Just like people, very few movie franchises resemble what they were decades ago. Maybe, to keep audiences interested, they’ve had to raise their stakes to ludicrous heights. In 2001, Paul Walker infiltrated a gang that was stealing TVs with built-in VHS players; eight Fast and Furious movies later, two stars went to space. Or maybe the sheer number of installments has produced an impenetrable tangle of lore; Saw, a lo-fi horror built around one big twist, now requires a PhD in Sawology to keep track of all its characters and reveals.
The Mission: Impossible franchise underwent both changes, leaving behind a debut film almost completely unlike everything that followed it. Based on a 1966-1973 TV show now largely unknown to younger fans, and celebrating its 30th anniversary today, Mission: Impossible is a lesson in both how to reboot a franchise, and how far a franchise can veer off into the unexpected.
