Agent Ethan Hunt has trekked by means of Norwegian fjords, scaled Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and been chased down the Spanish Steps of Rome.
Now he’s come to — da da duh! — Queens.
A formidable new exhibit on the Museum of the Transferring Picture in Astoria, “Mission: Impossible — Story and Spectacle,” kicked off Friday upfront of the upcoming eighth movie “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,” in theaters Might 23.
The high-tech surroundings, which seems to be like a laboratory the place Simon Pegg’s Benji may construct devices, options 29 years of memorabilia, blown-up movies of star Tom Cruise’s complicated and harmful stunts and behind-the-scenes tidbits you gained’t discover wherever else.
“We wanted to bring together the idea of story and spectacle,” the exhibition’s curator, Barbara Miller, advised The Submit.
“We wanted it to go deep into practical stunt performance, but we also wanted to show how the story in each of the films was integrated. It wasn’t just about showing off a fancy stunt, it was about serving the story.”
There are 14 screens of varied sizes positioned across the smooth and dimly lit room. A big show is devoted to every film — from 1996’s “Mission: Impossible” to 2023’s “Dead Reckoning” — projecting the flick’s most memorable motion sequence alongside analytical interviews with coordinators, administrators and different creatives about how they achieved the astonishing feats.
The “Rogue Nation” underwater scene by which Cruise held his breath for greater than six minutes, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge shootout from “MI: 3,” the vault descent from the unique — all there, as we watch the remarkably match actor seemingly not age for 3 many years.
“It’s very painful at times,” Cruise, 62, admits in an interview recorded for the museum. “There are certain times when you’re, like, ‘OK, I’m in. We’re doing this.”
On the periphery of the house are detailed hand-drawn storyboards, props and costumes: Reproduction face masks, futuristic weapons, wetsuits, mission briefcases and weathered outfits worn by Cruise.
All advised, Paramount has loaned the museum 80 unique gadgets from the “M:I” archive.
Particularly neat is the handwritten sheet music of composer Lalo Schifrin’s iconic “Mission: Impossible” theme from the 1966 TV present.
For the reason that Cruise movie sequence has been unfolding for almost 30 years, it’s eye-opening for followers to expertise the motion coups facet by facet. They get more and more intricate — and dangerous.
“As the franchise continued, the stunts became more and more involved and more and more exciting, and the stakes got higher,” Miller mentioned.
“But each one of them has their own merit and their own amazing aspects. I mean, just looking at the first film,” she added of Brian De Palma’s film. “What they were able to do just with silence and tension and suspense and physicality.”
The newest movie guarantees a few of “Mission: Impossible”’s most jaw-dropping achievements ever, reminiscent of Cruise clinging onto the wing of a biplane 8,000 ft within the air in opposition to 140-mile-per-hour winds.
On one finish of the ground is a giant orange field with a message that appears prefer it’s poised to self-destruct in a couple of weeks. It’s a hid space reserved for objects and clips from “The Final Reckoning,” which the studio doesn’t wish to spoil too early.
That museum mission, must you select to simply accept it, begins Might 22.
“Mission: Impossible — Story and Spectacle” continues by means of Dec. 14.
