Mission Impossible [1996]

This was Cruise's last movie as an angst-ridden youth (next stop was Jerry Maguire and the trials of family life) and he presents Ethan Hunt as caught between his heroic physical prowess and a trusting emotional na vety that is painfully punctured by the treachery of those around him. Hollywood heavyweights Jon Voight (Heat) and Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction) are both excellent in support, while the remaining cast reads like an identikit of European cinema, including Emanuelle Beart, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jean Reno (Leon).

De Palma's trademark set-pieces include a giant exploding fishtank in Prague, a helicopter chase through the Channel Tunnel, and, most notably, a break-in to steal a vital disc from CIA headquarters in Langley. The moment in the latter when, in almost complete silence, Cruise dangles precariously from a cable and just catches a bead of sweat before it triggers the floor alarm is as sublimely exhilarating as any in American movies of the last 10 years. --Steve Napleton

My question is if you gave this 1 star what how many stars would you give Mission Impossible 2? I ask this because, in honest my opinion, MI2 is the worst sequal (and probably the worst movie) I have ever seen. This is no understatement, as MI2 is the movie I truly, truly hate and no other comes close. The lowest you could give for MI2 is 1 star, so you will be saying that this movie is comparable to MI. To me you seem like an intelligent person and most likely to despise MI2 over MI any day. So please be more careful when giving decent initial films 1 star ratings, particulary when it is likely there may be a sequal made. Thanks.


What spy thrillers should be like   March 12, 2001
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This film is a bit of a mix with the gadgets of a bond film, but with the intrigue and supspense found in the TV series. The basic plot is that Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is the only survivor of a mission gone wrong, where the team end up dead. Ethan hunt has to clear his name, as they thing he is a mole.

This is an intelligent thriller, with a number of plot twists. There is a bit of a conspiracy involved, as Ethan finds out more about the purpose of the mission. Also the stunts are very impressive, and are genuinly tense. The sequence where they abseil into the CIA building to get to data from a computer is tense, as are most of the action sequences, which are an integral part of the film.

I don't think this is a classic, as thriller go, but this is one of the best thrillers around, and sets an example to the makes of the Bond films, of what they should aim at.

They could have fallen into the trap of putting in too many action sequences, and ignored the plot with this, but the balance is just right, as the plot is always the main concern, and all the action revlolves around it. The MI Francise was not wasted here.


Good quality.   October 12, 2002
Inger Watts (Trondheim, Norway)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

It is exiting to watch a film that uses brains instead of fists to solve problems. This is one of these films. There is very little violence, so the main character has to use other skills in order to come up with a solution.

Tom Cruise is as always a very good actor, and in this film, even though it is not heavy, it is a film that deserves his talent.


Best of the Three   April 12, 2007
Jay (Mauritius)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

A 90'sblockbuster, Mission Impossible garnered huge expectations on its release back in 1996. With a stellar cast of Cruise , jean Reno, Jon Voight and Ving Rhames, it could do no wrong.Well, it didn't but yet it wasn't perfect. You have to watch this film more than once to get a full gist of the plot, but it does have its moments;
The scene where Cruise dangles precariously from a cable and just catches a bead of sweat before it triggers the floor alarm is as sublimely exhilarating as any in the history of Hollywood.