History Film / MissionImpossible

Because of that and other things (such as a star-vehicle-esque focus on Cruise's character rather than teamwork), the films(or at least the first two) have provoked fans of the TV series to consider it as DisContinuity. YourMileageMayVary, of course, but [[http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9605/29/imposssibles/index.html the original TV cast didn't like it either]], as it presented Jim Phelps as a traitor to the organization.

* InMediasRes - Combined with HowWeGotHere, the opening sequence of the third movie is one of the best scenes of the series. Note the subversion of the ActionPrologue. No stunts, no explosions, and two or less gunshots, but (assuming you can stand Tom Cruise's [[{{Narm}} acting]]) the tension is ''higher'' than comparable scenes in most other movies.

* TraintopBattle - The finale of ''Mission Impossible'' film occurs atop a speeding TGV inside the channel tunnel. Unsually for the trope, they can barely move because of the enormous wind resistance.

!! Inherent spoilers
* [[spoiler: DisguisedHostageGambit - In ''Mission Impossible II'', there is a rare example of the hero pulling this on the villain, with the aid of a couple of LatexPerfection masks.]]
* [[spoiler: TheMole - In ''Mission Impossible'', the team leader Jim Phelps.]]

* AirVentEscape - Of Course! In the third movie Ethan does it in IMF headquarters, who you'd think would have some precautions about that sort of thing.
*** The vent Ethan crawls out of is in a room with pamphlets for the Virginia Department Of Transportation, his cover job, implying that he uses that room frequently and either knows of - or set up - that opportunity, should he ever need it.
** The first one of course memorably [[InvertedTrope inverts]] it with an Air Vent Infiltration.
* AwesomeYetPractical - The third film, as response to [[{{Film/TheBourneSeries}} the other spy film trilogy]].
* BatmanGambit

* BriefAccentImitation - The second movie shows little throat patches that are able to alter their voice into the voice of whoever they are imitating through LatexPerfection.
** The third film not only shows how said latex masks are made, but also the voice strips; they require voice samples of the target making various commonly used syllables.
* CarryingTheAntidote

* ChekhovsBoomerang - The "Red Light, Green Light" exploding gum in the first film.
** [[IncrediblyLamePun Chekov's Gum!]]

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome - Tom Cruise's ongoing pattern of unbelievable commitment to the projects, from risking his life to do various stunts to meeting fans at four different premieres for ''M:I III'' within 4 hours(having personally piloted his helicopter between them) to ''conducting the freaking orchestra for the Mission: Impossible theme.''

* DisguisedHostageGambit

* ElevatorActionSequence

* FridgeLogic
* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual
* HardWorkMontage
* HelicopterBlender

* HyperAwareness

* InMediasRes - Combined with HowWeGotHere, the opening sequence of the third movie is one of the best scenes of the series.
** Note the subversion of the ActionPrologue. No stunts, no explosions, and two or less gunshots, but (assuming you can stand Tom Cruise's [[{{Narm}} acting]]) the tension is ''higher'' than comparable scenes in most other movies.

* TheMole

* TraintopBattle

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim - enemy soldiers in the third film direct a [=UCAV=]... By surveilling the situation with a ''SniperRifle''.
** Of course; [[spoiler:they were trying to frame Ethan, and the rifle was presumably for point defense, not the distracting explosions they really wanted]].
* XanatosGambit
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* EyeScream - For the whole cast and crew as well, as Tom Cruise characteristically insisted on doing the stunt for real.

* TheyJustDidntCare: While watching these films, you might feel the urge to point out how things wouldn't work that way in real life. Please dont.

These films provide examples of:

'''Mission Impossible''' (1996) - Jim Phelps is called upon for a new assignment dealing with very sensitive information regarding IMF agents and their cover [=IDs=]. He brings in his standard crew, including point man Ethan Hunt, and they plan out how to recover the info. Unfortunately, their mission was compromised horribly and Ethan finds himself the lone survivor and the top suspect as a traitor. The discovery of two other survivors doesn't alleviate his paranoia, so he goes into the list of blacklisted former IMF agents to put together another team to get to the bottom of their original mission and the conspiracy behind it. Directed by Brian [=DePalma=], the movie became well known for the interweaving and [[ThirtyXanatosPileup complicated plotting.]]

'''Mission Impossible 2''' (2000) - Ethan is snagged out of a vacation to track down a rogue IMF agent who has stolen a very dangerous virus and has malicious plans for it. He is sent to recruit a ClassyCatBurglar and ends up falling for her. That is made all the more complicated when he learns that she is an ex-girlfriend of the rogue agent and the agency wants her to infiltrate his group. Ethan has to put aside his personal feelings as he tries to stay one step ahead of his rival. Directed by JohnWoo and it is plain to see, as this film is far more stylized and action-packed, with less cloak and dagger than the first film or the franchise as a whole.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard - In the second film, [[spoiler:Ethan disguises himself as TheDragon, tricking the BigBad into shooting the real dragon, who's disguised as Ethan. The real Ethan takes the MacGuffin and leaves. The movie started with the bad guy imitating Ethan in the same fashion.]] In the third film, [[spoiler:Damien tricks Ethan into giving up the Rabbit's Foot using the LatexPerfection Ethan has used throughout the series to threaten and kill "Jules".]]

* CharacterDerailment (In the first movie, Phelps goes traitor and murders most of the team. Again, this was a source of outrage to Peter Graves and the rest of the TV show's cast.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard - In the second film, [[spoiler:Ethan disguises himself as TheDragon, tricking the BigBad into shooting the real dragon, who's disguised as Ethan. The real Ethan takes the MacGuffin and leaves.]] In the third film, [[spoiler:Damien tricks Ethan into giving up the Rabbit's Foot using the LatexPerfection Ethan has used throughout the series to threaten and kill "Jules".]]

