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Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name. The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name. The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.

• Bruce Geller
• Josh Appelbaum
• André Nemec
• Jeremy Renner
• 686 User reviews
• 304 Critic reviews
• 73 Metascore
• 5 wins & 30 nominations

• Leonid Lisenker

• Sabine Moreau

• Marek Stefanski

• Burly Russian Prisoner
• Prison Guard

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• (as Jan Filipensky)
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• Trivia Tom Cruise performed the sequence where Ethan Hunt scales the outside of the Burj Khalifa tower himself without the use of a stunt double. The Burj Khalifa tower is the tallest building in the world at 2,722 feet, or 829.8 meters. Cruise dangled outside the tower at approximately 1,700 feet, or 518 meters.
• Goofs In the climax sequence, at the multilevel car park in India, all the cars are left-hand drive but in India cars are right-hand drive, like in Britain.

Benji Dunn : [explaining Ethan's gloves] Easy way to remember: blue is glue.

Ethan Hunt : And when it's red?

Benji Dunn : Dead.

• Crazy credits Much like the first 'Mission: Impossible' movie, the opening credits to this film contain major plot points to the film.
• Alternate versions American broadcast TV replaces Ethan's response to Brandt's "Your line's too short," ("No s***!") with an alternate take ("Yeah, I know!")
• Connections Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 16 September 2011 (2011)
• Soundtracks Ain't That a Kick in the Head Written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen (as James Van Heusen) Performed by Dean Martin Courtesy of Capitol Records Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User reviews 686

• cyber_dude_135
• Dec 4, 2011
• How long is Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol? Powered by Alexa
• What is 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' about?
• Is 'Ghost Protocol' based on a book?
• Where are Dubai and Mumbai located?
• December 21, 2011 (United States)
• United States
• United Arab Emirates
• Paramount (United States)
• Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Paramount Pictures
• Skydance Media
• TC Productions
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $145,000,000 (estimated)
• $209,397,903
• $12,785,204
• Dec 18, 2011
• $694,713,380

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 12 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• IMAX 6-Track

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Movie Review | 'Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol'

Falling Off Skyscrapers Sometimes Hurts a Bit

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By Manohla Dargis

• Dec. 15, 2011

What makes Tom Cruise run — run harder and run faster, leaping from one building and dangling off another, the world’s tallest — as he does to exhausting, unnerving effect in “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” his latest exercise in extreme performance? The fourth in the franchise, this “Mission” has a solid cast, including a notable new co-star in Jeremy Renner; a new director, Brad Bird; and a story that’s as nonsensical as any in the series. Mostly, though, it has Mr. Cruise hurtling through the movie as if his life depended on it, which, to judge by the hard line of his jaw, his punishingly fit body and the will etched into his every movement, may be what’s at stake.

It’s fitting that Mr. Bird, the director of the Pixar movies “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille,” has taken over the reins of the franchise for his live-action directing debut. The “Mission: Impossible” movies belong to that outlandish, sometimes cartoonish class of action adventures in which lesser, Bond-like heroes walk or race from fiery explosions in between locking and loading, kissing and killing, and killing some more. The films, spun off the 1960s television show, fondly remembered for its rubber masks and Lalo Schifrin’s brilliant, pulsating theme music, added Mr. Cruise, who in the 15 years since the first installment has tumbled from his top spot as the world’s biggest movie star to lag behind neo-action figures like Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp.

Mr. Cruise may be somewhat down (certainly his smile has dimmed), yet he’s scarcely out. That’s partly because of Mr. Bird, who has given this movie a self-aware levity that’s intended to clear away the bummer blues of the last “Mission,” five years ago. Directed by J. J. Abrams, who is also a producer of this movie, the third film skewed the series too dark with a nihilistic baddie (chilled to shivering by Philip Seymour Hoffman) and a nightmarish torture scene. It also burdened Mr. Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, with a wife (Michelle Monaghan), an unwise move — American action heroes, latter-day fantasies of our native rugged individualism, walk alone, not down the aisle — which suggested that the soon-to-be-remarried Mr. Cruise was borrowing a chapter from his own life.

The new movie, written by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, both alumni of Mr. Abrams’s television show “Alias” (mostly), ditches the wife and gets back to action basics with globe-trotting, nifty gadgets, high-flying stunts and less loquacious villainy (Michael Nyqvist). (It was also partly shot in Imax, which doesn’t really enhance anything.)

Ethan, after being broken out of a Moscow prison, where he had been idling among hordes of bull-necked Ivans and Igors, sets off on another mission with an old teammate, the tech whiz Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), and the obligatory pretty lady, Agent Jane Carter (Paula Patton). The mission goes bust and boom, as does a debriefing with Ethan’s boss (Tom Wilkinson, uncredited), whose murder finds Ethan and his team blackballed (if still sleuthing) and keeping company with an intelligence analyst, William Brandt (Mr. Renner).

Mr. Renner, who played the main bomb specialist in “The Hurt Locker,” eases effortlessly into the blockbuster register, where star charisma and presence like Mr. Cruise’s matter more than emotionally selling a scene. Mr. Renner has to do some actual acting because of the role (surprise: there’s more to Brandt than a suit), and his low-key performance is a dividend in a movie in which almost all human interactions take exaggerated form, with more throttling than talking, or so it seems. Mr. Renner isn’t an obvious action type — he’s good-looking rather than roguish or boyishly pretty — but as soon as he rolls up his sleeves and picks up a gun, it’s obvious that he’s qualified for the job.

For his part, Mr. Cruise seems comfortable resuming his franchise duties, though there’s a palpable difference in his affect, even from the last movie. He still radiates intensity bordering on mania, but without the familiar “what, me worry?” air of invincibility. Maybe it’s age: he turns 50 next year, or perhaps Mr. Bird’s approach doesn’t sit well with him, even if it also fits. The wolfish Cruise smile seems tighter, at times reluctant, despite Mr. Bird’s efforts to lighten the mood with banter (much of it supplied by a chattering Mr. Pegg). Over the years Mr. Cruise, a divinely superficial presence in pop fodder like “Top Gun,” has grown progressively heavier, weighted down by stardom, ambition and the misstep of turning his personal life into a public drama. At times he can feel leaden.

Unexpectedly, though, his age and inescapable gravitas work for “Ghost Protocol,” partly because they invest the outrageous stunts with a real sense of risk. Mr. Cruise’s primary job in the “Mission” series is to embody a not-quite-ordinary man whose powers are at once extraordinary and completely believable, a no-sweat feat in the first few films.

