Diary of an 'At-Home M:i Week' rewatching the Mission: Impossible series one film per day

Do you like spy movies?
The mental battles where you outsmart the enemy's enemy's enemy while under a false identity, the heart-pounding danger, the sharp action, and the excitement of ingenious, specially designed gadgets.
Even among movies, spy films are a genre I personally quite enjoy.

I haven't watched much of the 007 series, but my favorites were Matt Damon's 'Jason Bourne' and Colin Firth's 'Kingsman'.
But I realized that the one I've always loved is Ethan Hunt.

This year, exactly 29 years after the first film, 'Mission: Impossible', the eighth installment in the series, 'Final Reckoning', was released.
It seems the box office revenue (including advance screenings) surpassed 3 billion yen within two weeks of release, and I'm glad I went to see it on opening day to contribute to those sales.

The title has 'Final' in it.
Does that mean it's the definitive, last one?

I thought I had watched all the M:i series, but it has been 29 years, after all. I was worried that if I forgot the content, I wouldn't be able to keep up with the callbacks.
After hesitating for a while, I decided to rewatch all the past films before going to see the latest one.
This turned out to be a great decision.
It was like visiting a theme park I hadn't been to in years and enjoying it as if it were my first time, thinking, 'Was it always like this?!'

I don't usually write a diary, but I decided to write down these musings, which are like a diary of my 'At-Home M:i Week' that turned out to be more than I imagined.

Mission: Impossible (1996)
Holding my breath at a single drop of sweat

Friday, May 16th
Since it's the weekend, I finally decide to start on the past films.
I was already a working adult in 1996 when the first film was released, so I wonder if I went to the theater?

'Mission: Impossible' makes me think of the scene where he carries out his mission while suspended from the ceiling.
It's a memorable scene that stays with you, but I completely forgot it appeared in the first film.

He infiltrated the ironclad CIA headquarters security room, where not only gravity on the floor but even changes in room temperature would trigger the alarm system.
He drugs the agent in charge to send him straight to the restroom.
The time limit is until he returns; while checking the thermometer and balancing using only his core strength, I hold my breath at that single drop of sweat that trickled down his forehead, wondering if it's about to fall onto the floor.

He destroys a giant aquarium with chewing gum explosives that mix two colors, and escapes the predicament along with a violent torrent of water.
The glass is shattered to pieces, but is he okay?!
Apparently, 16 tons of water were actually used.

For me, Tom Cruise means Ethan Hunt.
I went to see 'Rain Man' (1988) Rain Man (1988) for Dustin Hoffman, whom my father liked, and 'Born on the Fourth of July' (1989) and 'Interview with the Vampire' weren't for Tom Cruise either.

'Mission: Impossible' was the first time I think I recognized Tom Cruise.
In the first film, he had short hair and was energetic; I thought he looked youthful, as you'd expect in your 20s, but apparently he was 34 at the time.
Not the tall, slender type, but a very powerful Ethan Hunt with a thick build became the first character in Tom Cruise's filmography to have a sequel series.

M:i-2 (2000)
A goofy smile every 15 minutes

May 17th (Sat)
M:i-2 Watching the second installment, labeled as such.
The enemy is a terrorist who is a former IMF (Impossible Mission Force) agent and a former colleague.

A highlight spy gadget is the hyper-realistic disguise mask (which is later created using 3D printing).
In this film, there is a scene where the enemy wears a mask to disguise himself as Ethan and deceive his allies.
Regarding this, Ethan was told something like, "To imitate you, I have to make a goofy smile every 15 minutes," and he certainly did show an invincible and charming smile.

Still, I am surprisingly unable to remember the plot.
Could it be that I hadn't watched the second one?
I still have memories of "The Last Samurai" (2003), which came out three years later.

From the opening, Ethan is already shown clinging to and climbing a sheer cliff in the middle of magnificent nature.
I can barely see any safety ropes, so what is going on?
I thought he was already on some mission, but it turns out he is on vacation.
Spending such a dangerous vacation is just like Ethan.
People around Tom Cruise tried to stop him, but it seems it was filmed without stunts.

