FIRST TIME WATCHING: Mission: Impossible

Fun Fact: the Acuarium Restaurant Explosion and running Scene was done in 1 take!!

I’ve only recently watched the mission impossible movies with Reel Rejects, and if you ever consider continuing reacting to the sequels, I just want to warn you, that in my opinion, the second one is a cheese filled cringe macho movie that focuses more on the sexy fem fatale and two men fighting with all the testosterone in the world than the spy aspects, which is my favourite part of the movies. I was hesitant to continue watching but was absolutely ecstatic with the third movie that seemed to ground the franchise with themes and storytelling that continues on with each movie and in my opinion just kept on getting better with every sequel. Hope you enjoy!

Love the franchise. You should definitely watch all of them. They just get better and better.

Yes you should watch all of them i liked the rest of them more than I liked the first movie, Ghost Protocol was my favorite so I hope you give them a chance.

compared to the 3rd one I would say the 2nd one is the most campy of them all, but they only get better from here... better effects, better story, more character development/involvement

I just watched this movie for the first time as well even though I was supposed to grow up with them (born 1987 and had two older brothers). I don't know what happened. Definitely very predictable and hammy but I had fun! :)

I agree with all those saying you shouldn't skip 2. I'm excited to see your reaction to all of them :)

As you not doubt observed, the 2nd movie is a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it, many on both sides. I think you should form your own opinion, its part of the series, perhaps more standalone than any other, so you wont lose much of the arc of the series if you skip. But you should see it, and if you do come down on the dislike side, don't let it be a reason to stop there. The entire series has wonderful character introductions, breathtaking stunts, and seriously interesting locations. Personally, I find the remaining ones nearly all better than the first, with quite different tones and stories that make more sense. Old friends, new friends, its all a fun ride, so i hope you take the plunge.

I can't believe this was 29 years ago.

The rare movie series that gets better and better with each film. Rotten Tomatoes scores for the Mission:Impossible series are M:I 1- 65% M:I 2- 55% M:I 3- 71% M:I 4- 94% M:I 5- 94% M:I 6- 98%. M:I 7- 96% You should absolutely watch them all.

Commenting again to say DO NOT SKIP THE SECOND FILM. It is super cheesy (deliberately) and widely considered the worst (I prefer it to the relatively bland third film) but also still maintains many of the hallmarks of this great franchise (auteur-driven, insane practical stuntwork, reflection of Tom Cruise’s public persona at the time, beautiful women, great music, fun mask reveals, it’s all there!) The series was very light on lore until 5/6, so you won’t necessarily miss anything plot-wise, but I still don’t think you can truly understand Mission Impossible without 2.

One small note Jim did not want to kill Ethan because he needed Ethan to take the fall for him, that was his logic, even though IMF saw he was still alive, and he killed Claire out of jealousy. But Phelps SHOULD have killed Ethan when he had the chance.

Good morning our beautiful Gold.

Don't wait as long as you usual do between sequels please!

In Mission Impossible 6, you get to see Henry Cavill reload his arms! If you want a non-series, good spy action movie that is underrated, The man from U.N.C.L.E. is another great one!

That was a whole lot of nostalgic joyride. I'd love to visit the entire series (even part 2). Peak is part 4, but even the following installations maintain incredibly high standards. The biggest hole in the movie btw. is the TGV running without a catenary to power it (third rail power supply would limit the speed to 120 kph) and the TGV running through the channel tunnel alltogether (because that's the Eurostar's business) and the tunnel itself, which consists of two single track tubes that are not lit. But to be fair. This would have made the mission actually impossible. :)

Everyone knows the Mission Impossible theme, I used to play it on my clarinet in band class. And your confusion is understandable, Ethan Hunt is basically the American James Bond.

