With Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part Two hitting cinemas in 2024, I felt now is as good a time as any to get your M:I Movie Marathon on and delve back into the excellent franchise, and what better than the entire previous 6 movies in one easy group with the, aptly named, Mission: Impossible 6-Movie Collection on Blu-ray, from Paramount Home Entertainment.

Back in 1996, as a younger teenager, I remember the sheer surprise and invention of the first film from Director Brian De Palma, where we met Tom Cruise’s IMF Agent, Ethan Hunt, for the first time on the big screen, for a new franchise based on the character originally created by Bruce Geller. Obviously back then there’s no way we could have predicted the rise and rise of Hunt – although Cruise was obviously always looking for bigger ways to advance the character, and eventually the original and creative manoeuvres that the world of M:I would become famous for.  

In terms of looking back, I’m still slightly scarred by having to sell my M:I 2 VHS Limited Boxset some years ago, even though it’s not always favoured, I do think it has a fun edge, and some classic moments, even if that one does feel a little dated compared to the others, weirdly a bit more than the first. But then M:I 3 arrives with J.J. Abrams (which many forget) in charge, and there was something distinctive and different stepping into the world of big screen entertainment. From here it launched into another stratosphere with Brad Bird’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, followed by the big man Christopher McQuarrie coming in as director and co-writer with Cruise, before moving into Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, then Fallout and eventually Dead Reckoning Part One this year. And along this exciting path, every mission, narrative, operation getting more extensive, daring and more breathtaking – which is quite the feat when you break it down.

From fleeing from government assassins, to dropping slowly into secret vaults (and creating a pop culture moment), then to hanging onto the roofs of speeding bullet trains, hanging off cliffs, fighting and jumping off speeding bikes, global adventures, fake faces galore, climbing up world-defying glass buildings just near a sandstorm, and never forgetting ‘you keep calling me Dimitri’, plus being taken down in Russia and trying to run from the world – not obviously trying to avoid a nuclear war. Then there’s elusive agents, disavowed chaos, stolen plutonium, Tom Cruise running, some Tom Cruise running and let’s not forget the running – and jumping, and even an ankle break to keep things interesting – and probably a lot of other broken bones along the way.  

As well as these choice moments, for a franchise that’s earned more than a mind-blowing $4 billion at the worldwide box office, we can’t forget the huge stars and ensemble casts that included Anthony Hopkins, Brendan Gleeson, Henry Czerny, Emmanuelle Béart, Jean Reno, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave, Jon Voight, Josh Holloway, Léa Seydoux, Paula Patton, Thandie Newton, Dougray Scott, Laurence Fishburne, Billy Crudup, Ving Rhames, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Maggie Q, Keri Russell, Michelle Monaghan, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, and Henry Cavill to name just a few – not forgetting the incredible Philip Seymour Hoffman *shuddering from his magnificence to this day!*

So, you might have guessed, this 6-Movie Collection contains all these things, and an extra mass of special features and extras across 7 Blu-ray discs, for over 12 hours of greatness as Cruise’s Ethan Hunt chases away that burning fuse to try and stay one step ahead. As you might tell, I can’t recommend this collection highly enough – and while you’re thinking about it, you might as well add Dead Reckoning Part One, if you haven’t already of course…

Mission: Impossible 6 Movie Collection is out now from Paramount Home Entertainment on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray: https://amzn.to/4atiT6W