Here, however, when Ethan ziplines off a building onto a truck and then rolls hard onto the street, Mr. Bird — while borrowing more than a little from the “Roadrunner” cartoons — also makes you aware of the fragility of the body ricocheting on screen, absorbing every blow for your entertainment. And when Mr. Cruise hangs off the even taller building , what you see isn’t just a man doing a crazy stunt but also one poignantly denying his own mortality.

“Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Largely bloodless, if at times extreme, violence, including gunplay and a fatal push from a skyscraper. Those with acrophobia beware.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE

Ghost Protocol

Opens on Friday at Imax theaters nationwide.

Directed by Brad Bird; written by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, based on the television series created by Bruce Geller; director of photography, Robert Elswit; edited by Paul Hirsch; music by Michael Giacchino, “Mission: Impossible” theme composed by Lalo Schifrin; production design by Jim Bissell; costumes by Michael Kaplan; produced by Tom Cruise, J. J. Abrams and Bryan Burk; released by Paramount Pictures. Running time: 2 hours 13 minutes.

WITH: Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt), Jeremy Renner (Brandt), Simon Pegg (Benji), Paula Patton (Jane), Michael Nyqvist (Hendricks), Vladimir Mashkov (Sidorov), Josh Holloway (Hanaway), Anil Kapoor (Brij Nath), Léa Seydoux (Sabine Moreau) and Tom Wilkinson (I.M.F. Secretary).

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‘mission: impossible – rogue nation’: film review.

Tom Cruise is back for the fifth installment in the popular action film franchise, helmed by Christopher McQuarrie and costarring Alec Baldwin and Rebecca Ferguson.

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

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Thanks to a sharp script that springs a real surprise or two and a pace that never slackens, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation rates as the second-best of the numerous franchise titles of the summer, after Mad Max: Fury Road . Armed with an absorbing mystery plot that does more than just connect the dots between action set-pieces (the most outlandish of which is dispensed with in a Bond-like opener), writer-director  Christopher  McQuarrie  maintains the uptick in M:I quality established by the last two entries, and should land this entry within the series’ customary range of a half-billion bucks worldwide.

Working with Tom Cruise for the fifth time (if you include his uncredited rewrite on the last M:I feature, Ghost Protocol ),  McQuarrie benefits dramatically from extending the IMF team’s official  ostracization  to a point of total disenfranchisement from the American government; in an early scene, the CIA chief ( Alec Baldwin ) succeeds in getting the stealth group shut down, forcing Ethan Hunt’s new partners from the last film, Brandt ( Jeremy Renner ) and Benji ( Simon Pegg ), to go to work at CIA headquarters. And this is the thanks Ethan gets just after having jumped o n to  the wing of a giant  A400  transport plane, hanging precariously off its side during take-off in a stunt famous even before the film is released — and that it would appear Cruise performed for real.

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For his efforts at thwarting the delivery of a stash of chemical weapons material, Ethan is strung up like a hog for butcher by requisitely swarthy members of The Syndicate. This used to be one of the numerous names for American organized crime but has now been appropriated by an international terrorist organization prepared to up the ante to previously unimagined levels of violence and dominance.

Read more ‘Mission: Impossible 5’ World Premiere: Tom Cruise Takes Over Vienna

The wild card in the deck is an impressively composed and able young woman named Ilsa Faust ( Rebecca Ferguson ), who seems to be allied with The Syndicate, except when she doesn’t. Even if it’s not difficult to guess whose side she’ll ultimately wind up on, I lsa’s  ability to keep shrewd minds guessing about her allegiances is a high-wire act she sustains to very near the end, helped in no small measure by Ferguson, whose grown-up poise recalls that of some  1940s  movie stars.

McQuarrie  doesn’t change the prescription for what makes this franchise so successful, nor does he have the most practiced hand among the series’ directors at milking the big action sequences for all they’re worth. But he’s deepened the dramatic involvement by so thoroughly casting Ethan Hunt to the wolves that he’s a man without a country or a reliable partner — which is why he’s forced to believe that  Ilsa  will stand with him at the end of the day despite much circumstantial evidence to the contrary.

Without any support system, Ethan can still move around the world and elude the CIA, which refuses to acknowledge that The Syndicate even exists. He cleverly lures out  Benji  to help try to thwart a Manchurian Candidate-like political assassination that is spectacularly synched  up  to a performance of  Turandot  at the Vienna Opera House. With the CIA believing that Ethan might have been behind this outrage, Brandt slips out of Langley and enlists  Ilsa  to help track Ethan down before the spooks do.

All roads lead to Morocco, where again,  Ilsa’s  loyalties flip-flop in two more high-risk set pieces. For the first, in order to snatch an all-important computer chip from an underwater source, Ethan trains to hold his breath for three minutes, but in the actual event, must do so for considerably longer. The second, which is more up Ethan’s (and Cruise’s) usual alley, has him chasing  Ilsa — and  being chased by the resurgent Syndicate goons — through Casablanca and into the desert on very fast motorcycles driven at very extreme angles.

In the end, however, it comes down to the old spy game — English-style, involving lies, deception, disguises, subterfuge and ( dis )loyalty at very high levels. Little by little, the Syndicate’s leader, the blandly lizard-like Solomon Lane ( Sean Harris , effectively employing a thin, reedy voice), is forced out into the open if he’s to get what he wants, clearing the way for the ultimate showdown that Ethan has long desired.

The formula of ingredients is familiar and time-tested, to be sure, but some cocktails go down much better than others, and  McQuarrie  and company have gotten theirs just right here. The p rotagonists ‘ dilemmas are quite extreme, the surprises come in all sizes and the ultra-smooth professionalism displayed in all departments early on encourages the sense that you’re in good hands, a feeling that ends up being justified.

Although Cruise is now 53, he is very far from being a candidate for the Expendables series anytime soon. He looks great, acts with unassuming confidence without needing to ingratiate and credibly conquers innumerable physical challenges. The window between Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation was four years, as quick a turnaround as there’s ever been between franchise entries, so at this rate it’s entirely plausible that the actor could have at least one more Mission in him before Ethan retires to a desk job.

Ferguson, better known for her work as Queen Elizabeth in television’s The White Queen than for last year’s feature Hercules , makes  Ilsa  a woman of unquestioned confidence and sang  froid ; crucially, she credibly convinces whomever she’s working with at the moment that she’s on their side.  Pegg  gets a few moments to shine,  more so  than Renner, while  Ving   Rhames —  essentially sidelined in the last entry — once again has Ethan’s back. Baldwin is right on the money as the smooth-talking CIA chief.

Along with the great international locations, the film benefits from ace creative contributions all down the line, nowhere  more so  than from Joe  Kraemer ‘s  virtually non-stop score, which seamlessly blends strains of  Lalo   Schifrin ‘s  original TV series theme and Puccini into his own rambunctious but not overbearing work. The presentation in the IMAX format at the press screening looked and sounded terrific.

