People really, really love the "Mission: Impossible" movies. Inspired by the 1960s TV series of the same name, the films star Tom Cruise as super-spy Ethan Hunt, with Cruise performing wildly dangerous stunts on-camera as his character gets involved in all kinds of espionage. These things are global blockbusters, with even the "worst" of the franchise knocking it out of the park at the box office , and yet, I had never seen a single one until now. Spy movies have never really been my thing, while Cruise's ties to Scientology make him less than appealing. Be that as it may, in the name of art and criticism, I tried to set my hang-ups aside and see what the heck this "Mission: Impossible" thing was all about.

Years of exposure to commercials for the "Mission: Impossible" sequels an

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