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Mission Impossible Poster Featuring Spy Gadgets(Photo Credit –YouTube)

The eighth installment of the Mission: Impossible film series, titled ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ starring Hollywood heartthrob Tom Cruise, will be released in US theatres on 23rd May 2025 and a week earlier in Indian theatres on 17th May 2025. But did you know that long before Tom Cruise stepped into the shoes of the daredevil agent Ethan Hunt, there was a Mission: Impossible television series bearing the same name? Read on to know all about the series.

Created by Bruce Geller, the first season of the spy action television series Mission: Impossible aired in 1966. It was followed by six more seasons, which concluded in 1973. The basic plot of the show, spanning more than a whopping 170 episodes, revolves around an elite team of secret agents known as the Impossible Missions Force (Imf). They are assigned different missions and have to deal with unethical businessmen,...

The "Mission: Impossible" movie franchise has been going on for close to 30 years now, and with the seven films in the property soon to become eight at the time of writing (with the release of this summer's "The Final Reckoning"), there's more than enough to catch up on prior to May. When it comes to "Mission: Impossible" rankings and recaps, you hardly ever see a key entry being included at all: the original TV series that kicked off the entire thing (in its normal episodic or even movie-length form). That series ran for a whopping seven seasons and 171 episodes from 1966-1973, and that's not even counting the revival series from 1988, which lasted 2 seasons on its own. Clearly, there are a ton of impossible missions that precede the film series, so why aren't they discussed very often?

The uninformed answer is that the films have no connection to the TV series,...

When you think of the classic Western hero, you likely conjure up the image of a stoic, laconic man astride a horse. He exhibits neither joy nor sorrow; he does not laugh, nor does he cry. He is a man of few words and zero sentimentality. He probably hasn't taken a bath in a while.

Even if you've only a passing interest in the genre, you're likely thinking of John Wayne. If you prefer not to think of the Duke, you might think of Clint Eastwood. If you've only ever seen one Western, and that Western happens to be "The Shakiest Gun in the West," you're thinking of Don Knotts and are thus incapable of relating to everything I've just written.

If, however, you know the genre well, and had a dad and/or granddad who forced you to watch all manner of Westerns regardless of quality, you probably know the long-running CBS oater "Gunsmoke.

The Mission: Impossible movies have had a variety of Impossible Missions Force (Imf) directors who played a significant role in Ethan Hunts adventures. With Tom Cruise in the lead role, the Mission: Impossible movies have become some of the most successful films in the world. While Ethan Hunt is at the center of why the films are so popular with audiences, there's no denying the fact that the Imf directors contribute to what makes the movies exciting. The Imf directors in the Mission: Impossible movies have been played by several renowned actors, including Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, and Laurence Fishburne.

Since the spy organization is such a huge part of the Mission: Impossible films, questions have been raised about whether the Imf actually exists. The Imf includes highly trained agents and high-ranking officials who are in charge of the organization's missions. Given that the Mission: Impossible movies were meant to be standalone films,...

The Mission: Impossible series has provided Ethan Hunt with several love interests, each one meeting a different fate after their appearances. The chronological order of Mission: Impossible movies puts Tom Cruise's Hunt through several daring tasks. The movie franchise began on a more uneven footing and, despite the original 1996 thriller being well-received, its sequel was regarded as one of the worst-ranked Mission: Impossible movies.

That said, Mission: Impossible III spearheaded a resurgence for the franchise that has seen it become one of the more beloved action series' in modern cinema. This is evident by the incredible level of anticipation for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two's story. With more incredible stunts, insane action, and Mission: Impossible deaths on the horizon for the franchise, it is worth looking back at Ethan Hunt's history. One aspect that has been ever-present regarding Hunt is his love life, with the Mission: Impossible...

Even 44 years after its release, Airplane! is still considered one of the funniest movies ever made, having entertained generations of fans, and forever ruined any earnest use of the word “surely” in a sentence.

A big reason why Airplane! works so well is its casting. While Paramount wanted to cast the biggest comedy stars of the day, floating names like Chevy Chase and Bill Murray, directors Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker instead opted to hire more dramatic actors in the lead roles, such as Lloyd Bridges and Leslie Nielsen. Keep in mind, this was back when Leslie Nielsen was still considered a dramatic actor.

Enlisting serious actors to play every single absurd scene completely straight is what made the movie hilarious. But casting non-comedians in a comedy did present certain challenges. For example, in order to get the right performance out of Robert Stack, of TV’s The Untouchables fame,...