M:i-3 (2006)
No matter what happens, I will protect only my beloved Julia

May 18th (Sun)
I have work early tomorrow morning, but I decide to watch the third movie without hesitation.
M:i-3 I think it was broadcast on TV several times.
I remember well the scene where he gives himself an electric shock to deactivate a micro-bomb implanted in his head by the enemy.
The sight of him picking up a gun immediately after waking up from CPR was also impressive.

What surprised me was that I didn't remember much about the woman who was with him at that time, with whom he desperately helped each other survive.
In 2006, when the third movie was released, my children were still small, so it is highly likely I couldn't go to the movie theater.
I must have rented it, but I am surprised at myself for forgetting the existence of Julia, who can be called the "only person Ethan ever loved."
Or perhaps I wasn't a proper adult back then and didn't have the capacity to think about love, which might be why I glossed over Ethan's feelings.

Or maybe I was too captivated by the action and the memories of the human drama slipped away.
The purpose of all of Ethan's actions, which look like reckless rampages, is to protect his beloved Julia.
Having something you want to protect means having a weakness.
Hence, non-stop and no-brakes.

Still, why does Tom Cruise stubbornly insist on doing such dangerous scenes himself?

Appearing in the third movie is the super-talented engineer, Benji, played by Simon Pegg.
His bright and lighthearted "you know?" is addictive.
What made Ethan's full-speed sprint possible in a foreign land was the remote navigation by Benji.

Furthermore, we must not forget that J.J. Abrams made his film directorial debut with this work.
J.J., who gained attention with
"LOST" (2006-2010), which might be the #1 foreign drama I've ever watched, would go on to direct three "Star Trek" movies (2009-2016, they are interesting so I recommend them!) and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015, I like it quite a bit!).

And as for "Mission: Impossible", this is the first time characters and stories continue from the third movie to the fourth.

Mission: Impossible
Ghost Protocol (2011)
The team becomes stronger when isolated and without support

Monday, May 19th
This is the fourth installment, released five years after the previous one and 15 years after the first.
Ethan climbs the exterior wall of the world's tallest skyscraper in Dubai (828 meters total height!) because that is the only way to infiltrate it.
The making-of footage has been released, and it is a well-known story that 50-year-old Tom Cruise actually performed the action while suspended in mid-air.
I think about how he spent a long time, underwent countless training sessions to get into peak shape, and delivered courage to middle-aged people all over the world.

In this film, Ethan and his team, abandoned by their country, mobilize their limited equipment, wisdom, and the skills of their companions to continue an autonomous mission to 'stop a nuclear warhead'.
Ethan says, 'Prioritize the nuke!'
In the real world, if even one nuclear warhead were launched, the retaliation and aftermath would likely turn the Earth into a wasteland.
Movies and all other culture would perish, and there would be no audience left for Tom Cruise to entertain with his death-defying stunts.
I felt as if Tom Cruise's own thoughts were overlapping with Ethan's words.

The cast is also very charming, and a popular actor from the drama LOST plays an agent (though he is assassinated right at the beginning), which gets my pulse racing.
The cold-blooded assassin is played by Léa Seydoux, and the way her expression softens only when she touches the diamonds she is paid with makes the viewer's heart waver too.

The Benji who was the remote navigator is now excitedly joining the field, saying, 'I passed the test!'
It is fun to see scenes where special gadgets appear only to malfunction, or moments that are comical and suspenseful, perhaps due to the cute atmosphere created by Simon Pegg, who is also a comedian.

Furthermore, an agent named William Brandt joins the team, played by Jeremy Renner, the man who is Hawkeye, the master archer in Marvel.
He is sharp even without a bow and arrow, and knowing that he plays a spy in other works (the sequel to Matt Damon's 'Jason Bourne') made me want to watch those too.

It was implied that Ethan had been bereaved of his beloved Julia, who was depicted in the previous film, and the fact that he didn't talk about it made me feel even more sadness, but...

