Perfect Model Essay On Use Of Music In Mission: Impossible Series

Mission: Impossible in a spy thriller movie franchise. First film of the series was released in 1996, and follows Ethan Hunt, agent of IMF, on the trail of a mole, in a role made famous by Tom Cruise. The film itself is based on television series of the same name that lasted from 1966 to 1973.
Use of music in this film is now iconic, especially the main theme. It is based on the original theme song from the television series, composed by Lalo Schifrin. It had unusual rhythm for the time, but very obvious jazz influence, motifs now closely associated with Cold War, and was also somewhat reminiscent of 60’s and 70’s science fiction. In fact, it is hard to even describe this type of music nowadays, because this exact composition is extremely well known by movie buffs and general crowd alike. The piece itself is timeless, and not many people know that the theme from the movie very closely follows something produced fifty years ago.
For the original 1996 movie debut, the television theme was remixed in techno / electronic fashion by members of U2, Larry Mullen, Jr. and Adam Clayton. It removes the unusual rhythm, while simultaneously updating the theme song with edgier sound to satisfy music tastes of the time. This version of the theme song is the one that most people remember now, and associate not only with the Mission: Impossible franchise, but with spy genre as a whole.
That is because the unique percussion signature, electronic keyboard, and grand brass evoke a feeling of intrigue, mystique and energy that is right below the surface and is ready to be released. By combining the original piece with edgier sound, the musical team created a signature piece of music for the franchise.
Other instrumental compositions of the movie were expertly handled by Danny Elfman, who used original TV show motifs, while infusing them with different mood as dictated by the film’s plot.
The following movies tried to closely follow the musical formula set by the very successful first installment, with mixed results. For example, the theme song for M:I2 was remixed by Limp Bizkit, and featured a very heavy electronic guitar riffs to try and show that the franchise crossed into the 21 century, but while it may have set the aggressive tone for the movie, it also lost a bit of that iconic sound that people associate with the series so much. It mirrors the actual movie somewhat, as it is generally regarded as the low point of the series, being very heavy on the action, and lacking intrigue, spy thriller elements and plot twists that made the first movie so interesting. Apart from the main theme, the score of the movie was handled by masterful composer Hans Zimmer, who produced a great score for the film.
The music for the third and fourth movie was composed by Michael Giacchino. Composer noted that he was very much inspired by original TV show’s theme (and it shows, half of the orchestral pieces in the third movie contain an extrapolation of it), but also noted that he had to generally move away from the jazz style to make the sound more contemporary. While it did not contain any major changes to the musical formula, it nicely riffed on everything that made the franchise’s soundtrack so unique.
Overall, Mission: Impossible has one of the most famous pieces of music, soundtrack or otherwise, in it’s theme song. And while it’s great, it can somewhat overshadow the great work composers did for the movies over the years. Anyone looking for great instrumental music that matches that intrigue-fueled mood of the series should look no further than Mission: Impossible soundtrack.