For nearly thirty years now, Tom Cruise has wowed audiences with his consistent performance as Imf agent Ethan Hunt, and all the masterful stunts associated with the character. But did you know that the Mission: Impossible franchise is actually a remake of a television series from the mid-1960s? In fact, the movies connect back to the original series with a stunning twist that casual viewers might've glossed over entirely, arriving in the form of Jim Phelps. Phelps first appeared during the television show's second season, so when he returned in the 1996 film, with Jon Voight now playing the character, cast members from the original series weren't too pleased with how his story turned out. Here's what happened.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has had a lot of love interests throughout seven Mission: Impossible movies. The character even got married in Mission: Impossible III. The relationship between Hunt and Julia (Michelle Monaghan) in that third film was a surprise, as the character has many qualities that make him a great spy, colleague, and friend, but being in love never appeared to be one of them. The same happens with the actor who, in his last two decades, has almost stopped getting romantic interests, and when he does, there’s not that much sexual and romantic chemistry between Cruise and the actress they cast.

That’s what makes his on-screen relationship with co-star Hayley Atwell in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One such a different movie. This blatantly obvious chemistry often makes the action movie seem like something else entirely, and it seems like the creative team behind Dead Reckoning Part One embraced that.

Tom Cruise's age in the Mission: Impossible franchise serves as a shocking reminder of the franchise's longevity, as he continues to perform daring stunts at 59 and 60 years old. Comparing Tom Cruise's age in Mission: Impossible 7 to Jon Voight's age in the original movie highlights Cruise's commitment and the franchise's success. Despite being in his 60s, Tom Cruise shows no signs of slowing down as Ethan Hunt, and he plans to continue playing the character until he is in his 80s, making Mission: Impossible movies even more exciting.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is another showcase for Tom Cruise's incredible action movie star qualities, but the movie also acts as a shocking reminder of the franchise's longevity thanks to his age. The seventh entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise arrived 27 years after the original movie that rebooted the TV series as an action/thriller movie series.

The spy-action genre of movies is already filled with a ridiculously high number of entries; therefore, for newer releases to even have a chance at staying relevant, an out-of-the-box element is required. The recently released Netflix spy caper Heart Of Stone strictly follows the copybook method of building and resolving intrigue and, as a result, refrains from venturing into riskier territory. Revolving around a secret espionage agency and an overpowered AI tool that could be the key to world domination, the movie treads a very familiar track throughout. With that being said, narrative structure-wise, the easily discernible similarities allow viewers to point out a number of movies and series it has taken inspiration from, a lot of which we think you might enjoy if you liked Heart Of Stone.

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Right from the nature of its espionage agency to several key plot points, Heart Of Stone has derived heavily...

The spy genre has a series of tropes and cliches that enrich their stories and keep things interesting, sometimes deploying subversions of the classic formula. However, like with any genre of film, these tropes intended for a twist can become repetitive and predictable - especially when used too often within the same franchise.

Spy movies have carved out their own unique genre, through franchises like James Bond, Mission: Impossible, 24 and many more. The genre is centuries old, but reached its peak at the height of the Cold War, through shows and movies like The Man From Uncle, Get Smart, 007 and I Spy. These stories would follow a predictable formula - the heroes would prepare for a mission, get a series of gadgets and a nice car and go about their operation to bring down the bad guy. Understandably, spy projects that moved into the 21st century started to buck many of these tropes,...

After a long week, there's nothing like settling into the sofa with a bowl of popcorn and a great movie. But with all the options out there, sometimes it's hard to decide what to watch. We've done the guesswork for you and rounded up the best movies that are streaming this week on Prime Video, Max, Netflix, Paramount Plus, and other platforms.

Related: 10 Most Anticipated New Movies Of August 2023

Check out the movies that everyone's going to be talking about on Monday morning, and come back to this page regularly to get updates on the latest releases. Now all you have to do is decide whether to put butter on your popcorn!

Creed III

If you're looking for a punchy, action-packed film, you won't want to miss Creed III. The movie reunites audiences with Adonis Creed, who is still excelling in the boxing space. He finds himself face to face with Damian,...

