon after, and Lorne Balfe, who composed the score for Fallout, returned to score. Filming began in Italy in February 2020 but was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It resumed later that year and wrapped in September 2021, with other filming locations including Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. It is the first film in the series since Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) not to involve J. J. Abrams and the first film in the series to not be produced by Abrams's Bad Robot since Mission: Impossible III (2006). With an estimated budget of $291 million, it is one of the most expensive films ever made.
Dead Reckoning Part One premiered on the Spanish Steps in Rome on June 19, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 12, 2023, by Paramount Pictures. The film received critical acclaim and grossed over $567.5 million worldwide. Its overall budget and competition from the "Barbenheimer" cultural phenomenon caused it to underperform at the box office. At the 96th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for two Academy Awards. It earned two nominations at the 77th British Academy Film Awards and four nominations at the 51st Saturn Awards. A sequel is set to be released in 2025.
The Sevastopol, a next-generation Russian stealth submarine, employs an advanced AI that is activated by a two-piece cruciform key. The AI becomes sentient and goes rogue. It deceives the crew into attacking a phantom target, only to be struck by their own torpedo, killing all aboard. IMF agent Ethan Hunt travels to the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Desert and successfully retrieves a key piece from Ilsa Faust, a disavowed MI6 agent, and also fakes her death to ensure she survives a bounty placed by an unknown source. Back in Washington, D.C., Ethan infiltrates a U.S. Intelligence Community briefing for Director of National Intelligence Denlinger discussing the rogue AI. They give it the title "the Entity" because of its sentience and defiance. CIA Director Eugene Kittridge states that the Entity can manipulate cyberspace, allowing it to control global defense intelligence and financial networks. World powers compete to obtain the cruciform key to control the Entity, though the exact means of controlling it are unknown.
Ethan reveals himself and converses with Kittridge, who reveals that he was the one who placed Ilsa's bounty. Ethan confesses his intention to destroy the Entity, knowing he would be considered rogue and is participating in a global race. Ethan and his IMF teammates Benji Dunn and Luther Stickell travel to Abu Dhabi International Airport to intercept the holder of the other key piece, while evading US agents. During the pursuit, the key piece is stolen by Grace, a professional thief, while Luther and Benji disarm a hoax nuclear device. Ethan suspects foul play after seeing Gabriel, a sadistic Entity liaison with ties to his pre-IMF past. Aborting the mission, the team scatters and Grace escapes to Rome. Grace is apprehended upon arrival, but Ethan rescues her from local authorities, US agents and Paris, an Entity operative. Grace escapes again, while Ethan meets up with Luther and Benji, with Ilsa rejoining them. With Benji and Luther providing support, Ethan and Ilsa follow Grace to Venice, where they infiltrate a party held by the arms dealer Alanna Mitsopolis.
With the party masquerading as a brokerage set up by the Entity, all groups disclose their role in acquiring the complete key. Grace was hired by Alanna to steal the other key piece to produce the completed key, which will be sold to her buyer the next day on the Orient Express. Through the Entity, Gabriel proclaims that he will possess the completed key the next day and that either Ilsa or Grace will die. Ethan unsuccessfully attempts to dissuade Alanna from the sale, allowing Gabriel and Grace to escape. Ethan pursues Grace, but the Entity hacks into their communications and impersonates Benji, leading him into a fight with Paris, whom he spares. Concurrently, Gabriel incapacitates Grace and kills Ilsa, devastating Ethan, who vows to exact revenge. Grace agrees to impersonate Alanna and take the key during the sale. Luther leaves for an off-grid location to prevent interference from the Entity, advising Ethan to spare Gabriel to determine information about the Entity. On the train, Gabriel kills the engine crew and destroys the throttle and brake. With Paris, Gabriel meets Denlinger, who divulges information only he knows in an attempt to form an alliance between himself and the Entity.
The Entity was originally an advanced cyber weapon developed by the US. The completed key unlocks a chamber inside the Sevastopol containing the Entity's source code, allowing it to be destroyed or controlled. Gabriel subsequently kills Denlinger and tries to kill Paris as the Entity determined she would betray them after Ethan spared her life. Impersonating Alanna, Grace brings the key to Kittridge, revealed to be the buyer, and negotiates a $100 million sale alongside protection for herself, but pickpockets the key from Kittridge after cancelling the transfer. Ethan parachutes into the train to save Grace, but Gabriel acquires the key. Ethan and Gabriel fight atop the train, but Gabriel escapes and detonates a bridge ahead. Grace and Ethan detach the locomotive from the rest of the train, saving the passengers. Paris rescues both from falling and manages to tell Ethan about the key's connection to the Sevastopol before losing consciousness. Grace informs Kittridge of her desire to join the IMF. Ethan flees the wreckage by paraglider with the completed key, which he took from Gabriel during the fight, and rendezvous with Benji to continue the mission - find the Sevastopol and destroy the Entity.
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