The summer blockbuster landscape today is bursting with bags of big-budget options from money-spinning franchises. But in 1996, summer movie season was a different beast. Back then, there was no comic-book movie boom, no “new” Jurassic Park, Star Wars, James Bond and the like, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Harry Potter didn’t exist yet. It was a time when actors opened films, and there was no movie star bigger than Tom Cruise. His hit film that year? A big-screen version of 1960s’ television series Mission: Impossible. $2.7 billion, five films and some 22 years later, the hugely-anticipated sixth instalment is set for release this July. So how has the franchise endured to become one of the most talked-about – and best – film series in the world?
Solid Foundations
In between the first and fourth film (2011’s Ghost Protocol), Hollywood had seen many of its biggest franchises rebooted or re-imagined in the wake of poor reactions. Batman, Spider-Man and the X-Men flew high before some terrible lows, while James Bond and Fast & Furious had maneuvered themselves into refreshed approaches that weren’t always a hit with audiences and critics: moving away from what had made the originals popular in the first place wasn’t perhaps the wisest move.
It was a time when studios believed that to have continued success they had to throw everything they could at the next one in terms of bangs and budgets. And while Mission: Impossible as a franchise might be a little different in its scope, it hasn’t ever suffered the same problems, with Cruise and co keeping their eyes firmly on the core “old-school” ideas – story and character first above all else. This has seen the series thrive where others have faltered.
Franchise By Name, Not By Nature
Yes, we all love the MCU. How it has forged its way into the cinema landscape over the last decade, meticulously navigating us all through its vast world of interwoven characters and narratives, is remarkable. Many others have tried to copy its blueprint. But not all film series need such dense, overlapping strands from one movie to the next to be a success, something that the M:I films have done beautifully. Every movie is its own entity, independent of anything that may come next or went before, with the primary aim to make the best film possible before they even contemplate the next one. Or rush the latest out to make a predetermined release date. There have been a few notable threads, of course — returning characters, Ethan’s marriage, Syndicate whispers in Ghost Protocol — but ultimately what makes it work is its unpredictability, its ability to circumvent the world of spoilers by being different every time. Which, even after two decades, is still its greatest asset.
Take Our Breath Away
You know that sinking feeling you get deep in your stomach when you see some really dodgy CGI? And just wish they had done the stunt or scene for real? Such moments rarely exist in these impossible missions. All because, well Tom Cruise. For whatever crazy reason he chooses to put himself through an escalating flurry of insane stunts, whether he’s hanging off the Burj Khalifa, holding his breath for over six minutes or dangling upside down in some insanely brilliant heist scene, it is these eye-popping moments that set the Mission: Impossible franchise apart from its rivals.
Sure it’s fun to see Thor wield his electrically-charged hammer or dinosaurs roar again and again, but seeing the superhuman Tom Cruise literally hanging onto the side of a plane that’s TAKING OFF, with the ground rapidly disappearing below him is a truly breathtaking experience. And the essence of blockbuster cinema.
Different Voices, Fresh Approaches
It’s freshness that keeps the heartbeat of the series pumping. Brian de Palma’s original espionage thriller was too smart for some (it wasn’t). This made way for John Woo’s chaotic, self-consciously stylish excesses in M:I-2. His follow-up remains the highest-grosser of the series in the US. And then along came J.J. Abrams with the criminally underrated Mission: Impossible III — giving us Philip Seymour Hoffman in immense villain mode in the process. Before the accomplished Brad Bird took over, breaking out of the animated world to take on the fourth in the franchise, the adrenaline-infused Ghost Protocol.
Finally, Christopher McQuarrie came on board — and, by balancing the exciting with the sophisticated and stirring, struck gold with Rogue Nation, the finest of the series. McQuarrie is back behind the lens for Fallout, the first director to return. Such was his impact that Cruise wanted another go with the Jack Reacher helmer. A re-hiring at this stage in proceedings might well be welcome, but could there be more to it? Could it signal the end of the franchise, with “McQ” the person seen as the best fit to bring it all to satisfying closure? Perhaps – and it would surely be a helluva way to bow out.
The Name’s Cruise, Tom Cruise
After all these words effusing about how Mission: Impossible trumps the competition, it would be criminal not to give credit to Cruise himself. His unparalleled drive and passion to bring something new and fresh each and every time is admirable, as is the insurmountable proof that he has a serious death wish. Indeed, on the set of the latest M:I instalment, Cruise suffered his latest and possibly most serious injury when he broke his ankle. And in a world where the landscape of a franchise changes by the day (looking at you DC and Star Wars), it’s such a relief Cruise and co. know that, no matter what, the impossible is always possible. Then again, as Henry Cavill’s August Walker states firmly in the first Fallout trailer: “How long before a man like that has had enough?” In the case of Cruise, we hope it’s never.
Mission: Impossible — Fallout hit screens in the UK on July 26, the US on July 27 and Australia on August 2.