Brian De Palma's original "Mission: Impossible" subverted just about everything about the TV series it was based on. Ordinarily, the show would follow a skilled team of spies who use gadgets, wit, and impressive espionage skills to track down enemy spies and ultra-powerful criminals. In the movie, the team was assembled and the objectives were clear when De Palma elected to murder the entire team. The only survivor was a new character, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) whom the audience hadn't previously known. It was later revealed that the man behind the slaying of Ethan's team was none other than Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), the hero of the original TV series. This would be like if a "Star Trek" movie killed the main cast, leaving Ensign Jones as the main character. And then it was revealed that Captain Kirk was the one who betrayed everyone. 

In a notable scene in "Mission: Impossible,...

Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning takes Tom Cruise's beloved spy thriller franchise to new heights, surpassing the action and intrigue of its predecessors. Setting up an eighth film, Dead Reckoning proves that Mission: Impossible is one franchise anyone would be proud to be a part of.

While actors like Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson have become synonymous with the Mission: Impossible movies, the franchise is far more star-studded than many viewers may realize. Throughout the seven movies, several notable actors have appeared in minor roles that are easy to forget about over the years.

Related: 10 Best Action Movies Like Mission: Impossible

Emilio Estevez Jack Harmon (Mission: Impossible)

Known for his work in classic films like The Breakfast Club and The Mighty Ducks, Emilio Estevez doesn't usually venture into the action genre. However, he did make a short appearance in the opening sequence of the original Mission: Impossible film, portraying Imf agent Jack Harmon.

Who doesn't love a good summertime popcorn flick? If you do, no doubt you're at least vaguely familiar with the long-running Mission: Impossible film franchise. Known for its incredible fight choreography and action sequences, the series has received critical and commercial acclaim since its debut.

Related: 10 Mission Impossible Memes That Are Too Hilarious For Word

Even with the latest release, which scored a groundbreaking Rotten Tomatoes rating, the series remains strong. With so many popular installments in the series, you may be wondering where to watch the Mission: Impossible franchise. Here's where to stream every movie in the Mission: Impossible franchise right now.

Mission: Impossible (1996)

The first in a series of films based on the eponymous spy thriller television series, 1996's Mission: Impossible stars Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, an Imf (Impossible Missions Force) agent. After he's suspected of being the mole that led to the deaths (in a botched...

Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt indulges in one mission after another throughout the Mission: Impossible franchise, putting himself and the women in his life in jeopardy. From the very first movie in 1996 to Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Hunt’s intercontinental adventures have taken a heartbreakingly personal toll on him. While fellow Impossible Mission Force (Imf) operatives Benji and Luther are constantly by Ethan’s side, many of his other partners have had a more turbulent association with him. These include the women with whom Ethan has been romantically attached. Even when some of the other women are fellow agents, they too get caught up in his cycle of destruction.

Many of these women have fought alongside Ethan, be it Nyah from Mission: Impossible 2 or Jane Carter in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. Instead of being mere damsels in distress, most of them have themselves endured death-defying...

The following contains spoilers for Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, which is now playing in theaters.

Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One is finally in theaters, and Tom Cruise is proving that Ethan Hunt is as deadly as ever. Dead Reckoning is pitting Hunt and his team of Imf agents against a new elite team of villains. This includes Esai Morales's Gabriel and the advanced Artificial Intelligence unit known only as The Entity.

Over the decades, the Mission: Impossible franchise has been rather hit-and-miss when it comes to villains. However, some of the movies' antagonists have managed to overcome this trend by standing out as truly terrific challenges to Ethan Hunt and his associates.

Related: Every Mission: Impossible Movie, Ranked By Tom Cruise's Stunts

Sean Ambrose

Dougray Scott portrays Sean Ambrose, a rogue Imf agent who has stolen a lethal virus during the events of Mission: Impossible II....

On May 22, 1996, Paramount Pictures and Tom Cruise unveiled the big screen adaptation of Mission: Impossible, which would go on to gross $180 million and kickstart a feature franchise. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:

The fuse is burning throughout the big-screen reworking of the cloak-and-dagger TV show Mission: Impossible, but apart from the wham-bam conclusion, there’s a disappointing lack of fireworks in this hotly anticipated production.

An upsy-daisy download takes place as Tom Cruise invades the CIA. The Paramount release will open huge and download gigabucks worldwide. However, tepid word-of-mouth will knock it off the must-see list of many movie goers.

The first production by high-rolling star Tom Cruise and his partner and former agent Paula Wagner, Brian De Palma’s dour and only fitfully entertaining techno-thriller teases one with some of the original show’s team espionage spirit, but overall takes itself too seriously. Set mainly in European cities,...