The Mission Impossible Theme is iconic, dating all the way back to the original show. Composers put their spin on it, like Danny Elfman here, but you can't mess too much with the classic melody. I definitely would check out the rest of the series. I think it's generally agreed that the second one is the weakest of the franchise, but even that is not unwatchable. A lot of people, including me, love 3 because it introduces elements that ground the series into something less kitschy and more humane plus features the most commanding villain of any of the films. But starting with 4 the series just propels itself into a juggernaut, with each film outdoing the last in terms of action, cohesion of "the team" instead of a revolving cast, and of course the stunts where Tom just starts doing everything himself including some of the most audacious "he must've fired every safety consultant in sight" stunts I've ever seen anyone do. I mean--I usually don't watch Behind-the Scenes extras, but seeing how long Mr. Cruise trained and how many dozens of hours he put in to do these shots himself that only last a minute or two is insane. I didn't think he was going to be happy until he actually died filming one of these. It's one of my favorite franchises and I think you'd get a kick out of them once they get rolling. 2 not withstanding, it's probably the best action franchise comprehensively.

The series gets better and better as it goes. Definitely worth watching. Yes the series has continuity (sans MI:2) that absolutely culminates in the new film, MI: The Final Reckoning, which is a Part 2 of 2023's Dead Reckoning Part 1. Genuinely, you can skip MI:2 unless you love lots of slo-mo, "romantic" car spinning, melodrama, aggressive scarf snatching and doves. It has no bearing on the rest of the series and is truly boring. MI:3 is a reset after the letdown of 2, it's super fun and absolutely foundational in a couple of ways to the later films. Plus it has Philip Seymour Hoffman. M:I 4-6 are just "Great" modern action films, especially 5-6 which are, perhaps, tied for the best in the series. Plus you get the increasingly insane stunts Tom Cruise executes, the whole concept of "thats not CGI/Green Screen, He Actually Did That!!" is icing on the cake.

Nat, I have a doctorate in helicopter explosions and the train/helicopter scene is 100% accurate.

It’s wild how much Vanessa Kirby looks like Vanessa Redgrave (Max) in this movie. She really *could* be her daughter. IFykyk.

Better late than never, I suppose. I don't think there's enough time for Natalie to watch all 7 of MI movies before the final movie is released at the end of May, unless she clears her schedule of Severance and TLOU episode reactions. However, since Natalie doesn't do theatre reactions, there would be a gap until "Dead Reckoning" becomes available to stream anyway. The first MI movie is just... meh. I was born after the TV series, but I watched reruns a few years ago, and the great thing about them was the emphasis on the TEAM because everyone's role was integral to accomplishing the mission. This movie somewhat betrayed the spirit of the TV series by eliminating the team, except Ethan (a new character), and having the only returning IMF team member turn heel. It wasn't until "Ghost Protocol" (2011) that the film franchise restored the integral importance of the team for the entire movie, marking a turning point when the franchise finally came into its own, rather than trying to imitate James Bond. That's why, in the poll, I suggested that Natalie skip to "Ghost Protocol," because there's nothing essential in the first three movies. Well... maybe MI3 is necessary for the ending of "Fallout" to resonate, but it's my least favourite MI movie because of the pointless MacGuffin, which was Jar-Jar Abrams' mystery box plot device at its peak. (The warning signs were there all along, but we just kept giving him the benefit of the doubt!) Anyway, Natalie has started her Mission: Impossible journey, so we just have to get through the next two duds to reach the great ones. I'm looking forward to the final four (hopefully, five).

Mission impossible 2 has been disavowed, you can start from 3 and work your way up.

"Ethan has the best plot armor ever!" - this is just 1 of n. 2! (panned as is may be) was direct by John Woo, has a killer soundtrack, and Thandiwe Newton, and a pre Covid Plot! [Gen-Xer weighed in =]

MI is an awesome franchise. All movies are a must watch.

You must watch at least 3 onward. 2 is more hammy than this one, might be fun. But from 3 on they just get better and better

I really love this film.

Now you gotta watch all of them! Lol

Hey Nat, a little more context about Mission Impossible. It was originally a TV series in the 1960s and was TV’s answer to James Bond. The theme is from that, shout out to the great Lalo Schifrin, the composer of the original theme. Even crazier is that Jim Phelps was the only carry over character from the TV show. Played by a different actor, but now imagine you’re a fan of the OG show… they made the LEADER of the heroes of decades of TV… THE VILLAIN. It’s a ballsy move. A lot of hardcore fans were pretty mad about that reveal and even the original actor Peter Graves didn’t want to do the movie because he didn’t believe Phelps COULD be a villain. Personally I think it’s one of the best movie twists of all time.

