Welcome to The B-Side! Here we sometimes talk about movie stars! We sometimes talk about movie directors! Today, we talk about both! Specifically, the B-Sides of the Mission: Impossible franchise.

It’s just Dan and Conor today folks, waxing poetic on Tom Cruise’s legendary franchise and the B-Sides that we were inspired to discuss. We’ve chosen one for each of the Mission movies. It’s also July 3rd on the day this episode is published, so happy 63rd birthday Tom Cruise!

For the first Mission: Impossible, we speak on The Avengers from 1998. An adaptation of the popular British television series from the ‘60s, director Jeremiah S. Chechik’s film was dismantled in post-production, slashed to ribbons following bad test screenings. The final product runs well under ninety minutes and is hard to understand. It sits on the other end of blockbusters in the ‘90s adapted from hit televisions from yesteryear. We also discuss the last five films Sean Connery made (animated film Sir Billi not included), as well as the ones he turned down.

For Mission: Impossible II, we chose another John Woo American motion picture: Paycheck, starring Ben Affleck and The Avengers star Uma Thurman. This is a true B-Side, and the beginning of Affleck’s now-infamous lost half-decade as a fledgling movie star.

For Mission: Impossible III, we return to television inspiration. In honor of director J.J. Abrams, Conor and I go long on No Man’s Land, one of the first produced screenwriting credits of Dick Wolf, who would go on to create the, ahem, Law & Order universe of shows. This Charlie Sheen/ D.B Sweeney vehicle walked so Point Break and The Fast and the Furious could run. There’s chatter about David Ayer, that scene from Fire in the Sky, and how Charlie Sheen is always better when he plays the villain.

For Ghost Protocol, we debate the Brad Bird B-Side Tomorrowland. We discuss libertarianism (for like two minutes) and the misbegotten message of the George Clooney blockbuster.

For Rogue Nation we honor the Hitchcock homage of the opening and discuss one of Hitch’s most underrated films: Topaz. Truly a can’t-miss picture, which spurns a talk about the ideal Hitchcock leading man.

For Fallout, there’s Michael Mann’s Blackhat. We appreciate the still underseen hacker epic, and make the claim that Chris Hemsworth is the best movie star of the original Avengers (Marvel this time, not British) not named Robert Downey Jr.

For Dead Reckoning Part 1, Conor goes long on Hayao Miyazaki’s Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, from the little yellow car to the action to the animation.

And, finally, for The Final Reckoning, we celebrate John Sturges’ Ice Station Zebra. The second act of the final film in the series is a reimagining of sorts of the 1968 submarine epic, with way more stunts and underwater photography.

There’s also mention of the Billy Crystal 1997 Oscars opening, this lovely promo for the Albert Brooks movie Mother (ok it’s not mentioned I just love it), and the Oliver Stone episode of the Light the Fuse podcast.

Listen here and subscribe at thefilmstage.com/pod. Be sure to give us a follow on Bluesky at @tfsbside.bsky.social. Enjoy!