The Mission: Impossible film franchise.

[Doggett]

I'm watching the Brian De Palma 1996 film as I type and its great.

Really thrilling, without resorting to gratuitous action even though the film does come to that and thats a nice change of pace too. I love the cinematography and the soundtrack which evokes the 60s telly series. Plus Cruise is less cheesy in this than what he becomes later.

Its a great cast, a great mission in Langley, a fun last scene on the aeroplane

Suspense, thrills, excitement and Jean Reno.
What more could you want?

A solid 4/5 for me.

M:I II

Yikes.
Seriously what happened.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B3KWAAPGYY

Less of a film, more of a Tom Cruise' summer catalogue (swishy slo-mo hair included).
This remains one of the very few films that I haven't seen till the end. In fact, it's pretty much this and Cathy's Curse.The love interest is awful and where is the team and suspense??? It was an American James Bond and I dont want that.
The best thing about it was the limp bizkit theme. And that speaks volumes....

Perhaps Im harsh. The last 30 mins might be awesome.

?/5 (but its probably a 1.5/5)


M:I III

More of an action sequel like the second but at least there is team based action and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is terrific as the villain. There is a mission to do and you get to see their mask  machine which is kinda cool. The gadgets and disguises are great. Not a lot of suspense but it is still leaps and bounds better then the second.
It does seem to be the Tom Cruise with others show, it would be nice to have a true ensemble cast.

3.5/5

I haven't seen Ghost Protocol so cant really comment, but I like that every entry feels different. Although I do miss the thriller aspects of the first. A film can be exciting without explosions!

So what are your thoughts on them?

[Chainsawmidget]

I really enjoyed the first one but I have yet to see any of the others. 

[Rev. Powell]

I thought the first was good, didn't see the second or third, then really liked GHOST PROTOCOL. It seemed to come out of nowhere, reviving what looked like a forgotten franchise with an unexpectedly thrilling stand-alone film. I suspect its the best of the lot and strongly suggest you check it out when you get the chance.

[Jim H]

I thought the first was good, didn't see the second or third, then really liked GHOST PROTOCOL. It seemed to come out of nowhere, reviving what looked like a forgotten franchise with an unexpectedly thrilling stand-alone film. I suspect its the best of the lot and strongly suggest you check it out when you get the chance.

Your suspicion is correct - it's the best overall film in the series.  M:I3 is worth a watch as well, but it's not great. 

Pretty interesting franchise transition - pretty solid mystery spy thriller to megablockbuster extremely fast-paced action series.  M:I2 is the weakest entry by far, but worth a watch just to laugh at for all the Woo-isms in it.  The doves are just so silly, and I LOVE John Woo.

[ChaosTheory]

Liked I, hated II, didn't bother with III. 
GHOST PROTOCOL  was a pleasant surprise, one of my favorite flicks from 2011, actually.