If you're like me, you left the theater after "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" trying to compare it to the previous three films and not being able to remember them that well. I immediately wanted to come home and watch the third one again because it was directed by J.J. Abrams, who produced the new one as well. I just got a new Blu-ray player and all I have is a regular format DVD copy of the film. What to do, what to do? Thanks to Paramount Pictures, other people in my predicament can get the "Mission: Impossible Extreme Blu-ray Trilogy Gift Set Collection" for an affordable price.
The Blu-ray collection features the first three films in the successful franchise in beautiful crystal clear high-definition. What you get with this set is three movies that stand on their own and have different flavors. "Mission: Impossible" is more of a suspense thriller and mystery with some action. "Mission: Impossible II" is very much an action film and less complex than the first one. Essentially, it's a straight-up John Woo movie. "Mission: Impossible III" has a perfect balance of both the first and second installments in the series. It's action-packed and explosive but still intricate and thrilling.
I can't really compare one edition to another, but I can tell you that this is a three-disc set packed full of extra features. The only one that appears to be a little light in the bonuses is "Mission: Impossible III." The disc for the first film includes "Mission: Remarkable" featurettes like "40 Years of Creating the Impossible," "Mission: Explosive Exploits," Mission: Spies Among Us," "Mission: Catching the Train," "Mission: International Spy Museum," and "Mission: Agent Dossiers." There are also featurettes for Tom Cruise like "Excellence in Film: Cruise" and "Generation: Cruise." It also features a photo gallery, theatrical teaser trailer, and theatrical trailer.
"Mission: Impossible II" includes commentary by director John Woo. There are featurettes including "Behind the Mission," "Mission Incredible," and "Impossible Shots." Metallica's "I Disappear" music video and an alternate title sequence are also on this disc. The sequel also has the same Cruise featurettes that appeared on the disc for the first movie.
Apparently "Mission: Impossible III" only has the special features from the first of the two-disc collection that came out a few years back. This only has commentary by Cruise and director J.J. Abrams as they discuss their experience making "M:I:III." I'm sure this will disappoint many fans who want to upgrade from DVD to Blu-ray. I'm not big on special features, so it doesn't bother me much.
The "Mission: Impossible Extreme Blu-ray Trilogy Gift Set Collection" is a perfect way to upgrade these movies to Blu-ray in one easy step. Unfortunately, if you're big on special features, the absence of the second disc of bonus material for "Mission: Impossible III" will probably give you reason enough to skip purchasing this. Then again, it does have great new artwork that ties all the movies together.
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Eric Shirey is the founder and former editor of Rondo Award nominated movie news websites MovieGeekFeed.com and TheSpectralRealm.com. His work has been featured on Yahoo!, DC Comics, StarWars.com, and other entertainment websites. Eric has interviewed and worked with actors like Harrison Ford, Brooke Shields, Gerard Butler, Brendan Fraser, Selena Gomez, and many more.
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