mission impossible

Mission: Impossible is a series of commercially successful theatrical motion pictures, starring Tom Cruise as IMF agent, Ethan Hunt. IMF stands for "Impossible Missions Force", and is a fictional independent espionage agency working for the US government in high-risk operations, deemed impossible by normal standards. The films are loosely based on the television series of the same name, which aired from 1966 to 1973 on the CBS network, and then for another two seasons, as a revival of the original series, from 1988 to 1990 on ABC. The series currently counts three films, with a forth one expected to come out at the end of 2011.

The first installment of the series was released in 1996 and was directed by Brian De Palma, gaining mixed reviews from critics, but turning out to be a smashing hit in the box office. It grossed $11.8 million on its opening weekend, beating the record previously set by Terminator 2 in 1991. Additional cast members included Jon Voight, Jean Reno and Ving Rhames, who is the only actor to continuously appear in all 4 films. In this first film, Ethan Hunt is framed for the murder of fellow IMF agents during a failed operation, and for selling state secrets to an international criminal known as "Max".

MI2 came out in 2000 and was directed by John Woo. It followed in the footsteps of the original film: gaining mixed reviews from critics but becoming a financial hit, as it grossed some $215 million in its North American release and around $331 million abroad. Notable cast members include Anthony Hopkins, Dougray Scott and Thandie Newton. In this film, Ethan Hunt must stop a mad ex-IMF agent from stealing a deadly virus and selling the antidote on the black market.

MI3 was released in 2006 and, while commercially successful to some extent, it performed well below expectations and grossed significantly less than Mission Impossible 2. The movie made a total of $134 million domestically, and $263.8 million internationally. While it was one of the most successful movies of the year, it produced the lowest overall income for the series. Ethan Hunt is retired from the lead of the IMF team in this third film, but must put together a team to face a dangerous information broker intent on selling a strange object known as "The Rabbit's Foot".

The upcoming sequel is expected to be released in December, 2011, and has generated a lot of excitement among fans of the series. For the time being, little is known about the film, other than it is called "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" and is directed by Brad Bird (who has also worked on The Iron Giant, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles). An official MI4 trailer has yet to be released (but may be available as you are reading this) and new cast members such as Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg make for a promising box office hit this winter.

You'll find bloggers talking about Mission: Impossible at sites like huffingtonpost.com and IMDb Blog.

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Latest blogosphere posts tagged “mission impossible”

 

• Mission Impossible 5 Is In The Works! Cruise To Produce, Star

  
  — Authority:
  Tom Cruise has recently signed a new deal with Paramount Pictures for another installment of Mission: Impossible. Cruise will be returning to the silver screen for the fifth time in the Mission: Impossible franchise. His representatives confirmed the update to E! News. Deadline.com reports that the 50-year-old actor ...
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• Tom Cruise Officially Signs Onto Mission: Impossible 5

  
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  Paramount Pictures and Skydance Production have now officially confirmed that Tom Cruise will star in and produce a fifth  Mission: Impossible . Here’s the press release: Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions has announced that Tom Cruise has signed-on to star and produce a 5th installment in the ...
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• 5 Directors For Mission: Impossible 5

  
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  It was recently announced that Tom Cruise inked a deal to return to his "Mission: Impossible" franchise for a fifth film. Director of "Ghost Protocol" , the series most recent entry, Brad Bird is not slated to return and speculation centers around Christopher McQuarrie as being the man to helm the new one. Until such ...
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• Mission Impossible V will star Tom Cruise

  
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• Tom Cruise Hopeful For Another ‘Mission Impossible’ Movie

  
  — Authority:
  Hollywood actor Tom Cruise, who had reprised his character as IMF agent Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol, recently accepted that he’s very keen to start working in another movie in the series. The 5th movie in the series will be directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who had directed him in last ...
  1 week ago

• Tom Cruise Still Has a Mission

  
  — Authority:
  , Ethan Hunt has accepted another mission. Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions have set Tom Cruise in a deal to star in and produce a fifth installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Both Paramount and Skydance have confirmed this, but they are not saying who’s writing and directing, or when they ...
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• VIDEO: ‘Iron Man 3′ Director Shane Black to Direct ‘Doc Savage’ for Sony