Production:  Skydance , Odin, Bad Robot Productions Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon  Pegg , Rebecca Ferguson,  Ving   Rhames , Sean Harris, Simon  McBurney , Alec Baldwin Director: Christopher  McQuarrie Screenwriter: Christopher  McQuarrie , story by Christopher  McQuarrie  and Drew Pearce, based on the television series created by Bruce  Geller Producers: Tom Cruise, J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger Executive producer: Jake Myers Director of photography: Robert  Elswit Production designer: Jim Bissell Costume designer: Joanna Johnston Editor: Eddie Hamilton Music: Joe  Kraemer Visual effects supervisor: David  Vickery Casting: Mindy Marin, Lucinda  Syson

PG-13 rating, 131 minutes

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‘Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation’ Review: Tom Cruise Saves the World (Again) in Slightly Exhausting Adventure

Should you choose to accept it, this fifth entry goes just a bit overboard in delivering the globe-trotting thrills

“Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation” is the very model of a modern major film franchise: Loaded with globe-trotting adventure, breathtaking stunts and just enough plot to hold together the whole ball of wax, it’s the sort of movie where you wouldn’t bat an eye if Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team were suddenly replaced by the cast of “Furious 7.”

Not that there’s anything wrong with that — there are good popcorn thrills, and there are bad ones, and if “Rogue Nation” falls slightly below “Ghost Protocol” on the adrenaline scale, this fifth entry in the spy saga is definitely the sort of over-the-top spree that generates goofy grins, clenched armrests and spilled soda.

“Rogue Nation” doesn’t do anything particularly wrong inasmuch as it overdoes something right — by the time we reach the final chase/shoot-out/hand-to-hand combat set piece, a bit of ice-cream-headache fatigue has begun to set in. Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie (“Jack Reacher,” “The Usual Suspects”) skillfully assembles each of these sequences, but the film might have benefited from excising at least one of them.

The film is up and sprinting from the very beginning. We get a minute or so of banter between field agents Benjy (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames) and their controller Brandt (Jeremy Renner) before Hunt is hanging off the side of an airplane that’s taking off. (For the film to slough off its poster moment before the opening credits is an act of boldness akin to kicking off a concert with the hit single.)

Hunt, alone and unsupported, must elude both the CIA and The Syndicate while trying to prove the existence of the latter to the former. This task involves attempting to foil an assassination attempt at the Vienna Opera (a sequence that calls to mind both “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and “Foul Play”), breaking into the underwater database of a facility in Morocco (sans oxygen tanks, of course) and at least one of the fooled-you-I-was-wearing-a-mask switcheroos that are the cornerstone of the franchise.

With a bevy of villains passing through, casting directors Mindy Marin and Lucinda Syson wisely pepper the film with memorable faces; one look at Sean Harris or Jens Hultén, and their physiognomy remains burned into our memory for the whole film.

Also very well cast is Rebecca Ferguson (“Hercules”) as the mysterious Ilsa, who could be an ally for Ethan or a double agent setting him up for betrayal. Since Ferguson isn’t a well-known actress in this country (most of her credits are from Swedish and U.K. television), it’s not immediately apparent where her sympathies will eventually lie.

Ferguson also makes for a captivating screen presence; Robert Elswit’s camera practically fetishizes her long legs, and her face combines the wide and world-weary eyes of a 1970s French film star with the solid cheekbones of a 1940s contract player. (Anyone casting “The Alice Faye Story” should look no further.)

“Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation” never pretends to be anything but a solidly entertaining collection of fighting, chasing, driving, falling and going-to-the-place-and-getting-the-thing. But at that level, it delivers completely. Choose to accept it.

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It has been claimed that Cruise "insisted on doing his stunts himself." Say what? The character Ethan Hunt is seen like a human fly clinging to glass, thousands of feet in the air, and you're telling me we aren't looking at CGI? If that's really Tom Cruise , he seems like a suitable case for treatment.

If it is or isn't, this movie's Burj Khalifa action sequence is one of the most spellbinding stretches of film I've seen. In the way it's set up, photographed and edited, it provided me and my vertigo with scary fascination. The movie has other accomplished set pieces as well. It opens with Ethan Hunt's breakout from a Russian prison. There is a staggering fight scene inside a space-age parking garage where moving steel platforms raise and lower cars, and the fighters jump from one level to another. There's a clever scene in the vaults of the Kremlin Archives in which a virtual reality illusion is used to fool a guard. And a scene at a fancy Mumbai party in which Indian star Anil Kapoor thinks he's seducing MI team member Jane ( Paula Patton ) in an elaborately choreographed diversionary technique.

Ethan and Jane are joined by Mission mates Brandt ( Jeremy Renner ) and Benji ( Simon Pegg ) in an attempt to foil a madman named Hendricks ( Michael Nyqvist ), who has gained control of a satellite and possession of Russian nuclear codes, and wants to start a nuclear war. His reason, as much as I understand it, is that life on Earth needs to be annihilated once in a while so it can get a fresh start, and Hendricks is impatient waiting for a big asteroid to come along in his lifetime.

The movie benefits greatly from the well-defined performances of the Mission team. Cruise, hurting from the death of his wife (remember her in the third MI picture?), plays a likable man of, shall we say, infinite courage. Simon Pegg, with his owl face and petulance, is funny as Benji the computer genius, one of those guys who can walk into the Burj Khalifa with a laptop and instantly grab control of its elevators and security cameras. Paula Patton is an appealing Jane, combining sweet sexiness with vicious hand-to-hand fighting techniques. And Jeremy Renner's Brandt, entering the plot late as an "analyst" for the IMF secretary ( Tom Wilkinson ), is revealed to have a great many extra-analytical skills.

Brandt and Benji have a scene that reaches a new level of action goofiness even for a " Mission: Impossible " movie. Brandt's mission, and Ethan makes it clear he has to accept it, is to wear steel mesh underwear and jump into a ventilating shaft with wicked spinning fan blades at the bottom. Benji will halt his fall with a little mobile magnet at the bottom of the shaft, so Brandt can break into massive computers. Renner does an especially nice job of seeming very scared when he does this.

The movie has an unexpected director: Brad Bird , the maker of such great animated films as " The Iron Giant ," " The Incredibles " and " Ratatouille ." Well, why not? Animation specializes in action, and his films are known for strong characterization. You'd think he'd been doing thrillers for years.

Now I want to get back to Tom Cruise, who we left clinging to the side of the Burj Khalifa, allegedly doing his own stunts. I'm not saying he didn't. No doubt various unseen nets and wires were also used, and at least some CGI. Whatever.

