The spy-action genre of movies is already filled with a ridiculously high number of entries; therefore, for newer releases to even have a chance at staying relevant, an out-of-the-box element is required. The recently released Netflix spy caper Heart Of Stone strictly follows the copybook method of building and resolving intrigue and, as a result, refrains from venturing into riskier territory. Revolving around a secret espionage agency and an overpowered AI tool that could be the key to world domination, the movie treads a very familiar track throughout. With that being said, narrative structure-wise, the easily discernible similarities allow viewers to point out a number of movies and series it has taken inspiration from, a lot of which we think you might enjoy if you liked Heart Of Stone.
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Right from the nature of its espionage agency to several key plot points, Heart Of Stone has derived heavily...
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Right from the nature of its espionage agency to several key plot points, Heart Of Stone has derived heavily...
- 8/12/2023
- by Siddhartha Das
- Film Fugitives
Brian De Palma's original "Mission: Impossible" subverted just about everything about the TV series it was based on. Ordinarily, the show would follow a skilled team of spies who use gadgets, wit, and impressive espionage skills to track down enemy spies and ultra-powerful criminals. In the movie, the team was assembled and the objectives were clear when De Palma elected to murder the entire team. The only survivor was a new character, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) whom the audience hadn't previously known. It was later revealed that the man behind the slaying of Ethan's team was none other than Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), the hero of the original TV series. This would be like if a "Star Trek" movie killed the main cast, leaving Ensign Jones as the main character. And then it was revealed that Captain Kirk was the one who betrayed everyone.
In a notable scene in "Mission: Impossible,...
In a notable scene in "Mission: Impossible,...
- 7/21/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
On May 22, 1996, Paramount Pictures and Tom Cruise unveiled the big screen adaptation of Mission: Impossible, which would go on to gross $180 million and kickstart a feature franchise. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:
The fuse is burning throughout the big-screen reworking of the cloak-and-dagger TV show Mission: Impossible, but apart from the wham-bam conclusion, there’s a disappointing lack of fireworks in this hotly anticipated production.
An upsy-daisy download takes place as Tom Cruise invades the CIA. The Paramount release will open huge and download gigabucks worldwide. However, tepid word-of-mouth will knock it off the must-see list of many movie goers.
The first production by high-rolling star Tom Cruise and his partner and former agent Paula Wagner, Brian De Palma’s dour and only fitfully entertaining techno-thriller teases one with some of the original show’s team espionage spirit, but overall takes itself too seriously. Set mainly in European cities,...
The fuse is burning throughout the big-screen reworking of the cloak-and-dagger TV show Mission: Impossible, but apart from the wham-bam conclusion, there’s a disappointing lack of fireworks in this hotly anticipated production.
An upsy-daisy download takes place as Tom Cruise invades the CIA. The Paramount release will open huge and download gigabucks worldwide. However, tepid word-of-mouth will knock it off the must-see list of many movie goers.
The first production by high-rolling star Tom Cruise and his partner and former agent Paula Wagner, Brian De Palma’s dour and only fitfully entertaining techno-thriller teases one with some of the original show’s team espionage spirit, but overall takes itself too seriously. Set mainly in European cities,...
- 7/13/2023
- by David Hunter
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
We all know that Mission: Impossible is about Ethan Hunt, the living manifestation of destiny. With mega-star Tom Cruise in the role, the character of Hunt became more important to the franchise than any of the leads of the original series, Jim Phelps, Dan Briggs (Steven Hill), or Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain). But for a little while, producers considered phasing Hunt out of the series, making him the new secretary of the Impossible Mission Force while Jeremy Renner’s William Brandt became the new team leader.
Those plans changed midway through the production of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol when Christopher McQuarrie came in to finish a script started by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec. Although director Brad Bird had already started shooting scenes for Ghost Protocol, McQuarrie successfully argued that Hunt should remain the focus and could not be replaced.
This behind-the-scenes tension added a spark of electricity between Brandt and Hunt on screen.
Those plans changed midway through the production of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol when Christopher McQuarrie came in to finish a script started by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec. Although director Brad Bird had already started shooting scenes for Ghost Protocol, McQuarrie successfully argued that Hunt should remain the focus and could not be replaced.
This behind-the-scenes tension added a spark of electricity between Brandt and Hunt on screen.
- 7/12/2023
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
Visual media in its very basic form depends on spectacle, and coming up with innovative ways of exploring the limitless possibilities of showcasing it is what challenges filmmakers time and time again. When it comes to the spy-action genre of media, there is no shortage of well-made, iconic movie franchises, but that has never seemed to become a hindrance for the Mission Impossible franchise to stand out amidst the cutthroat competition. The major reason for that is the adherence to the precepts of spectacle.
Spawning out of the 1966 hit espionage TV series of the same name, the Mission Impossible movie series starring Tom Cruise is regarded as one of the best movie franchises of the modern era. In an era when big-budget movies have become dependent on crossover and nostalgia baits to rake in easy money, the Mi franchise remains the most exceptional in swerving away from the tropes, instead...
Spawning out of the 1966 hit espionage TV series of the same name, the Mission Impossible movie series starring Tom Cruise is regarded as one of the best movie franchises of the modern era. In an era when big-budget movies have become dependent on crossover and nostalgia baits to rake in easy money, the Mi franchise remains the most exceptional in swerving away from the tropes, instead...
