Impossible character Ethan Hunt gamely takes on the burden, ad nauseam, of saving the world, Cruise genuinely thinks he can save cinema. His optimism is touching, if unrealistic. But as hard as he, and we,

Beyond prosthetic face masks, curious gadgets, seemingly impossible missions, and Tom Cruise himself, the Mission: Impossible franchise, from its first entry in 1996, has always been about choices. In every film,