We all know that Mission: Impossible is about Ethan Hunt, the living manifestation of destiny. With mega-star Tom Cruise in the role, the character of Hunt became more important to the franchise than any of the leads of the original series, Jim Phelps, Dan Briggs (Steven Hill), or Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain). But for a little while, producers considered phasing Hunt out of the series, making him the new secretary of the Impossible Mission Force while Jeremy Renner’s William Brandt became the new team leader.

Those plans changed midway through the production of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol when Christopher McQuarrie came in to finish a script started by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec. Although director Brad Bird had already started shooting scenes for Ghost Protocol, McQuarrie successfully argued that Hunt should remain the focus and could not be replaced.

This behind-the-scenes tension added a spark of electricity between Brandt and Hunt on screen.

Visual media in its very basic form depends on spectacle, and coming up with innovative ways of exploring the limitless possibilities of showcasing it is what challenges filmmakers time and time again. When it comes to the spy-action genre of media, there is no shortage of well-made, iconic movie franchises, but that has never seemed to become a hindrance for the Mission Impossible franchise to stand out amidst the cutthroat competition. The major reason for that is the adherence to the precepts of spectacle.

Spawning out of the 1966 hit espionage TV series of the same name, the Mission Impossible movie series starring Tom Cruise is regarded as one of the best movie franchises of the modern era. In an era when big-budget movies have become dependent on crossover and nostalgia baits to rake in easy money, the Mi franchise remains the most exceptional in swerving away from the tropes, instead...

From left: Jon Voight, Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible (Paramount), Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg in Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount) Graphic: AVClub Wtf is the Imf? The answer to that question, like many aspects of the long-running Mission: Impossible franchise itself, can be convoluted, elusive, frustrating, and rewarding, in equal measures.

The Imf then and now: The Mission: Impossible TV cast show (1966-1973) and the stars of Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount).Photo: Bettmann (Getty Images)

Wtf is the Imf? The answer to that question, like many aspects of the long-running Mission: Impossible franchise itself, can be convoluted, elusive,...

The Mission: Impossible movies are primarily driven by Ethan Hunt's race against time to save humanity, but the real stakes behind his mission come from well-written villains. Considering how many captivating villains — primary and secondary — have appeared in the Mission: Impossible franchise, it is hard not to ponder which ones rank higher than the others. Many factors can determine how a Mission: Impossible villain fares against the others, but the primary elements that make an antagonist a worthy threat is their overarching role in the franchise, the performance of the respective actor who plays them, and the level of perils they direct towards Ethan Hunt.

Apart from that, a memorable villain not only places daunting obstacles in Ethan Hunt's pursuit of saving the world but also exposes his vulnerabilities and fears. While most Mission: Impossible villains have what it takes to keep Ethan Hunt white-knuckled throughout his high-stakes missions,...

Ethan Hunt kills dozens of people across all the Mission: Impossible movies, accumulating a total kill count that may surprise some viewers. Since the original Mission: Impossible movie premiered in 1996, Hunt has found increasingly sharper and more creative ways of taking out his many opponents, mainly due to the seemingly age-defying abilities of Tom Cruise. As Ethan Hunt progresses through each Mission: Impossible film, his kill count expands only to meet the demands of the most current mission that he chooses to accept.

Ethan Hunt's coolest bad guy kills are mostly spread out between four of the six Mission: Impossible movies currently released. Several of Ethan's best kills arise in the final moments of each M:i movie in iconic and memorable scenes that surprisingly leave the miraculous Hunt alive to fight another day. While the superspy is not as trigger-happy in a few of the Mission: Impossible films as he is in others,...

Both the Mission: Impossible franchise and its lead actor and producer Tom Cruise have become synonymous with blood-curdling, dangerous stunts. With each new film, Cruise insists on doing his own stunts, taking it upon himself to risk his life in increasingly, treacherous sequences for the quality of the finished product. At this point, Cruise is a bona fide stunt performer whose bravery in dangerous stunts allows the capture of unique moments not seen in other movies.

Luckily, Cruise's training, dedication, and ambition, coupled with experts' guidance, film direction, and stunt coordination make these sequences as safe as possible so that Cruise's stunts can get even bigger. Nonetheless, unpredictable elements and variables and there being nothing Cruise won't do for a Mission: Impossible stunt make them life-threatening. Here are 14 of the most dangerous times Tom Cruise has risked everything to make Mission: Impossible's audience's pulse race.

Helicopter-Train Jump in Mission: Impossible...

