10 Underrated Movies Everyone Loved At First (But Now Dislikes)

7. Mission: Impossible

The Awesome Movie: To appreciate just how long the Mission: Impossible series has been running, consider that when Brian De Palma's first entry in the movie franchise was released audiences were sceptical of Tom Cruise as an action hero and its main selling point was being based on a beloved TV show. Now Cruise is Mr. Run And Jump and the original series is a glorified trivia nugget.

That total change in perception has been solidified by subsequent movies, but much of it is rooted in the original; manically plotted to the point of near nonsensical and boasting action sequences that contrive as more tension from situations you ever thought possible, it's a movie that pushes without ever being pushing. A thrill.

What Happened? One of the biggest reasons Mission: Impossible manages to still exist as a strong Hollywood force two decades later is how each movie conspired to shake up the status quo; each new director brought their own distinct style to the series (II is John Woo movie, III has J.J.'s distinct visual quirks, Ghost Protocol has Brad Bird's cartoonish sensibility, Rogue Nation has Christopher McQuarrie's Oscar-winning narrative competence).

But that's also meant the older entries fare less well in public opinion; each movie is very much of its time and so there's always a more modern version to compare it to. Add to that the first one is, on both an aesthetic and structural level, incredibly nineties - meaning iffy CGI and period tics - and people seem to miss its standalone brilliance.