* ContinuityNod - The third film uses "The Plot," a music cue from the original series that is only familiar to fans.

TomCruise headlines each film as ace IMF agent Ethan Hunt and Ving Rhames plays Luther Stickell, Ethan's go-to guy for MissionControl and computer hacking. Each film outlines an ImpossibleMissionCollapse and (to the chagrin of the fans) it forces the characters to resort to regular violence, something the original show purposefully avoided.

* LaserHallway

TomCruise headlines each film as ace IMF agent Ethan Hunt and Ving Rhames plays Luther, Ethan's go-to guy for MissionControl and computer hacking. Each film outlines an ImpossibleMissionCollapse and (to the chagrin of the fans) it forces the characters to resort to regular violence, something the original show purposefully avoided.

Because of that and other things such as a star-vehicle-esque focus on Cruise's character rather than teamwork), the films(or at least the first two) have provoked fans of the TV series to consider it as DisContinuity. YourMileageMayVary, of course, but [[http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9605/29/imposssibles/index.html the original TV cast didn't like it either]], as it presented Jim Phelps as a traitor to the organization.

Because of that and other things (such as a star-vehicle-esque focus on Cruise's character rather than teamwork), the films(or at least the first two) have provoked fans of the TV series to consider it as DisContinuity. YourMileageMayVary, of course, but [[http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9605/29/imposssibles/index.html the original TV cast didn't like it either]], as it presented Jim Phelps as a traitor to the organization.

Because of that and other things (such as a focus on [[TheWesley superspy Tom Cruise]] rather than teamwork), the films have provoked fans of the TV series to consider it as DisContinuity, as it presented Jim Phelps as a traitor to the organization. YourMileageMayVary, of course, but [[http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9605/29/imposssibles/index.html the original TV cast didn't like it either]].

That said, each movie has its good points and memorable moments with a wildly different theme and tone, so it rarely feels like each movie is TheSameButMore.

** The effects department gets a big one for the Owen Davien mask scene. Pure movie magic.

'''Mission Impossible 3''' (2006) - Ethan is in semi-retirement, only training new agents, and he has a fiance who thinks he works for the Highway Department. He is convinced to come out of retirement when he learns an IMF agent, one who was a close friend and whom he trained, was captured. After the simultanous success and failure of that mission they learn that she was tracking down the whereabouts of an elusive arms dealer named Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and that he is looking for an unspecified item known as [[MacGuffin the "Rabbits Foot."]] Directed by JJAbrams, this film falls back to cloak-and-dagger tricks, with the action being more through time-frame constrictions or compromised missions, and even takes time to develop its characters on occasion. The best-reviewed of the trilogy, and while not as financially successful as the previous films("only" making $400 million, in contrast to the 457 and 546 made by 1 and 2 respectively), this one is considered to be more faithful to the concept of the original series, notably in how much more team-driven the story is than in the previous two films.

**The first one of course memorably features Air Vent Infiltration.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome - Tom Cruise's ongoing pattern of unbelievable commitment to the projects, from risking his life to do various stunts to meeting fans at four different premieres for ''M:I III'' within 24 hours(having personally piloted his helicopter between them) to ''conducting the freaking orchestra for the Mission: Impossible theme.''

A fourth film is in the early planning stages, to be directed by [[TheIronGiant Brad]] [[TheIncredibles Bird]] in his live-action directorial debut. Cruise and Ving Rhames are slated to return, with Monaghan, Rhys-Meyers and Simon Pegg currently "rumoured".

In addition, a [[RecursiveAdaptation TV series based on the movies]] is currently being developed.

* BookEnds (Ethan is offered another assignment same as Jim in the beginning.)

* LatexPerfection - by the third film, the audience gets to see how latex faces are made, [[TechnologyPorn in excruciating detail.]]

* MissionImpossibleCableDrop - the originator and TropeNamer, as seen in the page image.

* NotAsYouKnowThem - Jim Phelps

'''Mission Impossible 2''' (2000) - Ethan is snagged out of a vacation to track down a rogue IMF agent who has stolen a very dangerous virus and has malicious plans for it. He is sent to recruit a ClassyCatBurglar and ends up falling for her. That is made all the more complicated when he learns that she is an ex-girlfriend of the rogue agent and the agency wants her to infiltrate his group. Ethan has to put aside his personal feelings as he tries to stay one step ahead of his rival. Directed by JohnWoo and it is plain to see, as this film is far more action packed and less cloak and dagger than the first film or the franchise as a whole.

A fourth film is in the early planning stages, to be directed by [[TheIronGiant Brad]] [[TheIncredibles Bird]] in his live-action directorial debut.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome - Tom Cruise's ongoing pattern of unbelievable commitment to the projects, from risking his life to do various stuns to shaking hands with fans at four different premieres for ''M:I III'' within 24 hours(having personally piloted his helicopter between them) to ''conducting the freaking orchestra for the Mission: Impossible theme.''

* EyeScream

'''Mission Impossible 3''' (2006) - Ethan is in semi-retirement, only training new agents, and he has a fiance who thinks he works for the Highway Department. He is convinced to come out of retirement when he learns an IMF agent, one who was a close friend and whom he trained, was captured. After the simultanous success and failure of that mission they learn that she was tracking down the whereabouts of an elusive arms dealer named Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and that he is looking for an unspecified item known as [[MacGuffin the "Rabbits Foot."]] Directed by JJAbrams, this film falls back to cloak-and-dagger tricks, with the action being more through time-frame constrictions or compromised missions, and even takes time to develop its characters on occasion. While not as financially successful as the previous films, this one is considered to be more faithful to the concept of the original series.