  
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  Book Now and Save at hotels.com ‘Iron Man 3′ director Shane Black to direct ‘Doc Savage’ for Sony ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ beams up one-Day-Earlier Debut Tom Cruise returns as star/producer of ‘Mission: Impossible 5′ Thanks for checking us out. Please take a look at the rest of our videos and ...
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• VIDEO: ‘Iron Man 3′ Director Shane Black to Direct ‘Doc Savage’ for Sony

  
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  Book Now and Save at hotels.com ‘Iron Man 3′ director Shane Black to direct ‘Doc Savage’ for Sony ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ beams up one-Day-Earlier Debut Tom Cruise returns as star/producer of ‘Mission: Impossible 5′ Thanks for checking us out. Please take a look at the rest of our videos and ...
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• VIDEO: ‘Iron Man 3′ Director Shane Black to Direct ‘Doc Savage’ for Sony

  
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  Book Now and Save at hotels.com ‘Iron Man 3′ director Shane Black to direct ‘Doc Savage’ for Sony ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ beams up one-Day-Earlier Debut Tom Cruise returns as star/producer of ‘Mission: Impossible 5′ Thanks for checking us out. Please take a look at the rest of our videos and ...
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• VIDEO: ‘Iron Man 3′ Director Shane Black to Direct ‘Doc Savage’ for Sony

  
  — Authority:
  Book Now and Save at hotels.com ‘Iron Man 3′ director Shane Black to direct ‘Doc Savage’ for Sony ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ beams up one-Day-Earlier Debut Tom Cruise returns as star/producer of ‘Mission: Impossible 5′ Thanks for checking us out. Please take a look at the rest of our videos and ...
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• VIDEO: ‘Iron Man 3′ Director Shane Black to Direct ‘Doc Savage’ for Sony

  
  — Authority:
  Book Now and Save at hotels.com ‘Iron Man 3′ director Shane Black to direct ‘Doc Savage’ for Sony ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ beams up one-Day-Earlier Debut Tom Cruise returns as star/producer of ‘Mission: Impossible 5′ Thanks for checking us out. Please take a look at the rest of our videos and ...
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• VIDEO: ‘Iron Man 3′ Director Shane Black to Direct ‘Doc Savage’ for Sony

  
  — Authority:
  Book Now and Save at hotels.com ‘Iron Man 3′ director Shane Black to direct ‘Doc Savage’ for Sony ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ beams up one-Day-Earlier Debut Tom Cruise returns as star/producer of ‘Mission: Impossible 5′ Thanks for checking us out. Please take a look at the rest of our videos and ...
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• VIDEO: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ Beams up One-Day-Earlier Debut

  
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  ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ beams up one-Day-Earlier Debut Tom Cruise returns as star/producer of ‘Mission: Impossible 5′ ‘Iron Man 3′ explodes with huge $175.3 million in U.S., Canada debut Thanks for checking out canoodle soup. Please take a look at the rest of our videos and articles. To stay in ...
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• VIDEO: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ Beams up One-Day-Earlier Debut

  
  — Authority:
  Book Now and Save at hotels.com ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ beams up one-Day-Earlier Debut Tom Cruise returns as star/producer of ‘Mission: Impossible 5′ ‘Iron Man 3′ explodes with huge $175.3 million in U.S., Canada debut Thanks for checking us out. Please take a look at the rest of our videos and ...
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• VIDEO: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ Beams up One-Day-Earlier Debut

  
  — Authority:
  Book Now and Save at hotels.com ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ beams up one-Day-Earlier Debut Tom Cruise returns as star/producer of ‘Mission: Impossible 5′ ‘Iron Man 3′ explodes with huge $175.3 million in U.S., Canada debut Thanks for checking us out. Please take a look at the rest of our videos and ...
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• VIDEO: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ Beams up One-Day-Earlier Debut

  
  — Authority:
  ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ beams up one-Day-Earlier Debut Tom Cruise returns as star/producer of ‘Mission: Impossible 5′ ‘Iron Man 3′ explodes with huge $175.3 million in U.S., Canada debut Thanks for checking out canoodle soup. Please take a look at the rest of our videos and articles. To stay in ...
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• VIDEO: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ Beams up One-Day-Earlier Debut

  
  — Authority:
  ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ beams up one-Day-Earlier Debut Tom Cruise returns as star/producer of ‘Mission: Impossible 5′ ‘Iron Man 3′ explodes with huge $175.3 million in U.S., Canada debut Thanks for checking out canoodle soup. Please take a look at the rest of our videos and articles. To stay in ...
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