In regards to the Mission: Impossible film franchise, you have to give credit where credit is due. Somehow over the span of fifteen years, Producer/Actor Tom Cruise has found ways to keep the series (based on the 1960s spy television series) engaging enough with each installment to keep the audience coming back time and again - whether it's his personal touch death-defying stuntwork, or the revolving door of directing talent behind the camera.
On December 6, 2011, Paramount released the first three films in a Blu-ray high-definition trilogy pack on the eve of the fourth film, Ghost Protocol hitting theaters a short time later - allowing fans and consumers the chance to get re-acquainted with Cruise's main character Ethan Hunt, and his past IMF (Impossible Mission Force) exploits.
Mission: Impossible by Brian De Palma
Released in 1996, the first film by Director Brian De Palma (Scarface) introduces us to Ethan Hunt, a member of a covert team of spies run by the classic character from the show, Mr. Phelps played by Jon Voight. Hunt finds himself on the run from his own IMF agency when a mission in Prague to recover a active agent list goes bad and his entire team, including his leader is seemingly wiped out.
Hunt recruits previously disavowed agents in a scheme to recover the list and flush out whoever was behind the decimation of his team, all the while trying not to be captured by his employers. The first film wonderfully set the tone of the classic show reimagined for a modern audience, as De Palma's experience with crafting a cagey mystery full of twists and turns benefited the film greatly.
Not all of Mission was a cohesive success as a story, but the thrills involved managed to catapult it past a $ 180 million gross domestically and ensure a sequel's production. Rating: 4/5
Mission: Impossible II by John Woo
In 2000, the sequel found Hunt being pulled from vacation time to deal with a scenario involving a rival rogue agent acquiring a deadly virus and planning to profit from it. The film was Directed by Hong Kong action auteur John Woo (Face/Off) and was considerably more flashy and action-packed than its predecessor - containing breath-stopping camera shots and frenetic gunplay.
Unfortunately the story fell a little flat, and the sequel suffered from a case of all style and little substance. It did however outperform the original, raking in well over $ 200 million domestically and further displayed Cruise's physical commitment to keep the franchise a success. Rating: 3.5/5
Mission: Impossible III by J.J. Abrams
Although generally considered the lamest of the trilogy, the third installment actually represents an intriguing difference of perspective for Hunt's character. Cruise personally tapped Alias creator and Emmy-winning television Director, J.J. Abrams to helm the picture.
In this go-round, Hunt's personal life is incorporated into the tale as he tries to keep his profession under wraps from his girlfriend, but faces a difficult situation when she's targeted by an arms dealer that got away from IMF captivity.
Even though the film garnered the lowest gross of the three, it still reflected Abrams' budding talent as a feature filmmaker, and gave Hunt's character something more to chew on when he had personal stakes invested in the outcome of the plot. Rating: 3.5/5
The Blu-ray Extreme Trilogy Edition
VIDEO - Each film is presented in 1080p high-definition but the quality varies depending on the age of the film. The older the installment, the more flaws you might notice while viewing. The first film contains a strong amount of image softness, the second improves that quality and the black levels, while the third brightens up considerably with Abrams' colour palette and penchant for lens flare. Rating: 3.5/5
AUDIO - Again, the quality varies with each film depending on age. All three films sport a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio and M:I:3 unquestionably contains the strongest track with the most range, while the first film requires you to crank the volume up for the dialogue in several spots. Rating: 4/5
EXTRAS - The Blu-ray trilogy set contains nothing new in the way of bonus material, but thankfully all the previous features for the first two films from their old DVD releases are still attached. But it's the third film that has the most glaring issue here. Only the commentary track makes a return trip to the Blu-ray, and the rest of the supplemental material from the 2-Disc 2006 DVD edition has disappeared. Rating: 3.5/5
CONSUMER/COLLECTOR VALUE: For an Extreme Trilogy, this set doesn't really bring home the bacon as advertised - especially with the missing features from the third film. No doubt it's a quick cash grab by Paramount while the new film is in theaters, and you get the sense that when Ghost Protocol is released on Blu-ray, a new four-pack will make an appearance. However, at roughly a $35 price tag, it's not a bad grab of you don't have the films on Blu-ray yet and want to catch up on the series before seeing the fourth installment. Rating: 3/5
It Looks Pretty, Sounds Pretty, But It Ain't Perfect
This Extreme Trilogy Blu-ray set of the first three Mission: Impossible films is relatively underwhelming. For fans looking to upgrade, the set doesn't offer much of a hook other than some technical improvements to the films. It's only value would be to a collector that has yet to acquire the series for their collection, but there is a very real possibility that a better set containing the fourth film will be released down the road. Over-All Rating: 3/5
Ryan Young - Ryan Young is a Film and Sports article/review writer, based in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.
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