Happily, it turns out Julia is alive, and it is revealed that Ethan and his team faked her death and provided her with a new life just to keep her safe.
I wiped away my tears thinking, 'This is true love,' having completely forgotten this part of the story.

Mission: Impossible
Rogue Nation (2015)
Chasing, being chased, and cornered

May 20th (Tue)
Day 5 of rewatching past films.
I'm starting to reach a point where I can't go a day without watchingMission: Impossible.

Christopher McQuarrie has directed the four films from this one up to the latest installment.Christopher McQuarrie has served as director consecutively.
Is it true that he hit it off with Tom Cruise and they started brainstorming stories together based on what kind of stunts they wanted to do?

We live in the shadows, and we die in the shadows. For those we love, and for those we don't know.
is the motto of Ethan and the IMF that has been spoken of for some time.

In this film, the IMF is disbanded, and Ethan is being hunted by the CIA as a traitor (a frame-up, of course).
Even so, while hiding, he continues to pursue the enemy who would plunge the world into crisis all by himself.
He tries to keep his friends away because being with him is dangerous, but little by little, the team gathers around Ethan, including Luther and Benji, who have become his long-time friends.
Along with the unbelievable action, the teamwork of helping each other with all their might is also a major appeal of this series.

For the sake of the important people right in front of them, and to protect the peace of strangers, Ethan and his team struggle in secret.
In the movies, they stand out quite conspicuously in the cities they visit—the Vatican, the Kremlin, Mumbai in past films, and this time Vienna, Morocco, and London—but I sometimes find myself daydreaming.
I wonder if, in the real world, there are skilled spies working behind the scenes to broker peace without anyone knowing.

Mission: Impossible
Fallout (2018)
Because you are there, I can sleep in peace.

Wednesday, May 21
There are only two past films left, which means I can go to the theater to see the latest installment on its release day the day after tomorrow.

From the title Fallout, I had an image of falling from a high place, but it seems it also means radioactive fallout (death ash), as well as unexpected consequences or byproducts.
Does it imply that the choices Ethan made in the past are bringing about a new threat?

With enemies lurking in unexpected places and the team doing things far removed from their mission for the sake of their goal, the story development and relationship map are complex and dizzying, yet it is a highly popular sixth installment.

Ethan no longer has time to flash his "goofy smile"; he is constantly giving his all to the mission.
However, even with the target plutonium right in front of him, he lets it go easily if his teammates' lives are in danger.

With the time limit for the three plutonium explosions approaching, the team chases the enemy to the Kashmir region.
There, Ethan unexpectedly reunites with Julia, the only person he ever loved and dreamed of "living a normal life with."
Even though it was a fate crafted within a movie, I was filled with the sadness of them not being able to be together.
They don't cry out in surprise, nor do they share a hug that might express nostalgia or the affection that likely continues peacefully between them.

Even so, Julia, who understands Ethan, volunteers to help despite the danger.
Luther and Julia handle one plutonium bomb, while in another location, Ilsa and Benji deal with another after a struggle (I love this scene and want to watch it again), and Ethan engages in a death match during a helicopter dogfight to prevent the explosion, leading to a series ofscenes where he makes the impossible possible.

After the mission, alone with Julia, Ethan just keeps apologizing.
Perhaps he wanted to apologize not just for putting a loved one in danger—which could be called an unexpected consequence of his choices—but for everything, including meeting her and loving her.
To such an Ethan, Julia quietly and surely says,
"Because you are there, I can sleep peacefully."
It was the ultimate affirmation for Ethan, who, while in a world different from her own, is exactly where he belongs.

Mission: Impossible
Dead Reckoning (2023)
Even if people call it a reunion

Thursday, May 22
Finally, the last one.
I plan to see the latest film at a late-night showing after work tomorrow.

It has been five years since the previous film, but this is a work where filming was interrupted, promotions were canceled, and the release was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Compared to the production costs that ballooned due to the long shoot, the box office revenue seems to have been about average for the series, and there were various critical comments.
However, for fans who have followed this far for nearly 30 years, it must have undoubtedly been a long-awaited, happy reunion with Ethan and the others.

