As my friend Tom would say, directing a Mission Impossible movie is like a doorknob. Everyone gets a turn. This is so true and not really in a good way. While this franchise is certainly getting better with each new installment, this wasn’t always the case. My biggest problem with the first four movies of the franchise was how different they were from one another. I have never watched a sequel that was so inherently different in directing, storytelling, cinematography, sound,, and everything else from the original than Mission Impossible 2 was from Mission Impossible. John Woo’s Hong Kong-style martial arts action flick was so far completely different from the Brian DePalma intelligent, well-crafted big-budget adaptation of the smart spy television series that ran for seven years in the late 1960’s that it felt like the two movies weren’t even related. I don’t necessarily oppose changing a director (though I don’t love it), but I oppose the changing styles. Plenty of franchises have had different directors that have made that work (most notably the James Bond franchise, which is similar to Mission Impossible), but many more haven’t. Throw in J.J. Abrams (Mission Impossible III) and Brad Bird (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol), and you’ve got four different directors, each with a completely different vision from one another, for the first four movies of the series. Honestly, I expected the franchise to die at three films, but I am grateful that it got a new life with 2011’s Ghost Protocol (93% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation introduces its fifth director in the franchise (Christopher McQuarrie – The Way of the Gun), but the first to direct multiple installments (2018’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout). The franchise has turned into a series of cleverly written and executed spy action thrillers. And with its cast of A-list movie stars, each movie is a unique experience and a fun escape from reality.
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