I don't know how I've gone nearly 30 years without seeing this, other than the fact that I wasn't a Tom Cruise fan until Tropic Thunder came out. (Which is weird because nearly every movie I've seen him in, I've liked.)

This is a solid entry to the franchise, I think 2 is skippable, but 3 is good and 4 is phenomenal, Brad Bird knows how to make spy thriller action movies (the incredibles being my fav pixar movie)

And something to consider, Natalie...You'd be the first, as far as I can tell, reactor to put up Twilight Zone episodes to react to. I could be wrong. But from the many reactors I've seen, I haven't yet seen any Twilight Zone episodes. There are a lot of creative treasures. You're very young, so I'm not sure if you've ever seen those episodes from over 60 years ago.

Maybe Nat would be willing to create an all-Twilight Zone poll. List the top 10 twice or three times and from that list the top vote getters are reacted to by her. We both know unlike so many other TV series from the past or present, there are dozens of gems from the 60s Twilight Zone series. Or maybe Nat would be willing to watch one or two Twilight Zone classics per month over a six- or eight-month period. Maybe Thursday could be designated as special Twilight Zone Day. Just a thought. I am open to other great thoughts to help make this a reality. Other Patrons, what are your ideas? It would be great for Natilie's channel, and great fun for us, watching her react.

Yes!!! Definitely recommend continuing reacting to all the movies. Skipping movies in the series would be confusing i think since they build off each other

Wait wait wait!!! The Mission Impossible Song is from the Mission Impossible frenchise?!?!? 😱

Really hope you continue the series. The next one is a bit too over the top and cartoony with the director John Woo really putting his signature on it but with part three it really goes uphill from there. I think you'll especially like the next sidekicks joining Ethan Hunt's story.

This is still my favourite of all the MI franchise. Yes, the later ones have some of the best stunt work ever put to film, but this feels like a "real" spy thriller, whereas the others definitely have the problem of increasingly absurd stakes.

I really hope Nat will continue this franchise. 🙏 MI 2 is a cornball movie that more style over substance but the franchise really takes off with MI 3.

You have an opportunity to do the coolest thing and start watching more Brian De Palma movies instead of just the rest of the MI series. Let’s get a reaction to Blow Out or Dressed to Kill or Phantom of the Paradise. Hell I’d take a Snake Eyes reaction! MORE DE PALMA IN REACTIONS PLEASE! the man is criminally under represented by reactors.

You cannot blame me Nat I have been pushing for this for years. Glad it finally won a poll and you loved it so much. Hopefully the rest of the series will be close behind.

This one was a fun intro to the franchise. From MI3 on, they’re all straight gas. And Fallout might be one of the best action movies ever made.

Happy Feature Friday Nat. No, The Rock isn't in this one. You're getting mixed up with Fast and Furious 🤣 Looking forward to watching this one with you 😎 "I would not be any good at this part of the job. Absolute silence" 😆 he he Nat This was a fun reaction. Hard to believe that the final one is out this year, 30 years on. Yikes. Thanks for all your awesome work this week. Have a great weekend Nat 💛

Would you ever consider reacting to a select group of old school Twilight Zone TV episodes. The wonderful episodes written by the brilliant Rod Sterling. We just don't have that type of writing these days. You'd get to see a very young William Shatner and a classic episode of a very young, before he was a famous movie star, Redford.

As big of a request as this is you’ve got to go all the way and watch all the movies. I know there’s a lot of them but I think this might actually be the only franchise where the movies get better the more of them they make. Ghost Protocol through Dead Reckoning in particular are so much fun.

We gotta get an ‘Andor’ watch at some point

This will blow your mind more Nattiekins! There was a Mission Impossible TV series! Started in 1966. 171 - 1 hour episodes. That's where that Mission Impossible theme came from! I am sure that so many of us will say this - but this series is much, much better than Fast and the Furious, and is worth watching them all, and finally, the last one with the T-Cruiser is out this year.

Just a heads up when you continue the franchise. The 2nd one is generally regarded as the worst one. It's by no means "bad", it's still entertaining, but it's very cheesy. After that, the movies continually get better and better. A lot people say the 6th one is their favorite even. 6th one is like a close 2nd place for me, but 4 is my personal favorite.

Now 7 more to go I think lol

LFG!!