Mission: Impossible: All: Of: Them

Despite sharing the main character's last name, I had never seen a Mission: Impossible film up until a few weeks ago. When Fallout was released to very positive reviews I knew I had to do a speedy catch up on this franchise. So what follows are my thoughts on each of the films, written after I saw them, with little to know knowledge of what was ahead. So please enjoy my first steps into this series and my musings on each of the films - the good and the bad.

Mission: Impossible

This first one is a good spy film: walking the line of serious and goofy surprisingly well for the most part. I enjoyed the action and the twists but I did, at times, struggle keeping up with who was who in the pretty sizeable cast. Now the basic structure has been set up I look forward to seeing what comes next.

3.5/5

Mission: Impossible II

This was quite the struggle to get through but it’s all good from here on, right? It was weird, John Woo’s style did not mix well at all: it almost felt too different to the first film whilst also containing double the amount of mask reveals. The action is cool at the end but after you’ve had to slog through the boring plot, forced romance and casual sexism it’s doesn’t really matter, the film could not be saved.
1.5/5

Mission: Impossible III

The opening of this film is more tense than the previous two films put together. Each of these films feel like a bit of a reboot with a new cast of characters, new back-stories and relationships that you need to get up to speed with. It's not all a bad thing though - I had a lot of fun with this film. The action is at its best and the stakes feel high, despite giving away so much at the start. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is an amazing and intimidating villain, God I miss him. He and Cruise are delight to watch bounce off of each other. It's all good stuff. Although going through these I find it hard to get a grip on who Ethan Hunt is, his defining character trait seems to just be; he's good at things. I don't know maybe that's just me.
3.5/5

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Although it lacks Phillip Seymour Hoffman, this film fires on all cylinders. It has the best characters yet, the more interesting plot developments and some of the best action set pieces. I loved the way the tension was amped up in every scene, even with things as small as jumping into a slow moving train. This is definitely the best of series I've seen so far, which is quite something from the 4th film in a franchise.
4/5

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

This is the first instalment that actually feels like a sequel to it's predecessor. However, the women are still unfortunately replaceable in this franchise, with none making it across from the last. It follows the same kind of beats as Ghost Protocol but never reaches the same heights. It's still a solid film but that car/motorbike chase in the middle is great but the rest is a little more forgettable. Just an observation but is Ethan Hunt on the run from his own country/people in every film in this series apart from 2? IMF are not the greatest employers...
3.5/5

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Fallout was everything I wanted from this series. Finally on the sixth outing we get some character development for Ethan Hunt; the story pushes him to his limit, trying hard to break him into someone or something he doesn’t want to be. It also brought back female characters from the previous films therefore driving the plot and being essential to the emotion of some of the scenes. The story - although not breaking loads of new ground - works really well, delivering on loads of exhilarating action and actual shocking twists that change the whole feel of certain scenes. For the first time I actually felt emotionally invested in the stakes for the team and I never wanted the film to stop. I’d heard good things about this one and it's one of the reasons I’ve watched the whole series in quick succession. I’m so glad I did, it’s one of the best action movies in a long time and easily the best Mission: Impossible film. 
4.5/5

So there you have it, my thoughts on Mission: Impossible franchise as an absolute newcomer. I feel like these later films have definitely found their place now, creating a recognisable look and style with an emphasis on action and stunts. Fallout feels like a culmination of all six films and would even be a satisfying ending to the franchise, though now that it is so good I just want to see more! I recommend anyone going through these films, they're solid spy action films and have a great payoff when you get towards the final few. 

What do you think of the franchise? Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to comment below and let me know.

Thanks for reading!