Mission Impossible

Rating:
Summary: Nifty Action Movie...But Not "Mission Impossible"
Review: Cruise & company have a good action movie going here. It has some some very good actors doing some good acting in it, it has some excellent cinematography, some jam-up stuntwork, some way cool CGI imagery, some really fine soundtrack work, and some snappy direction from a name brand director. As some reviewers below have noted, the tunnel train sequence is truly awesome...one of the best "kiss your b--- goodbye" moments in recent action film history. A stunner.
If Tom Cruise and his production company had called this movie something like...oh...."Deathwatch", or "Blowback", or some such and gone with it as an action-thriller spy movie about a special covert ops unit of the CIA, DIA, or military intelligence thrown into an emergency situation with a traitor in their midst, I, myself, and undoubtedly a lot of others, would have been fine with it. Most likely I'd have given this film a five-star review.
I didn't do that because what Cruise & Company elected to do was to appropriate the rights to the old, dearly-loved "Mission Impossible" spy series---most likely because they thought the jazzy, iconic Lalo Shifrin theme music was "cool as h---" and because the preposterous idea of latex facial makeups that one could peel off in an instant on the run looked too hard to resist
as a fun plot gimmick.
If those elements were all that truly composed Mission Impossible then this new version should have been piece of cake acceptancewise with the public. But it hasn't been, for the same reason some of these other movie adaptations of popular tv shows haven't been....because there is an arrogance in Hollywood that relates to televison vs. "CINEMA". The Hollywood attitude is one of "We know how to do these things better than you do, tv, so stand aside and let us show you how". Recent duds like "The Avengers" and "The Wild Wild West" show us clearly that Hollywood does NOT know how to do it "better' than television. They just know how to do it bigger, flashier, and smarmier. Content-wise, classic tv usually comes out miles ahead.
An earlier reviewer of this film here at Amazon, Barry Chow, hit the nail on the head when he said this Cruise version betrays its heritage. That's exactly what it does. Mission Impossible (and its team) was about stealth and guile; about putting one over on somebody and leaving them none the wiser until it was too late. It was a CAPER concept, closer in intent to "The Sting" than to "True Lies". In fact that is what each of the IM Force's missions WERE..."Stings"....not Detonation Derbys. Cruise & Company seem to have forgotten this...or never understood it in the first place. And the power of the real "MI" was that it was, at heart, an ENSEMBLE show (like "Friends" on t.v., or "E.R."), with the TEAM pulling the scams on their target victims. A "team" is vaguely depicted in this Cruise version, but basically...in music terms...as Ethan Hunt's "side men". The thrust of this story's interaction is actually Ethan Hunt, Secret Agent, vs. the "Mysterious Traitor".

And it is the identity of this sleazy, ruthless,double-dealing scumbucket of a traitor that is at the root of all the "boomer' backlash against this movie. And most justifiably so. They have made him Jim Phelps. And to all Americans everywhere who "grew up with Jim Phelps", this little plot device is utterly outrageous. Beyond the pale. A lot of the

"gen X" and younger crowd truly DON'T understand why this movie ticks so many people off. It's because a popular "hero" figure to a couple of generations of Americans has been turned...for the sake of 'edginess"...into an odious sleazeball. and that doesn't sit well with a lot of people...AT ALL. If you don't understand the annoyance, try this...try waiting ten or fifteen years down the road and then buying your ticket to see the movie version of "Friends", where you'll find that Ross is a serial killer, Rachel is a cannibal, and Joey a Nazi transvestite. And when you get mad because you know full well that this is NOT who these people are and NOT what they're about then maybe you'll start getting a glimmer of why this review only deals Tom Cruise 3 stars instead of 5.

Rating:
Summary: why all the bad review?
Review: Mission: Impossible is one of the rare-good spy movies out there. In almost every way, it surpasses M:I-2 in terms of story, suspense, and acting. This movie proves a spy movie doesn't need a lot of action to be good.
As the movie starts, agent Ethan Hunt and his team start on a normal mission, when it starts to go terribly wrong. One by one, his team is killed, and he must find out who killed his team and who set him up. My personal favorite scene is when Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) blows up the fish tank.

critics are ass-heads

Rating:
Summary: Mission: Fantastic
Review: Watching Mission: Impossible was one of the better experiences for me. Action, suspense, and mystery: I like.

Tom Cruise portrays the ingenious Ethan Hunt perfectly, and on Voight plays the double-crossing Jim Phelps as if he lived the character.

5 stars for Mission: Impossible.

Rating:
Summary: Mission: Attention Deficit Disorder
Review: This movie exposes so much of what is wrong with American cinema. It betrays its heritage, confuses action for suspense, substitutes plot twists for intelligence, worships formula, and takes cynical manipulation of its audience to new heights.

Its worst crime is its betrayal of its heritage. The original TV series embodied something rare in Hollywood: the recognition that a team is more than just the sum of its components. There were no 'stars' in the original TV production because the ascendancy of any one character would have destroyed the concept of teamwork that defined the very essence of the series. The only other production to understand this concept so clearly--and not coincidentally, to achieve similar success and staying power--is the ensemble drama "Law and Order".

This movie not only ignores that central fact, but takes malicious delight in destroying it. Its 'star' is so narcissistic and egocentric that he bought the rights to a series about teamwork and corrupted it into a one-man vanity show.

I actually looked forward to seeing this movie when it was initially released. I had remembered the series with fondness and had hoped for a rebirth of its ideas. Stupid me. I don't know if I was more foolish expecting humility from Tom Cruise or scruples from Hollywood.