The Mission: Impossible franchise has evolved in fascinating ways since its initial 1996 entry, but what have been the biggest changes in the series? The series is approaching 30 years old and is one of the most successful film franchises ever. Moreover, it shows no signs of letting up, with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 set for release on July 12.

With a franchise as vast as this one, there will inevitably be changes and evolutions in how the films are made. There are many elements that have remained, such as Ethan Hunt fighting a war he has no reasonable chance of winning and the threat of tyranny from a megalomaniacal terrorist seeking world domination. However, the franchise has changed in 10 significant ways since its 1996 debut entry.

Related: Mission: Impossible 8 Brings Back A Surprising First Movie Character

Mission: Impossible's Stunt Work Is More Realistic

Mission: Impossible has its fair share of stunts,...

(Welcome to Best Action Scene Ever, a column dedicated to breaking down the best, most effective action sequences throughout the genre. In this edition, we're winding back the clocks to show some love to the Ethan Hunt adventure that started it all: Brian De Palma's "Mission: Impossible" and its climactic bullet train sequence.)

You know what? I get it. After all the incredible feats and widely-marketed stunts that director Christopher McQuarrie and star Tom Cruise have pulled off in the latter "Mission: Impossible" sequels, it's probably easy to become a little jaded and cynical about the franchise as a whole. The overwhelming emphasis on buzzy set pieces and practical, death-defying antics can come at the expense of a memorable story. The formula of the series may sometimes act against it, as there are only so many instances where Hunt's Impossible Mission Force can go rogue and become disavowed by...

Here's the correct, chronological order of the Mission: Impossible movie franchise. Before the Tom Cruise movies, Mission: Impossible is an iconic spy show that began in the 1960s and revolved around the covert missions of the Imf. The series starred Peter Graves as Jim Phelps, with supporting players including the likes of Leonard Nimoy and Martin Landau. The show was later given a short-lived revival in the 1980s before Tom Cruise signed on to lead a movie adaptation in the 1990s. Prior to Mission: Impossible, Tom Cruise tended to jump around genres, starring in dramas, comedies, and everything in between. As the franchise evolved he became more and more associated with action blockbusters and for his death-defying stunts.

The Mission: Impossible movies has arguably overtaken the original TV show in terms of iconic status, and is seen as one of the best ongoing franchises in Hollywood today. Parts seven and...

The world has changed, but Ethan Hunt has not. This is a refrain said time and again about Tom Cruise’s superspy in the Mission: Impossible movies—to the point where it’s become almost something like a prayer or affirmation about Ethan’s preternatural need to gamble with everyone’s lives… and win.

Yet the familiar spiel lands with a lot more gravitas in the latest Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One trailer when it’s delivered by Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny). “Our lives are the sum of our choices,” Kittridge intones with an oily touch of fatalism. “We cannot escape the past. Ethan, this mission of yours is going to cost you dearly.”

When spoken by Ethan’s old Imf boss from the 1990s, as well as the seeming antagonist of the first Mission: Impossible film, it really does feel like the ghosts of the past have come back,...

Since 1996, Tom Cruise has been the heart of the “Mission: Impossible” film series, thrilling audiences as Ethan Hunt, the Imf agent constantly plunged into increasingly dangerous scenarios. And he’s not about to stop anytime soon – “Mission: Impossible, Dead Reckoning, Part One,” the seventh film in the franchise, is due out this July, while “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part Two” will be unleashed next June.

If, somehow, you’ve never seen any of the “Mission: Impossible” movies, they began in 1996 with the Brian De Palma-directed original, an adaptation of the popular, Bruce Geller-created spy series that ran from 1966 to 1973 for 172 episodes and was revived briefly in the late 1980s (that version only ran for two seasons and 35 episodes). Many of the hallmarks of the television series made it into the movie – the mission briefing that would “self-destruct” at the end of the message, the idea of a team of highly trained specialists,...

When it ran on CBS, Mission: Impossible had zero internal continuity. Missions came and went, agents were tortured, battered, and bruised and the next week they’d be hale and hardy, ready for the next assignment.

Since the film franchise began in 1996, the movies have gone in the opposite direction with film to film connectivity, just enough to show the films have consequence but work on their own so you don’t need one of Dk Publishing’s patented guidebooks to understand what’s happening.

You’d almost think there was some grand plan and strategy ala Marvel for these films since everything builds to a head in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, out today on disc from Paramount Home Entertainment.

Recently, the first film, from director Brian DePalma has been making the rounds on cable and I was reminded of how much larger and richer the cast of agents were. Since then,...