History YMMV / MissionImpossible

* ''YMMV/MissionImpossibleII''
* ''YMMV/MissionImpossibleIII''
* ''YMMV/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol''
* ''YMMV/MissionImpossibleRogueNation''
* ''YMMV/MissionImpossibleFallout''

!!The first film:

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: [[spoiler:Did Phelps betray his country because he simply thought they weren't paying him enough (with spy work not living up to his expectations), or was Phelps [[ShellShockedVeteran on the verge of a psychotic breakdown during his missions as a field agent]], before eventually snapping and becoming a treacherously delusional, AxCrazy, [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] {{mole}} that led to the events of the first film?]]
* BetterOnDVD: When it was released in theaters, many people regarded the film as being extremely difficult to follow, albeit with a great final act making up for things, which in no small part was responsible for the ActionizedSequel nature of the second film. With the benefit of home video releases however, a lot of people have come to appreciate the more nuanced plot of the first film.
%%Do not add any other entries without going to the cleanup thread first.
* BrokenBase: While it's toned down as the film series has branched out into its own thing separate from the TV show, many fans of the show at the time were absolutely livid that [[spoiler:Phelps was turned into a traitor.]].
* HilariousInHindsight: After the series has become best known for Tom Cruise throwing himself into gratuitously dangerous stunts, it's pretty funny to revisit the first film's climax where the whole sequence on top of the train is obviously done with bluescreens.
* MorePopularReplacement: Jim Phelps (played by Peter Graves) was the second leader of TheTeam and is the series' most iconic character. The original leader, Dan Briggs (played by Steven Hill), only appeared in the original series and is forgotten by all but the most dedicated fans.
* NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize: [[spoiler:Creator/JonVoight turns out to be the villain.]]
* NightmareFuel: Krieger pushing the helicopter blades toward Ethan's neck. It's one of the few times in the whole series where Ethan is absolutely helpless with nothing he can do to stop a gruesome death, and he only survives from the luck of the helicopter's tail hitting the Chunnel roof.
* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The ''VideoGame/LegoDimensions'' Level Pack has received praise as an enjoyably lighthearted adaptation of the movie. It helps that Ethan possesses a wide assortment of skills.
* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 game. It was a stealth adventure that very loosely followed the movie's plot. Though a [[SoOkayItsAverage fairly decent]] game with some neat ideas, it suffered from bland (and often OffModel) graphics, [[ObviousBeta numerous bugs and glitches]], and frustrating TrialAndErrorGameplay.
* SignatureScene: The cable drop scene.
* UnintentionallySympathetic: William Donloe, the CIA operative in charge of handling the NOC list at Langley. He gets spiked with a saline solution making him throw up uncontrollably, and he gets ReassignedToAntarctica when the team gets away with it in his incapacitated state.
* VindicatedByHistory: After getting a mixed reaction on its initial release, it's now widely seen as the best of the first three films -- albeit with ''Film/MissionImpossibleIII'' providing close competition -- for its intelligent plot, the iconic heist sequence near the end, and some solid action sequences. Its original reputation for having a confusing plot also evaporated in the decade or so after it was released, helping it be seen as something that stands out among other, much more brainless 90s blockbusters.
* WhatAnIdiot: Kittridge believes that someone on Ethan's team has been leaking information to their enemies. At the end of a staged mission, it appears that Ethan is the only one left alive.\\
'''You'd Expect''': Kittridge to wait until they've actually confirmed that everyone on his team is really dead before deciding who they think is guilty. Also, even if they're sure of his guilt you'd think that they would wait until they have him at gunpoint before making their suspicions known.\\
'''Instead''': Kittridge instantly assumes it's Ethan and tells him to his face while sitting only a few feet away from him across a table, with none of his backup team close enough to restrain Ethan if he tries to hurt Kittridge or take him hostage. While dealing with a man that they believe was responsible for the brutal murders of his own team.

* NarmCharm: The series is ridiculous and often centers around problems governments would generally solve in a far more straightforward way (as Martin Landau pointed out, "In reality, there'd be an assassination"). But it's still a lot of fun to watch.

* BrokenBase: While it's toned down as the film series has branched out into its own thing separate from the TV show, many fans of the show at the time were absolutely livid that [[spoiler:Phelps was turned into a traitor.]]
* FandomBerserkButton: Do ''not'' accuse this film's storyline of being too hard to follow around fans of the series. At best, it'll just get you lectured on how that attitude was responsible for how the second film turned out, and at worst it'll get you called a moron who doesn't know how to pay attention to films.