I remember a story Clint Eastwood told me years ago, after he made " The Eiger Sanction " (1975). There's a scene in the movie where Clint's character dangles in mid-air at the end of a cable hanging from a mountain. He's thousands of feet up. Clint, who also directed, did the scene himself.

"I didn't want to use a stunt man," he said, "because I wanted to use a telephoto lens and zoom in slowly all the way to my face — so you could see it was really me. I put on a little disguise and slipped into a sneak preview of the film to see how people liked it. When I was hanging up there in the air, the woman in front of me said to her friend, 'Gee, I wonder how they did that?' and her friend said, 'Special effects.'"

Note: I should add that I saw the film in the IMAX format. Wow. The skyscraper scene had incredible impact.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol (2011)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence

133 minutes

Paula Patton as Jane

Michael Nyqvist as Hendricks

Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt

Simon Pegg as Benji

Jeremy Renner as Brandt

• Josh Appelbaum
• Andre Nemec

Directed by

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Tom Cruise Reunites with Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames in Just-Started 'Mission: Impossible 5'

Ethan Hunt has chosen to accept a new mission. Tom Cruise, who plays the resourceful secret agent in the Mission: Impossible franchise, reunited with co-stars Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, and Ving Rhames this week, as shooting began on Mission: Impossible 5. Director Christopher McQuarrie tweeted the above photo on Thursday, with the caption “The team is back” and the hashtag #MI5diary . Renner also posted a group photo – taken at the same time, it seems, from a slightly different angle – on his Facebook page , writing “Big day on MI5. The BOYS ARE BACK!!!”

Yes, the boys are back, including Rhames as rogue hacker Luther Stickell (who has only the briefest of cameo’s in 2011’s Mission: Impossible–Ghost Protocol ), Pegg as gadget expert Benji Dunn, and Renner as up-and-coming agent William Brandt. But those who recall the ending of Protocol will notice that someone is missing from this boys’ club: Paula Patton, whose character, Jane Carter, was recruited to join Hunt’s team . Patton has not confirmed that she’ll return as Carter in the new film. Rebecca Ferguson is said to be playing the lead female role (that was originally offered to Jessica Chastain ). Alec Baldwin will co-star as the head of the CIA .

When Ghost Protocol (above) opened in 2011, there were rumors that Jeremy Renner was being groomed to take Tom Cruise’s place as Mission: Impossible ’s leading man. Given the state of Cruise’s career, that seems unlikely to happen in the fifth installment. After the box office disappointment of Edge of Tomorrow, Cruise may be relying on the popular Ethan Hunt role to reinvigorate his star power. It worked three years ago: Coming off the poorly-received films Valkyrie and Knight and Day, Cruise turned Ghost Protocol into the highest-grossing Mission: Impossible film worldwide. Eighteen years – yes, 18 years! – after the first Mission: Impossible movie, it remains one of Hollywood’s most lucrative franchises .

Even if his career is in flux, Cruise has an ardent supporter in director McQuarrie. Not only did McQuarrie direct Cruise in 2012’s Jack Reacher, but he wrote the screenplays for Valkyrie and Edge of Tomorrow; did an uncredited rewrite on the fourth Mission: Impossible film; and worked on the script for the upcoming Top Gun sequel. When asked “How cool is Tom Cruise?” during a recent Twitter Q&A , McQuarrie replied, “As with all things, he excels at it.”

Judging from recent set photos, Cruise will once again get to showcase those many skills. A few weeks ago, the 52-year-old actor was seen dangling from the roof of Austria’s Vienna Opera House, recalling that breathtaking stunt in Ghost Protocol (below) where he clung to the side of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa skyscraper .

McQuarrie, who is currently shooting in Morocco , seems both nervous and excited about the film’s progress. When a Twitter follower asked him, “what it’s like working on a Mission: Impossible film?,” the director responded , “I’m the luckiest drowning man alive.”

Photo credits: @Twitter/Christopher McQuarrie; Facebook/Jeremy Renner, Paramount Pictures

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How to watch the Mission: Impossible movies in order online before Dead Reckoning Part 1

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to watch all of the Mission: Impossible movies

It's never a bad time to watch the Mission: Impossible movies online. The seventh film, Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One , is due in theaters on July 12th, but don't think this is the beginning of the end for Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt. 

Dead Reckoning is seemingly going to tie-up some loose threads, though, as agent Hunt encounters a familiar face in Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny). Kittridge appears to be on the wrong side (i.e. not Hunt's) of morality this time, and we're curious what he's been up to since Ethan kept evading him earlier in this series.

The good news is that anyone with a Paramount Plus  subscription, at least for the moment, will be able to watch Hunt's adventures — at least right now. Those who want to own them outright have other options, including buying the six currently-released movies on 4K Blu-rays from Amazon .

How to watch the Mission: Impossible movies in order

How to watch mission: impossible online.

Impossible Mission Force (IMF) team member Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is the sole survivor of a mission in Prague where the CIA NOC list, which has the names and identities of every agent, is stolen. IMF director Eugene Kittridge (Czerny) believes Hunt is a mole responsible for the failed mission, pushing Hunt to (memorably) blow up the restaurant they're in with chewing gum, and escape to prove his innocence.

Mission: Impossible was the reboot that jump-started the series, and is most memorable for the vault heist scene where Cruise is suspended in the air on cables. Its plot may be a bit convoluted, but its action is solid.

Director: Brian De Palma Stars: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Henry Czerny, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave, Jean Reno Watch on Paramount Plus Buy or rent digitally on Amazon

How to watch Mission: Impossible 2 online

Ethan Hunt is back in action in Mission: Impossible 2, starting with a shot where he was hanging from the side of the Grand Canyon. Because, you know, Tom Cruise is always going to Tom Cruise. This chapter of the M:I series is all about a plot to threaten the world with a biological weapon known as the Chimera virus, and how IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Scott) has gone rogue and has its cure.

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Not exactly anybody's favorite chapter of the Mission: Impossible series, as it spends a lot of time on a potential romance between Hunt and Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Newton), Ambrose's ex who becomes wrapped up in the Chimera chaos. Still, M:I 2 offers thrilling action ... and that odd take on the Mission: Impossible theme song from Limp Bizkit.

Director: John Woo Stars: Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandiwe Newton, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Rade Sherbedgia, Ving Rhames Watch on Paramount Plus Buy or rent digitally on Amazon

How to watch Mission: Impossible III online

The current 'era' of Mission: Impossible movies truly kicked off in its third edition, as that's when we finally met Benji (Pegg), who helped complete the team of Hunt (Cruise) and Luther (Rhames). It begins with a standard action trope: Ethan's pulled himself out of the IMF work, and lives a normal life with Julia (Monaghan), a nurse. 

