History Film / MissionImpossibleFilmSeries

* ContinuityCreep: The first three movies in the series were each largely self-contained, connected only by Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames. However, a few characters carried over from ''III'' to ''Ghost Protocol''; Creator/SimonPegg's character Benji was elevated from a minor character to a team member and Brandt's backstory obliquely involves Julia, [[spoiler: Ethan's wife]] from ''III''; specifically, [[spoiler: he thought she was killed while he was protecting her, but it turns out her death was faked]]. ''Rogue Nation'' has even more continuity, with the bulk of characters from the previous film returning in supporting roles, Benji getting even more focus, and a major subplot dealing with the fallout from the previous movie. ''Fallout'' is a direct sequel to ''Rogue Nation''; Solomon Lane from that film is part of the BigBadDuumvirate, the remnants of the Syndicate are still out in the world as a terror-for-hire organization, planning nuclear strikes on major religious centers for a client, and Julia even plays a minor role in the climax.

* HairTodayGoneTomorrow: Ethan switches off each movie between having long and short hair.

** Brandt is an exception in that he lasts two films -- ''Ghost Protocol'' and ''Rogue Nation'' -- as a member of Ethan's team, but doesn't reappear in ''Fallout''.
** Starting with ''II'', each film gives the IMF a superior played by an A-List actor who disappears after the end of the movie. There's Swanbeck (played by Creator/AnthonyHopkins) in ''II'', Brassel (played by Creator/LawrenceFishburne) in ''III'', the unnamed IMF secretary played by Creator/TomWilkinson in ''Ghost Protocol'' and Hunley (played by Creator/AlecBaldwin) in ''Fallout'' (though he's first introduced in ''Rogue Nation'').

* StoppedNumberingSequels: After the third film. Each movie has had a subtitle (instead of a number) since ''Ghost Protocol''.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Surprisingly Ethan Hunt provides the role of the original Jim Phelps.

* ThisPageWillSelfDestruct, of course.

** Ethan's boss tends to [[spoiler:die onscreen (Musgrave, the IMF secretary, Hunley), or [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome vanish between films]] (Kittrige, Swanbeck, Brassel, though Kittridge is returning for the GrandFinale ''Dead Reckoning'').]]
** Ethan or some other agent dramatically rips off their LatexPerfection mask, or has it ripped off. [[spoiler:This has also been used by the bad guys with their own masks, several times.]]

** A recurring element in many films saw an [=IMF=] spy disguising themselves as a [=VIP=] official to enter a restricted area, only to be confronted with a high-security checkpoint and had to spend several tense seconds waiting for their team members to add their fake identities to the database so the guards at the checkpoint would let them go. Fortunately for the [=IMF=], there's no incident where this has failed...yet.

* RunningGag: In 1, 3, and 5, Ethan's superior delivers a somewhat flowery speech about him going rogue, usually to him.

* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Team Hunt usually contains one woman in each movie: Nyah in ''II'', Zhang Lei in ''III'', Jane in ''Ghost Protocol'', and Ilsa in ''Rogue Nation'' and ''Fallout''. The team in the first movie actually contains three women (Hannah, Sarah, and Claire), but Hannah and Sarah get killed off pretty early, leaving Claire as the female lead. Additionally, each movie will contain a female character who isn't part of the team but still plot-relevant, usually as supporting characters or antagonists, such as Julia in ''III'' or Sabine in ''Ghost Protocol''.

** Ethan frequently ends up to the outside of some sort of high-speed vehicle; [[spoiler:a train]] in 1, saving Nyah from her car on the edge of a cliff in 2, hanging out of a car in 3, a plane in ''Rogue Nation'', and in ''Fallout'' [[spoiler:a chopper]]. In ''Ghost Protocol'', he ends up clinging to the side of the Burj Khalifa, which is no less perilous.

* TheArtifact: In the original series, the [[OnceAnEpisode different-every-time]] method of delivering the mission briefing was a DeadDrop or SpySpeak exchange that allows [[PlausibleDeniability deniable]] distance between the American government and the (civilian, volunteer) IMF. In the film series, the IMF is part of the intelligence services, so the gap is closed and the events often defeat the object: a few times, it's simply delivered to Hunt personally; In ''Ghost Protocol'' he is informed his team has already been assembled, and are watching him from across the road; In ''Rogue Nation'', the contact even asks it's really him (and [[spoiler: the briefing has been compromised and is actually a trap by the villains]]). However, it's too much of an iconic element of the series and a cool scene to not include it.