The enemy this time is the threat of an advanced AI that threatens human society and eventually dominates it.

The stunt of jumping off a cliff while riding a high-speed motorcycle was, of course, amazing.
With each installment in the series, the action becomes flashier and larger in scale, leaving one stunned.

Tom Cruise, who embodies this with his own body,breathes life into the character of Ethan Hunt.
One gets the illusion that Ethan is actually facing that mission in reality.
Perhaps this reality is the very reason he performs dangerous stunts himself.
Although in interviews, he also said he does it because he enjoys it.

A scene that left an impression on me was one where, to prevent data from being stolen or tampered with by an AI with its own will, a large number of people in a vast room are typing data onto paper using countless typewriters lined up as far as the eye can see.
Escaping from digital to analog—I have always felt that something like this could actually happen.

Another wasEthan's all-out run.
There is no point in comparing it to his younger self.
Ethan's run was filled with soul, unchanged even at 60.
For some reason, tears welled up during a scene where he was just running.

However, no matter how desperately Ethan keeps running, he cannot save everyone.
Ilsa fights the enemy alone and loses her life in close-quarters combat.
Why must they take something away from Ethan again?
Ilsa was a fascinating person in so many ways, so it was truly heartbreaking.
While there seem to be unavoidable circumstances like long shooting schedules, there was no funeral scene, so I hope that someday, somewhere, she will suddenly appear and surprise us.

In long-running film series, when a sequel is released after a long time and the protagonist has aged, it is sometimes said to be like a class reunion.

Indiana Jonesbeing 70 years old in Dial of Destiny (2023), or when Neo and Trinity were middle-aged in The Matrix Resurrections (2021), it was the same.
I have seen comments that were not meant in a very positive light, saying it was different from the brilliance of their prime, like a class reunion where only the insiders are having fun.

If you want to enjoy a class reunion, you just have to become a classmate.
If you watch the film series in order from the first one, by the time you reach the latest installment, your feelings should be fully those of a team member.
I think films that have mechanisms for fans who have been watching the series for a long time to enjoy and benefit from are stylish.

Mission: Impossible
The Final Reckoning (2025)
Tom Cruise is waiting at the movie theater

Friday, May 23rd
The release date of the latest film, off to the theater.
I watched the late show.
On the way home late at night, that theme music was playing in my head the whole time.

“Life is a series of choices.
　One choice does not determine everything.
　I do not regret my choices.
　You should be the same.”

Luther, who is quiet but has always supported Ethan from near and far, calls out.
In the past, when Ethan was on the verge of taking an enemy's life in a fit of passion, Luther would reason with him and help him regain his composure.
He cared about Julia and Ilsa for Ethan's sake as well.
Luther, who has appeared alongside Ethan since the first film in the series, used all of his skills as a genius hacker and then, true to the words 'live in the shadows, die in the shadows,' lost his life to save people he didn't even know.

Through Ethan Hunt, Tom Cruise conveys the difficulty of attaining a casual, everyday life.

In the face of an AI that instantly hijacks nuclear missile systems at facilities around the world, humanity shares the same fate regardless of which country they are from.
Hope for a better future and make your choices.
To safely welcome tomorrow.

If this film becomes a huge hit around the world and the powerful people in each country decide they want to be on Ethan's side, how wonderful would that be.
Ethan Hunt will surely risk his life again, wishing for a world where no one ever presses the nuclear button again.

I am curious about the IMAX® Laser/GT Technology movie theater facility, which I heard is one of only two in Japan.
If I were to experience it, I feel like 'Mission: Impossible' would be the perfect choice.
Ethan, Tom Cruise, is waiting at the movie theater.

I sincerely hope for peaceful days where the loudest thing I have to deal with is getting annoyed by the sound of someone sitting near me at the theater eating popcorn.

Bonus
I love Simon Pegg, who plays Benji, way too much.