Unfortunately, Hunt's forced back into action when one of his trainees (Russell) is held captive. This begins Ethan's dance with the big question of "can I live outside of the action?" All while he has to stop the maniacal arms dealer (Hoffman).

Director: J.J. Abrams Stars: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Monaghan, Maggie Q, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Billy Crudup, Keri Russell, Simon Pegg, Laurence Fishburne Watch on Paramount Plus Buy or rent digitally on Amazon

How to watch Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol online

If you thought Tom Cruise had been doing wild stunts in the previous Mission: Impossible movies, you were probably shocked by 'Ghost Protocol.' The fourth chapter sees Hunt scale the side of the massive Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, among other major moments. 

One of the more critically-respected Mission: Impossible movies, Ghost Protocol impressed with its fantastic set-piece action scenes. It also recognized the need to scale back the drama surrounding Hunt's personal life.

Director: Brad Bird Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Léa Seydoux, Josh Holloway Watch on Paramount Plus Buy or rent digitally on Amazon

How to watch Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation online

The third and current era of Mission: Impossible movies, those from writer/director Christopher McQuarrie kicked off with Rogue Nation. Here, Hunt is a man without a home team, as an attack from Ghost Protocol leads the government to shut the IGM down and jam it into the CIA. This chapter also introduces the treacherous Syndicate organization, teased at the end of the previous film.

Rogue Nation may have earned slightly less at the box office than Ghost Protocol did, but critics loved it even more. The action got better, and it's said that McQuarrie understood how to draw the best elements of past Mission: Impossible chapters into his own.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Alec Baldwin Watch on Paramount Plus Buy or rent digitally on Amazon

How to watch Mission: Impossible — Fallout online

Possibly best remembered for a kinetic fight scene in a bathroom between Hunt and Special Activities Division agent August Walker (Henry Cavill), 'Fallout' is yours truly's favorite chapter since the first. Here, Ethan is up against the former Syndicate agents calling themselves the 'Apostles' who have stolen plutonium cores for use in nuclear bombs. 

Fallout is one of Cruise's statement films, where he basically told the world he'll be the action hero that's arguably dying out in this age of too-much-CGI and superhero movies.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie Stars: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Michelle Monaghan, Alec Baldwin Watch on Paramount Plus Buy or rent digitally on Amazon

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Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Parent Guide

The lack of sexual content and relatively few profanities are a welcome change in this genre, making "mission: impossible - rogue nation" a movie for teens and adults to enjoy together..

In this fifth installment of the popular franchise, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) assembles his team (Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg) in an effort to track down a rogue syndicate intent on destroying the IMF - the secrecy agency they represent.

Release date July 31, 2015

Run Time: 132 minutes

Official Movie Site

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by rod gustafson.

In my opinion the Mission: Impossible franchise has been an undeserved underperformer at the box office. The series got off to a rough start nearly two decades ago, but the films have improved in both writing, on screen chemistry, and a diminishing amount of profanities and sexual content. Fortunately Rouge Nation continues this trend.

In the movie’s opening minutes, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team, William Brandt, Benji Dunn and Luther Stickell (Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames), are doing their thing and saving the world from bad guys. It begins with a heart-stopping stunt (which, the studio claims, Cruise performed himself) where Hunt hangs from the side of an airplane during liftoff. But back at headquarters in Washington DC, the under-under-cover IMF organization is about to be chloroformed by Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin). The bureaucrat is convinced the group’s main foe, the even more illusive Syndicate, doesn’t exist. His solution is to hand over what assets the IMF has to the CIA.

Seeing as the IMF is unplugged, it’s uncertain whose credit card is being billed for trips to Austria and Morocco. Nevertheless, our hero is fully engaged and we get to come along for the wild ride of car and motorcycle chases, back stage combat and underwater maneuvers. Hunt and with his personable team (who eventually manage to break away from their desk jobs to join him), offer solutions to every challenge – as well as a good dose of humor.

Frequent conflicts with guns, knives, bombs and fists will result in violence. Yet considering the number of on-screen shootings and stabbings, little blood or other detail is seen. And, in this era of terrorism, Hunt’s character is willing to doggedly fight for liberty—even when his country has disowned him. Further, unlike so many other spy protagonists, Hunt works with women, not on them. With a script full of male characters, our sole female offers agility and brains as her greatest assets—although they still fit in a bikini. (Cruise also manages to get his shirt off within minutes of the movie’s opening.)

The lack of sexual content and relatively few profanities (you’ll still hear a handful of scatological terms and other mild swears) are a welcome change in this genre, making Mission: Impossible - Rouge Nation a possibility for teens and adults to enjoy together.

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Rod Gustafson

Mission: impossible - rogue nation rating & content info.

Why is Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation rated PG-13? Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sequences of action and violence, and brief partial nudity.

Page last updated July 17, 2017

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Parents' Guide

Note: Mission Impossible Rogue Nations is also known as Mission Impossible 5 .

Talk about the movie with your family…

The villain in this script observes that Ethan is concerned about protecting people. When does Ethan demonstrate this “weakness”? When is this noble trait totally ignored in favor of the action of the plot? What fault of human nature does Ethan point out in the villain? How does anyone decide what causes are worth risking lives and fighting for?

How does the choice of antagonists determine the marketing potential of a movie? Does the “bad guy” in this film represent a particular country? How has Hollywood’s depiction of antagonists changed over the past few years? How may this be influenced by the US film industry’s desire to market movies to more countries?

The most recent home video release of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation movie is December 15, 2015. Here are some details…

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation releases to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy or Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy Steelbook Packaging) with the following bonus features: - Audio Commentary by Tom Cruise and director/screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie - Lighting the Fuse - Cruise Control - Heroes - Cruising Altitude - Mission: Immersible - Sand Theft Auto - The Missions Continue

Note: Mission: Impossible 5-Movie Blu-ray Collection is also releasing on December 15, 2015. This package features: Mission Impossible Mission Impossible 2 Mission Impossible 3 Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Related home video titles:

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Related news about Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Mission: Impossible Collection

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Product Description

Dazzling stunts and thrill-a-minute action highlight this exhilarating fifth chapter in the popular film franchise. When the Impossible Missions Force is disbanded by the government, veteran agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is joined by mysterious MI6 operative Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) as he tries to bring down the Syndicate, a shadowy and sinister espionage agency every bit as dangerous as the IMF. With Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Alec Baldwin, and Ving Rhames. 131 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1; Subtitles: English (SDH), French, Spanish, Portuguese; audio commentary; featurettes.

