Mission Impossible

Whether he’s running for his life, hanging from cliffs with immaculate hair, clinging to planes taking off, skydiving through lightning storms, or scaling the tallest building on earth, Tom Cruise (the mastermind, the madman, the franchise architect) has made Mission: Impossible the most consistent, high-octane action franchise in modern cinema history. And somehow, it’s still gaining speed after three decades. While Marvel drowns in multiverses and endless CGI and Bond reboots its agents (and more recently its studio), Mission: Impossible has—as The Hollywood Reporter writes—“quietly, ever-so-slowly built a franchise out of coming out of hibernation every few years to deliver an exhausting, thrilling action movie that will leave its viewers waiting for more.” Over the past fifteen years, Forbes says it has “out-James Bonded the James Bond films,” while VICE hails it as “the best film franchise of the last 20 years.” In Mission Impossible: The Ultimate Fan Guide, readers will learn all about the 1960s TV show that inspired the films, the secrets of how the movies were made, and how Cruise and the team achieved the crazy stunts, alongside a slew of interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Each chapter tracks the evolution of Cruise and his character, the core team, and the film-making styles and stunts within.