Director: Brian De Palma
Writer: David Koepp, Robert Towne (Screenplay) David Koepp, Steven Zaillian (Story) Bruce Geller (TV Creator)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Beart, Henry Czerny, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave
Plot: An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: The Impossible Made Possible
Story: Mission Impossible starts in Kiev where we watch an undercover mission trying to find out the next level of criminal, the mission run by Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is a success, this just is here to show how well a unit Hunt and his team are. Jim Phelps (Voight) the man in charge of the mission sets out his new mission to collect and stop a new suspect from getting their hands classified information. The mission goes as planned but the escape ends up causing problems when it appears they have become compromised leading to most of the unit getting killed and Ethan being the last man standing.
Ethan is being framed for the failed mission because it will lead the expose of the real crime going on and Ethan has been part of a team that has a mole within his unit. Kittridge (Czerny) the head of the agency believes Ethan to be the mole because he is the only one left standing which leads to Ethan having to prove his innocence and find out who the mole really is. Ethan discovers that Claire (Beart) also survived the attack and that it has something to do with an arms dealer Max (Redgrave). Ethan assembles a new team including Claire, Franz (Reno) and Luther (Rhames) to break into the CIA headquarters and steal what Max wanted in an attempt to prove his own innocence. When Ethan finds out who the mole is he is left shocked and has to take down this person.
Mission Impossible comes into the action genre when James Bond was starting to lose its sparkle and picks up the spy genre making it feel fresh again. We get the idea that we just don’t know who to trust in this team leaving Ethan to figure out what is going on. We don’t know who to trust or who the good guys actually are until the very end. what this Mission Impossible doesn’t do is give us too much double crossing and setting up it just plays out very simple, which is a good thing because today we do get too many films try and throw too many twists into the story and fail to get anything out of it. This will go down as a good introduction to the character Ethan Hunt before the series went to whole new levels which usually involved a massive stunt. (8/10)
Actor Review
Tom Cruise: Ethan Hunt is the point man on Jim Phelps IMF team, he gets involved in all the missions but once his team is killed he must find out why and clear his name in a mission that can only be described as impossible. Tom Cruise gives this character what you need, the charm, the physical presence and most importantly he makes the spy game look cool. (9/10)
Jon Voight: Jim Phelps is the leader of team who have been killed but he does seem to have alternative motives. Jon plays the shady character from early on but he always seems to end being the villain in films so his twist reveal doesn’t shock as much as it could have. (7/10)
Henry Czerny: Eugene Kittridge is the head of the agency that is after the mole and sets his sights on Ethan spending most of the film trying to track him down. Henry plays the agency guy well and does play out his side like you would expect an agency guy to be. (7/10)
Support Cast: Mission Impossible has a good supporting cast that includes the first team, the second team and the mysterious Max. Each member of the cast helps with the motivation, building new loyalties for future films and showing the side that will always look to money.
Director Review: Brian De Palma – Brian does a great job directing giving us a fun filled action adventure spy film. (8/10)
Action: Mission Impossible has very well constructed action sequences that are also edge of your seat. (9/10)
Thriller: Mission Impossible keeps you guessing to what the next twist will be from start to finish. (8/10)
Settings: Mission Impossible uses very standard settings that as easy to understand where the action will take place. (7/10)
Suggestion: Mission Impossible is one for all the action junkies to watch as it will still be considered one of the best of a generation of spy films. (Action Fans Watch)
Best Part: Break into CIA.
Worst Part: Comparing it to the latest films it is very basic.
Action Scene Of The Film: The final sequence.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: First of 5 Films
Post Credits Scene: No
Similar Too: Bond Movies.
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $457 Million
Budget: $80 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
Tagline: Expect the Impossible
Trivia: While filming the famous scene where Tom Cruise drops from the ceiling and hovers inches above the ground, Cruise’s head kept hitting the floor until he got the idea to put coins in his shoes for balance.
Overall: Mission Impossible is one of the freshest action spy films of its time and will easily be remember as one of the best.
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