Product details

• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
• Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.77 x 5.35 x 0.55 inches; 2.33 ounces
• Director ‏ : ‎ Christopher McQuarrie
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Subtitled
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 12 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ September 7, 2021
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Alec Baldwin, Sean Harris
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B097524L3H
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
• #6,425 in Action & Adventure Blu-ray Discs

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Mission: Impossible Changed Simon Pegg’s Entire Life

The longtime IMF agent—and sidekick to Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt—explains how the series led him to fitness, and reveals the highlights (and greatest stunts) from his 17 years as Benji.

WHEN SIMON Pegg appeared in 2006's Mission: Impossible III —his first of now five outings as IMF Agent Benji Dunn in the long-running action franchise—he was, in his own words, "fairly out of shape." Sure, he'd already played a ruthless police constable protagonist in one of history's greatest action comedies (2007's Hot Fuzz ), but it was only when the opportunity for Benji to go from the guy at the computer to a proper gun-toting field agent came in 2011's Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol that his attitude toward personal fitness really changed. He started taking his training as seriously, as, well, an IMF field agent would.

"In that edit, I lose about 20 pounds," he says with a hearty laugh. "I was training on the job, and ever since then, really, it’s been a huge part of my life to stay as fit and healthy as I possibly can. In that respect, Mission really turned my life around."

Fitness has continued to be part of Pegg's daily routine in the 12 years since Ghost Protocol 's release, and he continues working out with Cruise to this day, including in the star's traveling on-set gym that he calls "the pain cave." Pegg has seen Cruise's equipment go from fairly barebones and bodyweight-focused early on to now the less physically-demanding ARX machines, which offer constant resistance but less wear and tear on the body. "I wouldn’t say it’s good for him getting older, because he doesn’t seem to get older," Pegg says. "But it’s good for me getting older."

At this point, Benji has become a seasoned IMF agent, running missions with Ethan Hunt for well over a decade by the time we get to the newest film, Dead Reckoning Part One. And given all the time put in, it makes perfect sense that Benji can keep up with the world's greatest secret agent/stuntman. In an interview conducted before SAG-AFTRA began its strike on Thursday, Pegg talked all things Mission: Impossible, his history with the franchise, and the power of Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie.

Men's Health: Part of what makes the Mission: Impossible movies so much fun is that the action sequences all feel so real—probably because they basically are. What’s the most important part, prep wise, getting ready to be part of that?

Simon Pegg: Aside from the fact that being a field agent would require being in good shape, we never quite know what, exactly, we’re going to be doing when we shoot the movie. There’s the script, and there’s the story, but there’s also a lot of room for improvisation along the way. I don’t mean dialogue, but, like, why don’t we do this, or why don’t you do that.

It’s really good just to be match fit generally when you enter into a Mission shoot, and be ready for anything. So, that requires you to just be in tip-top shape, really, because you never quite know what you’re going to get asked to do.

How has Tom Cruise impacted your view on fitness? Do you ever work out with him on- or off-set?

Yeah! He famously has what we call the “pain cave” on set, which is the gym he uses when he’s at work; he lets us all use that.

We used to train together on Rogue Nation because we were all staying at the same hotel. Me and Tom and Rebecca would all train together, and it was always really, really fun. Laterally, on this one, because he was so busy all the time—he’d finish work and he’d have to go off and speak to, like, diplomats and shit, to get us permission to shoot during the pandemic—we didn’t get the opportunity to work out so much. But he’s really inspiring in that regard. You look at him, he’s 61, and he’s in incredible shape. He’s just a testament to the fact that if you do put in the hours, you don’t have to give up when you’re 40. You can stay in shape, and you can keep your body trim, and that invariably increases your sense of well-being, I think.

I’ve heard stories from productions past that when Tom isn’t engaged by the idea of a stunt, he’ll kind of just yell " BORING!" Can you vouch for that story?

[LAUGHS] Generally what Tom says, script wise, is, “I don’t get it.” He’s got this incredible capacity to see the movie from total objectivity. So, he’ll see it through the eyes of a 12-year-old kid sitting in a multiplex in Wyoming, or something, and be able to empathize with their experience, and know why something isn’t working at a certain time.

One thing I’ve realized with Tom is that the reason he is the way he is, the reason he’s the only person, really, to be able to do this kind of stuff—he’s the last great movie star, in the judicial sense—is because he just puts the hours in. I mean, he is utterly, utterly dedicated. I don’t think I can do that. I think I have other things that distract me from doing that, like, you know, just playing Minecraft with my kid, or whatever. But that’s something you look at, and you just think OK, it can be done. But it’s not easy.

But he is his own industry. He’s a walking industry, and to keep that industry running, and to keep that industry at its optimum effectiveness, he has to do what he does. I’m not Tom Cruise, thankfully.

I’ve also heard stories from back when you were first entering the franchise, that Ricky Gervais was actually the original pick to play Benji. Do you know if that's true?

No, that’s actually a myth. I think J.J. [Abrams] had spoken to Ricky about a part in the Berlin sequence at the beginning of the film, and that didn’t work out. But as far as I know that’s not the case.

So you were always Benji?

I think so. J.J. had seen Shaun of the Dead, and called me up, and just offered me the role. He didn’t go through any of my representatives or anything. It was just, straight, man-to-man, which is very, very J.J. He’s a very can-do guy, so he just got my number, called me, and said H ey, do you want to come and do this? And I was a bit flummoxed by it! He did the same thing with Star Trek— and I love that about him.

And now it’s been 17 years and counting. When J.J. first gave you that call, did you have any inkling that this journey would turn into what it’s become?

Not at all. I thought it was just a little bit of stunt casting. I felt like it was going to be a little cameo, one for fans of Shaun, and I had no idea that it would continue. And then I got a call a year or so after MI:3 came out, saying How do you feel about Benji becoming a field agent? And, again, I was like, Sure, OK! And that was that.

The series entered the second half of its life, in a way, which is this incredible collaboration between Tom and Chris McQuarrie, because Chris came on board while we were shooting Ghost Protocol with Brad Bird, who did such a great job with that movie, and really introduced the team dynamic, which is persistent since then. But Tom and McQ had already started their creative romance before that with Valkyrie, and it just seemed really logical that McQ come on and direct Rogue Nation. And I think because that went so well, Tom felt like this guy is my lucky charm. And so the back half of this series has had this different kind of feel to it. The first four were all directed by different directors, and sort of self-contained episodes with their own character, and ever since Ghost Protocol onwards, it’s become much more of a continuance.

I love that about them. Even in this movie, you get all sorts of references to past movies, like John Lark and Fallout . I think the way they connect makes them even more fun.

Oh yeah. And McQ [Christopher McQuarrie] is really good at that. Getting Henry Czerny back to play Kittridge again, and that link to the first Mission: Impossible —it really gathers the entire story together into an ongoing saga. And that only gets moreso with Part Two of Dead Reckoning.

