The setting of Mission Impossible Two is in the middle of the desert, on a mountain, possibly at noon. A wide shot is effective to show the full extent of the setting is important because it shows how small Ethan is, compared to the great scenery around him. The setting is natural, suggesting the film will be calm. The scene is in the middle of a dry desert on a hot sunny day while he is climbing a vertical mountain. This is typical of an action hero as he is doing dangerous stunts.
As Ethan Hunt is climbing up the side of a mountain and is free as he has ever been. The camera shots used vary to show a range of shots as he is climbing, giving a full effect of his actions. When Ethan begins climbing the director uses a wide shot, this is effective because it shows how small and isolated Ethan is, in contrast to the mountain; also this is a good establishing shot at the start of a film, however the variety of shots builds tension.
As Ethan continues to climb, he jumps across a small part of the mountains face. A pan shot is used to follow Ethan as he does this dangerous task. This shot is taken in slow motion to emphasise how brave he is and the audience are given the full effect of this risky action. This shot is very effective because the audience are left in suspense – will he live or die? It also adds tension as we don’t know if he will make it or not.
As Ethan is trying to reach the top you can hear the diegetic sound of the wind and see his hair flapping around and this shows that he had a tremendous amount of strength to keep going up and up, and climbing in the wind is very dangerous. There is also a great burst if sound which begins with funky music and that shows that he has great style and it adds rhythms to his actions.
Ethan Hunt is wearing a casual black vest top. These clothes have been chosen by the director to make Ethan look brave, they show off his muscular body, making him seem strong and powerful. So, just by seeing what clothes Ethan wears it shows that he has got great strength to be able to climb up a mountain. This costume would give the impression on an action hero.
When he gets to the top of the mountain, a helicopter shoots a rocket shaped pod down to Ethan. He opens it and pulls a pair of sunglasses out and puts them on. He receives his mission and throws the glasses away as they self destruct. Close up shots have been used so the audience understand the importance of the sunglasses and mission. The sunglasses are an object that has been used to make Ethan look stylish and cool; this is how action characters should look.
At the start of Mission Impossible Three, Ethan Hunt is tied to a chair and is completely helpless. This is very different to how he looks in Mission Impossible Two, when he is strong. His girlfriend is also tied up to a different chair and is held at gunpoint.
The setting in Mission Impossible Three is in a dull room with an overhead light, so the lighting is low key so straight away the atmosphere is scary and worrying; this use of lighting represents the atmosphere the director intended. Even though there is an overhead light, the room is still not very bright. The room looks like a barber’s shop that is not being used, suggesting that the location is secret. The setting is different in each film because in Mission Impossible Three he is in a dull room, whereas in Mission Impossible Two he is in a giant open space in the desert. This contrasts the mood of each film.
A close up shot of Ethan Hunt shows his emotions, ranging from anger to him crying. This also shows that he is not in control of his emotions or his temper. This shot is effective because you can see all of the cuts and how bad a state his face is in, suggesting that he has been involved in a fight. This is different from his character in Mission Impossible Two because in Mission Impossible Two he was calm and cool and had total control.
The characters in the film have been positioned so that the villain is standing over Ethan Hunt, this suggests that they have more power over him and are the ones winning that particular ‘battle’. The director has used this to make you think that he is not going to survive for long as they have greater power over him and could easily kill him if they wanted to. This differs in Mission Impossible Two because he is free and there are no enemies to be found.
Another difference between the two films is the attitudes of the characters in the films. In Mission Impossible Two, Ethan Hunt is mostly on his own, whereas in Mission Impossible Three there are more characters. This shows the audience that in Mission Impossible Three he is a social character as he has a girlfriend whereas in Mission Impossible Two, he prefers to be isolated from the rest of the world by climbing the mountain on his own, making him a confident man.
In conclusion, I think that the directors have achieved success because of the contrasting lighting in both. In Mission Impossible Three, Ethan Hunt is wearing dark, ripped clothes whereas in Mission Impossible Two, he is wearing light and dusty clothes. In Mission Impossible Three, Ethan, His girlfriend and the enemies are in a dark room surrounded by barrels and fire. In Mission Impossible Two, he is on his own climbing a giant mountain made of sandstone in the middle of a desert. Personally I prefer Mission Impossible Two because it gives a bright atmosphere and gives you the impression that the film will be full of action.