* FairForItsDay: [[BlackAndNerdy Barney Collier]], played by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Morris Greg Morris]], was TheSmartGuy in a band of geniuses. Also, while Cinnamon's primary task was to provide distractions, everyone treated those distractions as vital, and Cinnamon was clearly a respected team member.

* ''YMMV/MissionImpossibleFallOut''

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}} game. It was a stealth adventure that very loosely followed the movie's plot. Though a [[SoOkayItsAverage fairly decent]] game with some neat ideas, it suffered from bland (and often OffModel) graphics, [[ObviousBeta numerous bugs and glitches]], and frustrating TrialAndErrorGameplay.

* HilariousInHindsight: In "Encore," William Shatner plays a 60-year-old gangster who's de-aged by the IMF for several hours. The show's idea of an old William Shatner is a bit at odds with how he really turned out...

* MagnificentBastard: So ''very'' many.
** Special mention has to go to Briggs, however. This was a guy who, in "The Carriers," left an entire town of Russian spies ''to die from bubonic plague.''

* HollywoodHomely: "Homecoming" features a mystery concerning the murders of young, beautiful women. [[spoiler: It turns out that the killer is a local barmaid, ostensibly unattractive, who is jealous of how much attention the pretty women get from a man she is in love with. The homely barmaid is played by [[Series/{{MASH}} Loretta Swit]].]]

* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: One episode features a plan that requires one of the agents to go to jail for years in order to sell the cover story. It's emphasized in the briefing that he should not expect a rescue, since that might draw suspicious attention to his cover, and he's prepared to go through with it for the greater good, but inevitably there's an unforeseen change of circumstances and the rest of the team have to rapidly come up with a plan to break him out after all.

* BetterOnDVD: When it was released in theaters, many people regarded the first film as being extremely difficult to follow, albeit with a great final act making up for things, which in no small part was responsible for the ActionizedSequel nature of the second film. With the benefit of home video releases however, a lot of people have come to appreciate the more nuanced plot of the first film.

* NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize: [[spoiler:Jon Voight turns out to be the first film's villain.]]

!!The films in general:

* AdaptationDisplacement: Many don't know that the films are based on a TV series.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome:
** The ''Mission: Impossible'' theme. The version in the first film even made it onto top-ten charts around the world. The movie version is so closely associated with Tom Cruise that it's the background music in the infamous "Happyology" award video that kicked off the Anonymous protests against "Happyology". If you listen closely you'll notice there's no looping, someone is actually strumming the ''Mission Impossible'' theme for about fifteen minutes. ''Ghost Protocol'''s version, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFf-dZevkXw Light the Fuse]]", is just ''insane.''
** Once you get beyond the theme tune, the films's scores are pretty awesome as well (Music/DannyElfman did the first one, Music/HansZimmer the second, Creator/MichaelGiacchino the third and fourth and Joe Kraemer the fifth). Of particular note is "Kremlin with Anticipation" from ''Ghost Protocol'', with the Ominous Russian Chanting.
* FanonDiscontinuity: Fans of the original series like to pretend the films never existed mainly due to [[spoiler: Phelps turning out to be a villain.]]
* EarWorm: You're now hearing the theme song in your head, and it will be stuck there for quite some time.
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Ving Rhames who is the only actor besides Tom Cruise to appear in all of the films.
** Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner have become the only actors aside from Cruise and Rhames to appear multiple times as a team member.
* EvenBetterSequel: An unusual case where each film has (bar Creator/JohnWoo's entry, see below) received better critical reviews than the last one, with many calling ''Ghost Protocol'' the best installment. ''Rogue Nation'' was also just as critically acclaimed.
* RecycledScript: Both the first and third movie involve [[spoiler: Ethan being set up by [[TheMole a mole]] in [=IMF=] who isn't revealed until near the end, and who tries to frame the boss of the organization who spends time as an AntiVillain trying to [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment hunt down Hunt]], with the audience left unclear if its because the boss really thinks Hunt is a traitor or because the boss ''is'' the traitor. In both their actions force Ethan to go rogue and steal the MacGuffin that the bad guys are after for them, and in both TheMole is in league with an arms dealer. Each movie sees Hunt's family being dragged into the plot to get at him, sees a fairly traditional [=IMF=] plot go off without a hitch only for the team to be ambushed after the fact, and features a reference ot Ethan evading airport security despite [=IMF=] putting "a guy at the airport".]]
* SophomoreSlump: While some moviegoers appreciated the easier-to-follow storyline, the second movie is considered inferior despite the flashy action. The third film was seen as much better and getting things back on track. The fourth and fifth are the best reviewed films in the series.