Having played Benji for so long at this point, does he feel like a fully-formed person within you that you can tap into at any point? Or do you still find yourself taking influence from elsewhere?

The privilege I’ve had in being in these movies for so long is that I’ve been able to build Benji as a character with each successive installment. So, I always had the feeling that in Mission: Impossible 3, when he was directing Ethan through Shanghai, he got this sort of thrill of exhilaration, and decided to enlist in the field agent program. Then we see him in the field for the first time in 4, and every time we do another film, I build on what Benji’s been through before. And so by the time we meet him in Dead Reckoning Part One , he’s a really experienced, much more of a journeyman agent than he ever has been. He’s been through a lot. He’s saved the world a few times. He’s been hung, he’s killed people, and you just try to pile that experience onto the character you already have, but at the same time retaining his truth and authenticity as the most human of the team. He’s the one that actually takes stock of the situation, looks around him, and says What the hell is going on?

You need that. Because Ethan is all about being this kind of unstoppable super agent, and as human as he is, he always just gets the job done. He never questions anything—and Benji’s the one who does. It’s sweet, because I think Benji’s the only character in the series who can actually shout at Ethan, and Ethan listens. Which is really fun to play.

Benji is usually the one on the other end of the phone during some of these incredible Ethan moments, whether it’s jumping through a window or off a cliff on a motorcycle. And a key part of those moments is you nailing the chemistry of the back and forth in the conversation that comes just before and after. What goes into that?

I think we’ve just developed that chemistry over the years, as we’ve become friends. We have a very easy off-screen relationship as well; it’s very fun and playful. We make each other laugh a lot. If, ever, I can be there for the B-side of a scene—like, I was up there on the mountain , behind the camera, doing the lines back to him when he was on the bike.

I remember the first day of shooting Mission: Impossible 3, and I was shooting the scene in the afternoon where I was guiding him through Shanghai, and he said Do you want me to stay? I’ll stay behind this aftternoon. I was going to go train, but if you want me for off-lines. I was very British about it, and I said Oh, no no. Don’t be ridiculous, of course not. But he meant it, you know? And so we’re always trying to make sure that if it’s possible, then we’re there for each other to make sure that the banter between them sings.

I love the car chase in Rogue Nation . Specifically the part where you and Tom crash into Jeremy Renner and Ving Rhames, and you have that little moment.

Yeah! I love that.

Was that improvised? How did you come to that little friendly moment within such an intense sequence?

I remember thinking that it would be really funny if Benji was just like Hey! It’s those guys! That whole thing really made me laugh. Just the shared chemistry that we had, between myself, Jeremy, Ving, and Tom, enabled us to have that moment. It’s one of my favorite bits.

I’m going to jump in with some Mission: Impossible rapid fire questions now. What’s your most rewatched Mission: Impossible movie?

Funny enough, it’s Dead Reckoning: Part One, because I’ve already seen it five times. I’ve seen it more than I’ve seen the others on release, just because it still boggles my mind when I watch it. Obviously, I’ve seen 1 many times. I saw that at the cinemas a long time ago. I showed it to my daughter recently and she loved it. But I think in terms of pure repeated viewings, it’s probably this one.

Who’s your favorite villain?

The villain in the new one is so special, so I’m going to exclude Dead Reckoning Part One from this. I would say I love Sean Harris as Solomon Lane. He was so brilliant, and so creepy and menacing, but in real life he’s just the sweetest guy.

Favorite filming location?

I have to exclude stuff we’ve already done for Two. I would probably say Morocco, when we shot that. Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakesh. That was a lot of fun.

Favorite scene partner not named Tom Cruise?

Rebecca Ferguson. I love her dearly.

One character from the past you’d like to see return to the series?

That’s interesting, because I know things you don’t know [LAUGHS]. I’d like to see Maggie Q come back. I thought she was really cool in Mission: Impossible III, that little team they had going there. She was great.

You know, the minute I start picking on that thread, I’ll say Paula, or Renner, or loads of those people.

Dream cast addition?

Scarlett Johansson recently said that she would love to work with Tom, so it would be lovely to have Scarlett join the franchise in whatever form. I’ve always admired her as an actor, and she certainly can kick butt—because I’ve seen her do it in Black Widow.

Obviously you can’t say much. But what can you tell us about Dead Reckoning — Part Two to get us excited?

It’s bigger and more ambitious than Dead Reckoning — Part One. If you’ve seen the pre-marketing, the pre-press for Dead Reckoning — Part One, then you’ll understand what that means. It does get more crazy. There are things that Tom does in that movie that make the motorcycle stunt seem fairly tame. It’s going to be incredible.

I love the fact that it’s coming out soon. I’m really proud of the fact that Tom and McQ managed to create a Part One that didn’t feel incomplete. It didn’t feel like anyone was left hanging at the end, but the Part Two will certainly continue the story, and be extremely satisfying.

What's your favorite Mission: Impossible stunt?

Oh, man. I’ve been there for so many of them. I was there when he was scaling the Burj Khalifa in Abu Dhabi, and we were going up to see him, and leaning gingerly out to look at him down there, just having the best time. I was there when he was hanging onto the side of the A400, and I was there for the motorcycle stunt.

I think one of the most memorable times, for me, just because I was right there in the thick of it, rather than just observing, was when we did the car chase in Morocco, and he and I were just bombing around in these alleyways. And I remember saying to the stunt coordinator, Wade, foolishly, Who’s going to be doing the driving on this? And he said, Oh, it’s Tom. He’s the best driver I’ve got.

And it was just so, so exciting. We were literally hurdling at breakneck speed around this tiny little zoo in Casablanca. And it was hard not to just woop and laugh all the time, because it was just so fun [LAUGHS]. I think that was my most memorable one.

But being there for all of them… it’s almost more nervewracking when you’re not involved, because you’re completely helpless. You can’t do anything—you can only just watch and marvel at it. Particularly with the motorcycle stunt, I put a film I took on my phone of it up on my Instagram this morning, and you can see how hysterical we all are when it happened. Just utterly wired. It’s terrifying!

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Screen Rant

Jeremy renner got mission impossible after surprise tom cruise meeting.

Jeremy Renner reveals he got his Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol role after director JJ Abrams took him to a surprise meeting with star Tom Cruise.

Jeremy Renner got his Mission: Impossible role after a surprise meeting with Tom Cruise . The Mission: Impossible film franchise kicked off in 1996, spawning eight movies and counting thus far, with a combined worldwide box office of more than $3.5 billion to date. Cruise plays Ethan Hunt, the leader of the IMF, a contingent of U.S. agents taking on "impossible" missions around the globe. The films have featured a regular rotation of supporting characters, including Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan, Alec Baldwin, Vanessa Kirby, and Jeremy Renner, as well as numerous guest stars.