* TheArtifact: In the original series, the [[OnceAnEpisode different-every-time]] method of delivering the mission briefing was a DeadDrop or SpySpeak exchange that allows [[PlausibleDeniability deniable]] distance between the American government and the (civilian, volunteer) IMF. In the film series, the IMF is part of the intelligence services and the gap is closed and becomes increasingly unnecessary: a few times, it's simply delivered to Hunt personally. In ''Ghost Protocol'' he is informed his team has already been assembled, and are watching him from across the road. In ''Rogue Nation'', the contact to exchange SpySpeak even asks it's really him, which rather defeats the object (and [[spoiler: the briefing has been compromised and is actually a trap by the villains]]). However, it's too much of an iconic element of the series and a cool thing to present to not include it.

* TheArtifact: In the original series, the [[OnceAnEpisode different-every-time]] method of delivering the mission briefing was a DeadDrop or SpySpeak exchange that allows [[PlausibleDeniability deniable]] distance between the American government and the (civilian, volunteer) IMF. In the film series, the IMF is part of the intelligence services and the gap is closed: a few times, it's simply delivered to him. In ''Ghost Protocol'' Hunt is informed his team has already been assembled, and are watching him from across the road. In ''Rogue Nation'', the contact to exchange SpySpeak even asks it's really him (and [[spoiler: the briefing has been compromised and is actually a trap by the villains]]). However, it's too much of an iconic element of the series and a cool thing to present to not include it.

* TheArtifact: In the original series, the [[OnceAnEpisode different-every-time]] method of delivering the mission briefing was a DeadDrop or SpySpeak exchange that allows [[PlausibleDeniability deniable]] distance between the American government and the (civilian, volunteer) IMF. In the film series, the IMF is part of the intelligence services and the gap is closed: a few times, it's simply delivered to him. In ''Ghost Protocol'' Hunt is informed his team has already been assembled, and are watching him from across the road. In ''Rogue Nation'', the contact to exchange SpySpeak even asks it's really him (and [[spoiler: the briefing has been compromised and is actually a trap by the villains]]. However, it's too much of an iconic element of the series and a cool thing to present to not do it.

Creator/TomCruise headlines each film as ace IMF agent Ethan Hunt and Creator/VingRhames plays Luther Stickell, Ethan's go-to guy for MissionControl and computer hacking. Each film outlines an ImpossibleMissionCollapse of varying kinds and it usually involves the heroes trying to fix the mess that has developed (often with violence, something the original show purposefully avoided).

Because of the higher action quotient and the dominant focus on Cruise rather than the entire team, there has been a sizable backlash from fans of the original series. Still, the films have been embraced by general audiences and elements unique to them alone have become embedded in modern popular culture. They all have different themes and tones, too; they don't simply use a ResetButton and each film isn't mere SequelEscalation (except for Ethan's stunts, which Cruise insists on [[NoStuntDouble performing himself]]. They tend to get more elaborate/risky with each installment).

* HeroWithBadPublicity: Ethan gets framed and chased by the government in four of the five films. You would think they would trust the guy a little more. Lampshaded by August Walker in ''Fallout'', who asks how many times a man can be betrayed and hunted by his own government before he snaps.

** ''Dead Recknoning Part One'' plays it straight however.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first three films have varying tones and stories, but were primarily treated as comparable espionage action movies. Starting with ''Ghost Protocol'' where they StoppedNumberingSequels, the movies started focusing on blockbuster stunt sequences and being a bit more [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall self-aware with their espionage tropes]]. The first film featured the MissionImpossibleCableDrop in a controlled environment; ''Ghost Protocol'' has Ethan repelling off a skyscraper.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first three films have varying tones and stories, but were primarily treated as comparable espionage action movies. Starting with ''Ghost Protocol'' where they StoppedNumberingSequels the movies started focusing on blockbuster stunt sequences and being a bit more [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall self-aware with its espionage tropes]]. The first film featured the MissionImpossibleCableDrop in a controlled environment, ''Ghost Protocol'' has Ethan repelling off a skyscraper.

* GuileHero: The team, like actual spies, tries to accomplish their missions with as little fuss as possible, preferring to infiltrate and deceive. While typically this goes drastically wrong, this is most notable in the first movie; No firearm is fired by Ethan or any good guy, which makes for a jarring change in ''M:I-2'' when he's dual-wielding pistols.
** In ''Ghost Protocol'' Team Hunt expends ''less than ten rounds'' of ammo for the entire film.