Everything You Should Know Before Watching 'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part One'

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If you are a fan of Tom Cruise and his amazing stunts, you might be looking forward to watching the upcoming seventh movie of the Mission Impossible film series, which is expected to come out in 2023. But before you do, you might want to revisit the previous six movies and what makes them so exciting and fun. In this blog post, we will give you a short overview of each Mission Impossible movie and some interesting facts that you might not know. Let’s begin!

Mission Impossible (1996)

The first movie in the franchise was inspired by the classic TV show of the same name, which aired from 1966 to 1973 and then from 1988 to 1990. The movie follows Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), a secret agent who is  accused of killing his mentor and has to prove his innocence with the help of a small team of loyal friends. The movie is famous for its iconic scene where Ethan hangs from a wire in a high-security vault, trying not to touch the floor or set off any alarms. Did you know that Tom Cruise actually put coins in his shoes to balance himself and prevent his head from hitting the floor? That’s some commitment!

Mission Impossible 2 (2000)

The second movie in the series was directed by John Woo, known for his stylish action movies with slow-motion shots and flying doves. In this movie, Ethan has to team up with a professional thief (Thandie Newton) to stop a rogue agent (Dougray Scott) from releasing a deadly virus on the world. The movie was the highest-grossing film of 2000, but it also received mixed reviews from critics and fans, who felt it was too different from the original. One of the most memorable scenes from this movie is Ethan’s entrance, where he climbs a steep cliff without any ropes or safety gear. Tom Cruise actually performed this stunt himself, with only a thin wire attached to his harness. Don’t try this at home!

Mission Impossible 3 (2006)

The third movie in the franchise was the directorial debut of J.J. Abrams, who later went on to direct Star Wars and Star Trek movies. In this movie, Ethan is retired from active duty and training new recruits, but he is forced to return to action when a ruthless arms dealer (Philip Seymour Hoffman) kidnaps his wife (Michelle Monaghan) and threatens to kill her. This movie has one of the strongest casts in the series, with Billy Crudup, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, Maggie Q and Laurence Fishburne joining the team. It also has one of the most intense scenes in the series, where Ethan has to defibrillate himself after being injected with an explosive device in his head.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)

The fourth movie in the series was directed by Brad Bird, who is best known for his animated movies like The Incredibles and Ratatouille. In this movie, Ethan and his team are disowned by the IMF after being framed for a bombing of the Kremlin, and they have to work without any support or resources to clear their names and stop a nuclear war. This movie introduced Paula Patton and Jeremy Renner as new members of the team, and it also marked the first involvement of Christopher McQuarrie, who did an uncredited rewrite of the script and would go on to direct at least four movies in the series. But let’s be honest, what we really remember from this movie is Tom Cruise climbing up the side of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, using only some sticky gloves. Tom Cruise actually performed this stunt himself, with only a safety harness and a thin cable attached to him. He also had to deal with strong winds, dust and heat while hanging 1,700 feet above the ground. No wonder he said this was the scariest stunt he ever did!

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015)

The fifth movie in the franchise was written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, his first of at least four Mission Impossible films. He had previously directed Cruise in Jack Reacher (2012) and he also wrote and produced Top Gun: Maverick (2022). I mean, talk about a power couple! In this movie, Ethan and his team are on the run from the CIA and find themselves in a war against an international black ops terrorist organization composed of rogue agents from all over the world. The movie also introduced Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust, a former MI6 agent who becomes Ethan’s ally and love interest. The most jaw-dropping stunt from this movie has to be Tom Cruise hanging on to the side of a flying Airbus A400M at 5,000 feet in the air. Tom Cruise actually performed this stunt himself, with only a safety harness and some special lenses to protect his eyes from the wind. He also had to do it eight times to get the perfect shot. I mean, what?

Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018)

The sixth movie in the franchise was also written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, making him the first director to helm two Mission Impossible films. It is also the first direct sequel in the series, continuing the story from Rogue Nation. In this movie, Ethan and his team join forces with CIA assassin August Walker (Henry Cavill) to try and prevent an epic disaster caused by stolen plutonium. Unfortunately, August is not who he really appears to be and that leads to one hell of a climactic helicopter chase between him and Ethan. This sequence took six weeks to shoot and it happened over mountainous terrain on the South Island of New Zealand. Tom Cruise actually learned how to fly a helicopter for this stunt and he performed it himself, with only a safety pilot on board. He also had to operate multiple cameras while flying at high speeds and low altitudes. One of the film’s producers said it took two years to plan and claimed that it was even more extreme than Cruise hanging on to the side of the flying plane in Rogue Nation. You gotta think to yourself, how are they going to one-up themselves for number seven? Can’t wait to find out!

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

This brings us to the seventh mission in the Mission Impossible film series, Dead Reckoning Part One. Well, what exactly is dead reckoning? Based on what we know, it’s Ethan Hunt’s most dangerous mission yet and that, I gotta say, is seriously saying something. I mean, have you been paying attention for the last few minutes? More specifically, it means that Agent Hunt and friends will have to track down a very dangerous weapon that threatens humanity before the bad guys get it. So I guess this is their most impossible mission yet and it kind of sounds like a Fast and Furious movie.

On top of that, we know that some so-called dark forces from Ethan’s past will also be involved, making his life even more difficult and requiring even more crazy stunts. In fact, this Mission Impossible film has one of the most aggressive stunts in cinematic history. Tom Cruise does a motorcycle cliff jump into a base jump in Norway and in order to pull this off, he went through a year of advanced skydiving training, base training, controlled canopy training and motocross training. Pretty much the biggest stunt in cinema history.

And of course, in typical Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie fashion, they love to take audiences along for the ride and McQuarrie actually admitted that the camera they needed to shoot this thing didn’t even exist until a couple of years ago. Needless to say, it sounds like they truly did one-up themselves. So much so that McQuarrie said the only thing that scared him more about this stunt is what they have planned for Mission 8.

Fresh and Familiar Faces

When it comes to who will be playing out the story on the big screen, joining Tom Cruise as returning stars are Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Rebecca Ferguson. They will also be joined by some new faces, such as Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham and Esai Morales. And of course, we can’t forget about the man behind the camera, Christopher McQuarrie, who is back for his third and fourth Mission Impossible movies, as he is also directing the eighth installment, which will be released in 2024.

So there you have it, a quick guide to the Mission Impossible franchise. We hope you enjoyed it and learned something new. Are you excited to watch Dead Reckoning Part One? Which is your favorite Mission Impossible movie so far? Let us know in the comments below and don’t forget to subscribe to our blog for more movie news and reviews. Until next time, remember: your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to have fun at the movies! 🎥