SnapJolt

Lalo Schifrin's super-effective theme—composed in off-kilter 5/4 time—has become an integral part of the "Mission: Impossible" brand to the point where even the trailers have a celebratory appearance. For Brian De Palma's 1996 big screen version, U2 pair Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen put together an electronic version that was released as a single to promote the film, but it was Danny Elfman's dynamite main title that really energised the franchise on celluloid (although you can hear original composer Alan Silvestri's interpretation on the original teaser). For the '96 picture, De Palma and Elfman started a tradition for the series' title sequences that has seen them become more and more elaborate, although ironically that powerful montage was a definite homage to the quick-cut titles of the TV series, its rhythm once again dictated by Schifrin's machine gun riff, a faster-paced successor to Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" theme from 1958. Perhaps you'd expect Elfman's to be a little jauntier but it's absolutely thrilling, full of intrigue and a dynamic use of brass, especially in the finale cue with Tom Cruise's character Ethan Hunt riding a helicopter through the channel tunnel. 

With De Palma's cracking thriller making over $450 million in American theaters, the inevitable sequel "Mission: Impossible II" was helmed by John Woo and scored by Hans Zimmer, who brought along his "Gladiator" collaborator Lisa Gerrard. Here, the tone was set by the trailer and the ancillary marketing, with a long-haired Ethan Hunt jumping around to a heavy metal rendition of the Schifrin theme, with singles from the soundtrack coming from Limp Bizkit and metal legends Metallica. Zimmer's score often feels like it suffers from close proximity to its Roman brother, but it kicks into life during the breathtakingly ridiculous final act, guitars crunching and wailing but still Schifrin-ing to the bitter end.

2006's "Mission: Impossible III" saw J.J. Abrams making his directorial debut, and as such bringing across his composer from "Alias" and "Lost," Michael Giacchino. While opening the film traditionally with the theme (and easily the most boring title sequence of the series) Giacchino brought some variation by having the first few bars of the theme's rhythm played solely on percussion before continuing the piece traditionally, and continued to play around with hints of the theme, opting to instead use Schifrin's B-theme from the TV show, "The Plot." When he does bring the main theme in, such as during the Vatican operation, it's as traditional as can be, which proves where Giacchino's heart really lies. It's a shot in the arm for the film with the audience, and the end title version is just as thrilling. 

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