!!The first film:

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: [[spoiler:Did Phelps betray his country because he simply thought they weren't paying him enough (with spy work not living up to his expectations), or was Phelps [[ShellShockedVeteran on the verge of a psychotic breakdown during his missions as a field agent]], before eventually snapping and becoming a treacherously delusional, AxCrazy, [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] {{mole}} that led to the events of the first film?]]
* BetterOnDVD: When it was released in theaters, many people regarded the first film as being extremely difficult to follow, albeit with a great final act making up for things, which in no small part was responsible for the ActionizedSequel nature of the second film. With the benefit of home video releases however, a lot of people have come to appreciate the more nuanced plot of the first film.
%%Do not add any other entries without going to the cleanup thread first.

* FairForItsDay: Barney Collier, played by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Morris Greg Morris]], was TheSmartGuy in a band of geniuses. Also, while Cinnamon's primary task was to provide distractions, everyone treated those distractions as vital, and Cinnamon was clearly a respected team member.

* SelfInsertFanFiction: The film arguably comes across as this since Tom Cruise was a fan of the television series and Ethan Hunt, a character created specifically for the movie, steals the main character spotlight away from Jim Phelps.

* MomentOfAwesome: Many - for instance, in "The Legend" Rollin pulls the rug out from under the villain of the week and his scheme to resurrect the Nazis through a dummy impersonating Martin Bormann by... ''impersonating Martin Bormann.'' The OhCrap expression on the BigBad's face as everyone else ''heil''s "Bormann" is '''priceless'''.
** In "Death Squad," when Barney and his cellmate are about to be hanged by a corrupt police force for crimes they (certainly Barney) didn't commit, Mr. Collier's refusal of a blindfold drives his formerly nervy colleague to take his punishment like a man and similarly decline. [[spoiler: Fortunately this doesn't become a DyingMomentOfAwesome for either of them, as the rope has been rigged to break by the IM Force as part of the rescue.]]
*** Several instalments, like "The Killer," "The Council" (parts one ''and'' two), "The Mind Of Stefan Miklos," "Operation Rogosh" and the abovementioned "The Heir Apparent" are basically [[MomentOfAwesome Episodes Of Awesome]].
*** In "Robot," Leonard Nimoy plays (in addition to Paris) Gemini - the double of a deceased premier; usually when he or Martin Landau play multiple characters in an episode with makeup on there's still a touch of IdenticalStranger, but Gemini/the premier genuinely doesn't look anything like Paris. The makeup department (specifically Bob Dawn)'s CrowningMomentOfAwesome for the series.

** Once you get beyond the theme tune, the films's scores are pretty awesome as well (DannyElfman did the first one, HansZimmer the second, Creator/MichaelGiacchino the third and fourth and Joe Kraemer the fifth). Of particular note is "Kremlin with Anticipation" from ''Ghost Protocol'', with the Ominous Russian Chanting.

*** Several instalments, like "The Killer," "The Council" (parts one ''and'' two), "The Mind Of Stefan Miklos," "OperationRogosh" and the abovementioned "The Heir Apparent" are basically [[MomentOfAwesome Episodes Of Awesome]].

*** Several instalments, like "The Killer," "The Council" (parts one ''and'' two) and "The Mind Of Stefan Miklos," are basically [[MomentOfAwesome Episodes Of Awesome]].

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 game. It was a stealth adventure that very loosely followed the movie's plot. Though a [[SoOkayItsAverage fairly decent]] game with some neat ideas, it suffered from bland (and often OffModel) graphics, [[ObviousBeta numerous bugs and glitches]], and frustrating TrialAndErrorGameplay.

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The UsefulNotes/NintendoSixtyFour game. It was a stealth adventure that very loosely followed the movie's plot. Though a [[SoOkayItsAverage fairly decent]] game with some neat ideas, it suffered from bland (and often OffModel) graphics, [[ObviousBeta numerous bugs and glitches]], and frustrating TrialAndErrorGameplay.