Renner has made a name for himself in a number of roles throughout his career so far, starring in films like Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker , Ben Affleck's The Town , and as the lead in the fourth Bourne franchise film, The Bourne Legacy . The actor's biggest break came with the role of Hawkeye in 2012's The Avengers , which eventually led to finding his way to the Mission: Impossible franchise, although it wasn't exactly what he was looking for at the time.

Related: How Jeremy Renner Failed To Take Over TWO Movie Franchises In The 2010s

In a new Vanity Fair video, Renner breaks down his various roles throughout his career, giving some insight into how he got them and how they went down. For Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol , Renner was actually meeting with director JJ Abrams about a part in Super 8 , when Abrams quickly shifted focus to the actor meeting with Cruise. Renner, of course, jumped at the chance and drove with the Abrams to meet with Cruise, director Brad Bird and the crew. Later that evening, Renner got a call from Cruise on his personal home number, who offered him a role in the film.

"So, I’m driving across from Santa Monica now all the way back into Hollywood, and I was sitting in this room, and talking to Tom Cruise and all the people who were involved in that, the director… And they say ‘Hey, we really want you in this movie,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay, great. All this sounds really amazing, but why me?’ And they're like 'Well, because we look at you and you can be a good guy or a bad guy. People might be on the fence. You're like a coiled spring.' I'm like 'Great, I understand that. I get why you say that.' I didn’t say yes or no, I just gave them all a hug, and I went home. And I got a phone call from Tom – first of all, how does Tom Cruise have my home line?... And he says ‘So, do you wanna do it or not?’ ‘Yeah, of course, I’ll do it. I’ll do it, yeah, sure.’ And I hung up. So that’s how I got the role."

Renner goes on to say that it was a "strange, odd thing" as he went in for a role in a JJ Abrams movie and ended up in a Mission: Impossible movie, agreeing to do it without even seeing a script or knowing anything about the character. He goes on to credit Cruise with teaching him about how to be "an actor in the stunt world and treating it like that's a big part of the job." Renner explains that he has always been an athlete and that action movies are just as fun to him as character-driven roles. He says Cruise inspired him to be the best he could be, which has helped Renner in a multitude of roles since, including more Mission: Impossible and Avengers films, as well as his latest turn as Hawkeye in the new Disney+ series .

Renner has always shown an aptitude for action, having the physical prowess to match his acting strengths. The actor has made the performance of Hawkeye into its own unique thing as both a character and a superhero, which audiences will see more of in the new show. His Mission: Impossible character, William Brandt, hasn't been seen since Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and it's unclear if he'll return to the series. However, Renner has no shortage of projects to tackle, including his new Paramount+ series, The Mayor of Kingstown , and while the Hawkeye series has a passing-of-the-torch element to it,  Renner doesn't seem quite ready to hang up the bow just yet.

Next: How Many Episodes Of Hawkeye Are On Disney+ (And When The Finale Releases)

Source: Vanity Fair

Jeremy Renner Turned Down a Juicy Cameo in ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’

Christopher McQuarrie explains why.

When it comes to the Mission: Impossible franchise, you never know which characters are going to carry over from film to film. Ving Rhames is the only actor besides Tom Cruise who’s been in all six movies, and while Simon Pegg has stuck around since Mission: Impossible III , various outside forces are to blame for the disappearance of Paula Patton , Thandie Newton , and in the latest installment Mission: Impossible – Fallout , Jeremy Renner .

At one time, Renner was positioned to possibly take over the Mission franchise from Cruise, and early versions of Ghost Protocol set that film up as a hand-off of sorts to Renner’s character Brandt. That ended up not happening as Rogue Nation and Fallout writer/director Christopher McQuarrie came into Ghost Protocol during production and reworked the script a bit, but Renner made a great impression in Ghost Protocol and returned for a fun arc in Rogue Nation .

Many assumed that Renner wasn’t returning to Fallout because he would be busy shooting Avengers: Infinity War , but as we now know, Hawkeye is nowhere to be found in that first Avengers movie. So why is Jeremy Renner not in Mission: Impossible – Fallout ? Speaking on the Empire podcast , McQuarrie explained his dilemma:

“Jeremy had his commitment to  Avengers , which ironically they ended up not exercising, and we didn’t know what the [sixth  Mission ] movie was, so we couldn’t provide a schedule. We needed absolute freedom. The unfortunate thing for Jeremy is that he got caught in this perfect storm of, one can’t use you and one doesn’t know how to, given the massive complications they had with  Avengers .”

McQuarrie has been honest about the fact that during Rogue Nation ’s production, Renner grew frustrated. The film was shooting in London but the script was changing on the fly, so Renner was having to leave his family back home and sometimes not be needed on set right away.

So it’s possible those feelings are why, when McQuarrie asked Renner if he wanted to make an impactful cameo in Fallout , the actor turned him down. Indeed, McQuarrie’s initial idea was to kill off Brandt in the opening scene of Fallout :

“I had this whole idea that the movie would start with the death of a team member. And of course the first team member that’s always the first guy we talk about killing is Luther. Luther died in the first movie, and he quite famously said to Tom Cruise, ‘Hey man, how come the brother’s always gotta die?’ And Tom said, ‘You’re right.’ He was like, ‘Why do I gotta be the bad guy?’ And they made Luther nefarious and then suddenly a good guy, and six movies later it was the smartest question anybody’s ever asked Tom Cruise […] So I said to Jeremy, look we can’t kill Ving, it’s never going to work. No matter how many movies into it, it’s always going to be the same thing. You killed the black guy. And we didn’t think the movie could recover if you killed Benji.”

So McQuarrie pitched Renner on the idea of flying in for a few days’ work to give Brandt a major sendoff and start Fallout with a bang. Renner, however, wasn’t having it:

“So I said to Renner, ‘Hey listen, I have this idea for an opening sequence where you sacrifice yourself to save the team, and that the mission-gone-wrong not only involves losing the plutonium, but involves the death of a team member.’ And Jeremy was like, ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ […] He was smart not to take the short paycheck for three days of work and getting blown up.”

This is pretty interesting, and would have radically changed the whole dynamic of Fallout . In the current version of the film [ SPOILER ALERT ], Ethan shoots Luther in the chest in order to save his life, knowing Luther’s wearing a bulletproof vest. But I suppose if Renner had returned, Ethan would have hesitated long enough for the film’s baddies to off Brandt.

It’ll be interesting to see if Renner returns for a Mission film down the line now that Brandt is still alive. It could go either way really, but I do think the character is a fascinating addition to the team, so I’d love to see him return.