Emmanuelle Béart, Henry Czerny, Jean Reno

A former Russian spy selling international intelligence on the black market... a list containing names of the top undercover agents in the world... a corrupt agent doubling for an unknown organization...( read more  read more... )... a mysterious arms dealer... a spy agency ready to disavow the actions or existence of any of its members captured or killed... and one man on a mission which seems impossible...

Flixster Users

70% liked it

795,003 ratings

Critics

56% liked it

43 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 50 min.

Directed by: Brian DePalma

Release Date: May 22, 1996

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DVD Release Date: January 17, 1998

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Flixster Reviews (23,249)


  • September 21, 2009
    Cruise announces a remake of a much loved TV series then promptly kills off all the original characters in an ego fuelled Stalinesque purge. What a wanker!
  • July 18, 2009
    A good start for the trilogy, the cast is impressive and the look is super cool, just one problem, the plot is rather hard to follow, you end up just seeing it for the set pieces. There are of course some very tasty action sequences, the chopper in the tunnel, Cruise on ropes hac...( read more)king a computer being the top attraction here, truely tense and very well done. The film isn't amazing but it holds its own well enough, slightly better than Bond.
  • October 12, 2008
    "Expect the Impossible"

    After he is framed for the death of several colleagues and falsely branded a traitor, a secret agent embarks on a daring scheme to clear his name in this spy adventure. Though it drew its name from the familiar television series, director Brian DeP...( read more)alma's big-budget adaptation shares little more with the original show than the occasional self-destructing message and the name of team leader Jim Phelps (Jon Voight). The film focuses not on Phelps but his protégé, Ethan Hunt (a reserved Tom Cruise), who becomes a fugitive after taking the blame for a botched operation. He responds by banding together with a group of fellow renegades, and he is soon maneuvering his way through a twisted series of double crosses that mainly serve as excuses for spectacular high-tech action sequences. Much of the activity revolves around a missing computer disk, with the film's most famous scene depicting Hunt's delicate efforts to retrieve the disk from a secure, well-alarmed room in CIA headquarters.

    Review
    Brian De Palma delivers a kinetic live wire suspense filled espionage thriller to open the Mission Impossible franchise. The camera work is exceptional with De Palma's trademark sense of motion applied to suspenseful heists and an amazing train ride sequence during which you really get the sense of speed and danger. Also created is one of the most iconic images from any thriller of recent times Tom Cruise suspended mid heist inches from a pressure sensitive floor. Cruise lives up to his star billing and for me really nails the Ethan Hunt character, Jean Reno, Ving Rames and the stunning Emmanuelle Beart provide able support.

    My one problem with this film and unfortunately quite a big problem is that the twist in the tale can be seen coming a mile off. Which is a real shame as this film is inventive, fun, stylish and everything a main stream thriller should be.

    Fun but the twist in the tale doesn't have enough of a sting.
  • July 3, 2008
    This is trying way too hard to be more clever from what it can really be.
  • June 23, 2008
    The first and the best of the trilogy. DePalma put all his craft to create an exciting thriller in the same style of his (and mine as well) worshipped Alfred Hitchcock.
  • November 21, 2009
    Before going bat crazy over Katie Holmes and professing his love for Satan, Tommy boy used to make good movies, like this one. How many times has the high-wire act in the secret vault been parodied and copied? 2 million times?
  • November 17, 2009
    This movie is unfairly bashed for its plot. Or because Tom Cruise is in it. But this movie is still fairly iconic for action movies. The break-in scene has been imitated in myriad ways and the water explosion in Prague was a legit lasting image. Even the climax is very interestin...( read more)g and memorable. I think I had the advantage of not knowing much of anything about the show, so the front heavy plot and twists were taken in stride for me. SPOILERS FOLLOW ? BEWARE: I guess having the team concept killed off early and making formerly lovable characters duplicitous were jarring to those that knew history. But I took it from a fresh perspective. And while every nuance gets a chance to play out, which admittedly was trying to make things more confusing, it really didn?t need to. It was just a very information loaded movie in all scenes that didn?t involve action ? and probably some of that to.

    I have seen part 3 on TV a lot, but this was a recent time that 1 was on. I watched this and part 2 in theaters. I wasn?t too fond of 1 when I saw it and think more highly of it nowand not disappointed. Part 2 I thought was crap when I came out of it. Worst John Woo movie he?s made. Worse than Windtalkers. However, maybe I need to watch this one again if it ever (which seems like never) comes on TV. In the meantime, watch this movie again and think about how many action movies after took its cue from this movie.
  • November 17, 2009
    there is no mission 4 tom to imposible it
  • November 12, 2009
    this movie was kinda boring the part 3 is definitely the best
  • November 11, 2009
    This is the meaning of action!

Critic Reviews


January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Tom Cruise looks cool and holds our attention while doing neat things that we don't quite understand. full review

January 1, 2000
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

It's the worst kind of convoluted thriller -- it can never unravel satisfactorily because there's nothing simple at its center, just more confusion. full review

View more Mission Impossible reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • ajischillin
    July 15, 2008
    http://www.tomcruise.com/tom-cruise-mission-impossible-movie.html
  • jbpelican
    November 10, 2006
    A spy flick worthy of challenging the 007 series. While without the charms of the 007 movies, its still a feat of movie creativity and brain busting action, most notably the train scene.

    Justins Best Bit: Just try not to crack a sweat when watching the vault scene.

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Mission Impossible Trivia


  • Which 'Mission Impossible' movie was filmed in Shanghai, China?  Answer »
  • He starred in Top Gun, the Mission Impossible series, A Few Good Men, and Jerry McGuire. Who is he?  Answer »
  • Which actor has appeared in The da vinci code, Ronin, and Mission Impossible?  Answer »
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