- 7/11/2023
- by Siddhartha Das
- Film Fugitives
The Imf then and now: The Mission: Impossible TV cast show (1966-1973) and the stars of Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount).Photo: Bettmann (Getty Images)
Wtf is the Imf? The answer to that question, like many aspects of the long-running Mission: Impossible franchise itself, can be convoluted, elusive,...
Wtf is the Imf? The answer to that question, like many aspects of the long-running Mission: Impossible franchise itself, can be convoluted, elusive,...
- 7/10/2023
- by Scott Huver
- avclub.com
(Welcome to Best Action Scene Ever, a column dedicated to breaking down the best, most effective action sequences throughout the genre. In this edition, we're winding back the clocks to show some love to the Ethan Hunt adventure that started it all: Brian De Palma's "Mission: Impossible" and its climactic bullet train sequence.)
You know what? I get it. After all the incredible feats and widely-marketed stunts that director Christopher McQuarrie and star Tom Cruise have pulled off in the latter "Mission: Impossible" sequels, it's probably easy to become a little jaded and cynical about the franchise as a whole. The overwhelming emphasis on buzzy set pieces and practical, death-defying antics can come at the expense of a memorable story. The formula of the series may sometimes act against it, as there are only so many instances where Hunt's Impossible Mission Force can go rogue and become disavowed by...
You know what? I get it. After all the incredible feats and widely-marketed stunts that director Christopher McQuarrie and star Tom Cruise have pulled off in the latter "Mission: Impossible" sequels, it's probably easy to become a little jaded and cynical about the franchise as a whole. The overwhelming emphasis on buzzy set pieces and practical, death-defying antics can come at the expense of a memorable story. The formula of the series may sometimes act against it, as there are only so many instances where Hunt's Impossible Mission Force can go rogue and become disavowed by...
- 5/22/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
The world has changed, but Ethan Hunt has not. This is a refrain said time and again about Tom Cruise’s superspy in the Mission: Impossible movies—to the point where it’s become almost something like a prayer or affirmation about Ethan’s preternatural need to gamble with everyone’s lives… and win.
Yet the familiar spiel lands with a lot more gravitas in the latest Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One trailer when it’s delivered by Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny). “Our lives are the sum of our choices,” Kittridge intones with an oily touch of fatalism. “We cannot escape the past. Ethan, this mission of yours is going to cost you dearly.”
When spoken by Ethan’s old Imf boss from the 1990s, as well as the seeming antagonist of the first Mission: Impossible film, it really does feel like the ghosts of the past have come back,...
Yet the familiar spiel lands with a lot more gravitas in the latest Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One trailer when it’s delivered by Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny). “Our lives are the sum of our choices,” Kittridge intones with an oily touch of fatalism. “We cannot escape the past. Ethan, this mission of yours is going to cost you dearly.”
When spoken by Ethan’s old Imf boss from the 1990s, as well as the seeming antagonist of the first Mission: Impossible film, it really does feel like the ghosts of the past have come back,...
- 5/17/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Since 1996, Tom Cruise has been the heart of the “Mission: Impossible” film series, thrilling audiences as Ethan Hunt, the Imf agent constantly plunged into increasingly dangerous scenarios. And he’s not about to stop anytime soon – “Mission: Impossible, Dead Reckoning, Part One,” the seventh film in the franchise, is due out this July, while “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part Two” will be unleashed next June.
If, somehow, you’ve never seen any of the “Mission: Impossible” movies, they began in 1996 with the Brian De Palma-directed original, an adaptation of the popular, Bruce Geller-created spy series that ran from 1966 to 1973 for 172 episodes and was revived briefly in the late 1980s (that version only ran for two seasons and 35 episodes). Many of the hallmarks of the television series made it into the movie – the mission briefing that would “self-destruct” at the end of the message, the idea of a team of highly trained specialists,...
If, somehow, you’ve never seen any of the “Mission: Impossible” movies, they began in 1996 with the Brian De Palma-directed original, an adaptation of the popular, Bruce Geller-created spy series that ran from 1966 to 1973 for 172 episodes and was revived briefly in the late 1980s (that version only ran for two seasons and 35 episodes). Many of the hallmarks of the television series made it into the movie – the mission briefing that would “self-destruct” at the end of the message, the idea of a team of highly trained specialists,...
- 4/18/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
When it ran on CBS, Mission: Impossible had zero internal continuity. Missions came and went, agents were tortured, battered, and bruised and the next week they’d be hale and hardy, ready for the next assignment.
Since the film franchise began in 1996, the movies have gone in the opposite direction with film to film connectivity, just enough to show the films have consequence but work on their own so you don’t need one of Dk Publishing’s patented guidebooks to understand what’s happening.
You’d almost think there was some grand plan and strategy ala Marvel for these films since everything builds to a head in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, out today on disc from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Recently, the first film, from director Brian DePalma has been making the rounds on cable and I was reminded of how much larger and richer the cast of agents were. Since then,...
Since the film franchise began in 1996, the movies have gone in the opposite direction with film to film connectivity, just enough to show the films have consequence but work on their own so you don’t need one of Dk Publishing’s patented guidebooks to understand what’s happening.
You’d almost think there was some grand plan and strategy ala Marvel for these films since everything builds to a head in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, out today on disc from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Recently, the first film, from director Brian DePalma has been making the rounds on cable and I was reminded of how much larger and richer the cast of agents were. Since then,...
- 12/4/2018
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
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