A few words about…™ Mission Impossible 1 – 5 — in 4k UHD Blu-ray

4 Stars Upgrade from Blu-ray - Absolutely!

It’s always an interesting challenge, when a series of films arrives in a new format – all previously released – and most with varying degrees of technical production and post-production differences in their histories.

Such it is, with Paramount’s new 4k Blu-rays of the Mission Impossible series.

Mission Impossible – 1996 – Brian De Palma (Dir), Stephen Burham, DP

Mission Impossible 2 – 2000 – John Woo (Dir), Jeffrey Kimball, DP

Mission Impossible 3 – 2006 – J.J. Abrams (Dir), Dan Mindel, DP

Mission Impossible 4 -Ghost Protocol – 2011 – Brad Bird (Dir), Robert Elswit, DP

Mission Impossible 5 – Rogue Nations – 2015 – Christopher McQuarrie (Dir), Robert Elswit, DP

The first four productions were film based, with the fifth was a hybrid affirm, proving that data and film, can play
nicely together.

The first two, were released on 35mm film, while the third went through to a 2k DI. The 4th went 4k, and the 5th, 2k route. The last 3, were released as both 35mm as well as D-Cinema.

But here’s where it gets interesting.

One might presume that because 4 and 5, were 2k, that 3, being 4k, would look far superior, and that 1 and 2, being film-based, would look superb in new 4k image harvests.

Having just spent some quality time with all five, I’ve come away more than please, as while the first two appear a bit different from the latter three, all five are absolutely superb.

All have that 4k resolution pop that home theater enthusiasts are seeking, as opposed to the norm – ie, 2 to 4k uprez.

Examining the first two, typography pops from the dupe backgrounds, and appears knife-edged sharp.

Aficionados of the teal culture, will appreciate 3, as that color seems to come to the fore, even in what would normally be whites in the studio logo.

5 takes a more yellow approach

About six minutes into 2, you’ll notice, what one might presume was a duping or processing error, as an errant yellowish foggy patch is obvious for a second or two.

Other than that single anomaly, Paramount has presented 5 of the latest absolutely reference quality releases.

Audio is upgraded in the first four, from Dolby Digital 5.1 to Dolby TrueHD 5.1, while the fourth is 7.1, and the fifth, Dolby Atmos.

All five tracks fall into the lease breaker category, that will concurrently cleanse your speakers of any lint or dust.

While I often wonder if upgrades are necessary, except for brand loyalists, this is a series, that uses the format beautifully,

Image – 5

Audio – 5 (Dolby TrueHD 5.1, 7.1 Dolby Atmos)

Upgrade from Blu-ray – Absolutely!

Pass / Fail – Pass

Very Highly Recommended

RAH

Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.

His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.

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PMF

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[...]While I often wonder if upgrades are necessary, except for brand loyalists, this is a series, that uses the format beautifully,[...]
Although these Mission Impossible films never rocked my world, I am still eliciting from this review the same excitement as those who do love this series. My excitement is in knowing that Paramount is in good stead with the new 4K/UHD formant on this round. I will not make a Wish-List, today, as it's a mute point. What I will say to Paramount is "keep up the good work"; as I am eagerly looking forward to what's ahead.:thumbs-up-smiley:
 

Neil Middlemiss

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Robert - I received these to review and watched the first film last night. The first portion didn’t seem all that improved until we get to the break in at the CIA headquarters in Langley- then it seemed to really come alive with greater detail, contrast, color and pop all the way through the end. Is that what you noticed too or was it simply how those earlier sequences were shot?
 

Robert Harris

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Number 4 was partially shot in real IMAX. Seems like a wasted opportunity to only use the 2K DI for a new 4K disc.

Don’t know if they may have returned to data. That would be wonderful and unusual. Whatever was done, it’s beautiful
 

Robert Harris

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Robert - I received these to review and watched the first film last night. The first portion didn’t seem all that improved until we get to the break in at the CIA headquarters in Langley- then it seemed to really come alive with greater detail, contrast, color and pop all the way through the end. Is that what you noticed too or was it simply how those earlier sequences were shot?

It all looked fine to me, considering that many dupes for title sequence.
 

DVDvision

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I would have love to see 4 getting finally a release with the IMAX changing format restored. The trick being gone really makes the sequences look weird, as if something is missing. Otherwise this look a must buy.
 

Johnny Angell

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Robert Crawford

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Colin Jacobson

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Weird - for "Ghost Protocol", the "burned in" subtitles were yellow on the Blu-ray but on the 4K they're orange.

With one exception - the translated Russian broadcast after the destruction of the Kremlin stays yellow, but the rest of the subtitles are clearly orange...
 
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