The brutishness of this movie is almost as bad as its betrayal. The TV series was about not just teamwork, but finesse. Characters as often conned their way into restricted areas or out of trouble as made use of stunts and fancy gadgets. This was what the masks were all about. But in this movie, it's all about acrobatics and toys. There are so many stunts and gadgets (and so little else) that the movie becomes nothing more than a spitting contest between itself and the James Bond franchise.

This movie is a betrayal of trust. (...)

Rating:
Summary: Deserving of a Special Edition DVD treatment...
Review: Having just watched this film again, I was struck by how engaging it is. Sure, the plot machinations get hopelessly convoluted but I think that's kinda the point. Who cares about specific plot points when you've got Brian DePalma directing with his usual stylistic flourishes. True, he's a bit more tied down than with his usual fair (see Blow Out) but even DePalma on autopilot is pretty impressive.

This film works much better than its sequel because it doesn't try to pad out the film with a useless romantic subplot. Ethan Hunt isn't a character that needs to be fleshed out and that's what makes the no-nonsense tone of MI1 so superior to MI2. Stylistically, Woo beats DePalma hands down but that's about it.

The presence of actors like Jon Voight and Henry Czerny give the first MI an almost Tom Clancy-like feel -- especially in the vein of Hunt For Red October with all the espionage and technospeak.

Also, the setting of Eastern Europe contributes a lot to the overall atmosphere of the film -- especially the opening sequence where Hunt's team is betrayed and killed off, one by one.

There are some really solid set-pieces in the movie: the aforementioned mission gone wrong at the beginning, the now-famous nearly silent break-in at CIA Headquarters, and the infamous train/helicopter chase at the film's climax. Yeah, that last one was mucho implausible but it's still a lot of fun to watch.

Most importantly, Mission: Impossible is an entertaining time waster with a lean script full of all sorts of twists and turns, a solid performance by Cruise and a great supporting cast that also includes the always reliable Ving Rhames and Jean Reno.

Alas, this DVD is very bare bones with no extras to speak of. Thankfully, Paramount learned their lesson with the MI2 DVD but it would be nice if they revisited this first one and got DePalma to do an audio commentary, throw in some deleted scenes and a retrospective featurette or two. It's about time.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining spy romp
Review: Mission Impossible is a mindless, extremely silly adventure that makes for great entertainment. I lost track of the plot after a while, but it didn't seem to matter. The movie survives by moving from one set-piece to the next and triumphs because De Palma keeps the tongue firmly in the cheek at all times.

The finale is ridiculously far-fetched, but when at the height of its silliness Lalo Schifrin's original Mission Impossible theme kicks in, the film's self-parodying nature becomes suddenly becomes abundantly clear. Best of all, De Palma achieves this comedic edge without losing any of the suspense or drama.

No classic, but it works great on its own terms.

Rating:
Summary: And People Say This Movie Doesn't Make Sense
Review: First, there are many things in this movie that make little sense. BUT it all comes together at the end. People who say this movie has no plot, and when I say this I'm serious, cannot have a very high IQ level. This movie, unlike its sequel, requires a sophisticated audience to watch it. What I'm saying is that you can't be stupid and understand the brilliance of this film.

Ever since the beginning of the show, it has always required smart people to watch it. It's a mystery, mysteries don't make much sense until everything is figured out. The movie itself is actually quite simple:

Ethan Hunt is working for the IMF. After one of his missions goes bad and everyone is killed but him, the IMF suspects he is the mole they've been hunting for two years. Ethan, being innocent, runs and hides from the IMF. He goes through difficult tasks such as breaking into CIA headquarters at Langley, making negotiations with arms dealers, and avoiding the law. In the end, Ethan finds that the mole is none other than his old boss, who had faked his death to frame Ethan.

Overall, I give this film four stars. It didn't quite reach five, a few lines didn't clearer make sense or agree with each other.

Rating:
Summary: De Palma is a master...a great spy film
Review: First of all, there is a reason why this film is so great. Brian De Palma directed it! De Palma is a master visualist and this movie looks like none other. De Palma makes complete use of depth within the frame and his visual style is unmatched by any director working today (Scorsese being the exception) so this film (unlike MI2) holds up and is still interesting & riveting after repeated viewings. MI2 is a stupid, cliched plot with lotsa action and explosions I have already seen. This one really makes you think when you watch it and the way the spy/action/suspense scenes are directed & handled are wonderful. Also, a great script from David Koepp & the legendary Robert Towne

Rating:
Summary: An almost-excellent action film...
Review: "Mission: Impossible" is a nearly perfect film. If it weren't so darn confusing at times, it would be an absolutely wonderful movie. However, it boggles itself down with too much dialogue and confusing plot twists. But it's no doubt a highly-enjoyable movie. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt, a secret agent who has been betrayed and now must prove his innocence. This is the most of the plot of which we know for sure. The other details are too complicated to really understand, but they don't matter. What matters is the constantly suspenseful moments including the beginning where Hunt and team are chasing after a bad guy to the heist Hunt makes in the CIA building to the incredible helicopter-chasing-the-train sequence that makes up the film's climax. There's much to enjoy in this movie and, if you watch it a few times, it even begins to make sense. I highly recommend it to any action fan who doesn't mind thinking every now and then. It's a superb action flick.

Rating:
Summary: Borring!
Review: With the exception of the scene of Ethan trying to recover the gold disk in a cable and the final action sequence with the helicopter exploding in the tunel,this movie is simply a piece of junk!I fell asleep on most part of it and i was very disapointed with it!Mission Impossible 2 was clearly better,though not that spectacular,but i really enjoyed that movie.The fact that this was a big success is beyond me.Skip this one and get the sequel.You'll be glad you did!