Mission: Impossible (1996)
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61% of critics liked it
(49 reviews) -
70% of users liked it
(795,003 ratings)
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 DePalma's big-budget adaptation shares little more… More 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 DePalma'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. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Directed By
- Brian DePalma
- Written By
- Robert Towne, David Koepp, Steven Zaillian
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure
- In Theaters
- May 22, 1996 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount Pictures
Critic Reviews
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, Variety
The most dour, sexless piece of escapism in memory.
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, Time Out
Despite the snags, De Palma remains a virtuoso puppet-master, pulling the strings taut in a nail-biting robbery sequence, switching from micro to macro with Hitchcockian panache, and finally letting rip with a hell-for-leather climax.
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Hal Hinson, Washington Post
Humorless, charmless and flat.
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Every effect is so calculated that only the conscious minds of filmmakers and viewers are engaged--and not by very much or for very long.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Tom Cruise looks cool and holds our attention while doing neat things that we don't quite understand.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Tom Cruise
as Ethan Hunt
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Jon Voight
as Jim Phelps
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Emmanuelle Béart
as Claire
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Henry Czerny
as Kittridge
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Jean Reno
as Krieger
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Ving Rhames
as Luther
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Andrzej Borkowski
as Kiev Room Agent
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Ion Caramitru
as Zozimov
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Garick Hagon
as CNN Reporter
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Helen Lindsay
as Female Executive in Train
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Vanessa Redgrave
as Max
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Michael Rogers
as Large Man
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Ricco Ross
as Denied Area Security Guard
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David Schneider
as Train Engineer
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Kristin Scott Thomas
as Sarah Davies
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Richard Sharp
as CIA Lobby Guard
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Pat Starr
as CIA Agent
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Tony Vogel
as M15 Agent
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Andreas Wisniewski
as Max's Companion
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Dale Dye
as Frank Barnes
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Emilio Estevez
as Jack
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Sam Douglas
as Kiev Room Agent
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Valentina Yakunina
as Drunken IMF Agent
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Morgan Deare
as Donald Hunt
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Graydon Gould
as Public Official
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Carmela Marner
as Kiev Room Agent
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Rolf Saxon
as CIA Analyst William Donloe
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Jirina Trebicka
as Cleaning Woman
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Marek Vasut
as Drunken IMF Agent
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Ingeborga Dapkunaite
as Hannah
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Oleg Fedorov
as Kiev Room Agent
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Marcel Iures
as Golitsyn
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John McLaughlin
as TV Interviewer
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Karel Dobry
as Matthias
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Randall Paul
as CIA Escort Guard
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Melissa Knatchbull
as Air Stewardess
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Laura Brook
as Margaret Hunt
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Maya Dokic
as Kiev Room Agent
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Susan Doucette
as CIA Agent
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Bob Friend
as Sky News Man
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Mark Houghton
as Denied Area Security Guard
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Annabel Mullion
as Flight Attendant
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Nathan Osgood
as Kittridge Technician
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Rudolf Pechan
as Mayor Brandl
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David Phelan
as Steward on Train
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Mimi Potworowska
as Kiev Room Agent
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David Shaeffer
as Diplomat Rand Housman
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Gaston Subert
as Jaroslav Reid



