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Amazon.co.uk Review
Mission: Impossible was one of the best action blockbusters of the 1990s, deriving a quality unique amongst its peers from the tension between Brian De Palma's directorial stylisation and the overriding presence of its star and producer, Tom Cruise. Cruise plays Special Forces agent Ethan Hunt, disavowed as a traitor by his own superiors and forced to uncover the true mole to prove his innocence. The original 1960s television series provides not only the wonderful musical motif, but also the layered complexity of false realities and masked identities, which are revealed with the playful conjuring of a Russian doll.
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 naïvety 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.
On the DVD: Aside from basic language and chapter selection the disc is devoid of any extras, leaving us to wait for the behind-the-scenes story of the numerous rewrites and wrangling that reportedly beset production. On a more positive note, the picture and sound quality fully realise the film's highly stylised surface beauty and effects-laden kinetic energy. --Steve Napleton
Amazon.co.uk Review
Mission: Impossible was one of the best action blockbusters of the 1990s, deriving a quality unique among its peers from the tension between Brian De Palma's directorial stylisation and the overriding presence of its star and producer, Tom Cruise. The original 1960s television series provides not only the wonderful musical motif, but also the layered complexity of false realities and masked identities, which are revealed with the playful conjuring of a Russian doll. 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 is as sublimely exhilarating as any in American movies of recent years. --Steve Napleton
Visually stunning, and a likely must for John Woo aficionados, the second Mission: Impossible outing from megastar Tom Cruise suffers from an inconsistent tone and tired plot devices--not only recycled from other films, but also repeated throughout the film. Despite remarkable cinematography and awe-inspiring, trademark Woo photography, the movie offers a tepid story from legendary screenwriter-director Robert Towne (Chinatown) and a host of other writers, most uncredited. Woo's famed mythic film-making is far from subtle, with heroic Hunt frequently slow-motion walking through fire, smoke or other similar devices, replete with a white dove among pigeons to signal his presence. The emphasis on romance is an attempt to develop character and a more human side to superspy Hunt, but still the story proves a distraction from the exciting action sequences. --NF Mendoza, Amazon.com
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
Tom Cruise stars in this movie blockbuster based on the television series of the same name. Also starring actors of the highest quality like Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Jon Voight and Kristin Scott Thomas. The story is that Ethan Hunt(Cruise) and his team are set up on a mission, every one is killed but Hunt, sparking suspicions among his colleages. Hunt is disavowed, so he sets out with a new team to clear his name and find the traitor. What follows is an exciting and intruiging adventure. De Palmas masterful direction builds buckets of tension and paranoia throughout. This leads to a wonderful climactic ending. On release this was criticised for being complicated and in need of simplification, that is rubbish, the plot is complex and involving and is far superior to the trigger happy explosion fest that is the sequel. We finally have an intelligent blockbuster which well deserves the 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a must have for M.I. fans, great cast. Too many twists & turns to mention, keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the film. Switch on the box, crank up that volume knob & lie back with your tub of popcorn...
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Shot in Prague before it became synonymous with cheap labor and tax breaks for runaway productions, the initial signs were less than promising for Mission: Impossible - rumors of clashes between Cruise and Brian De Palma, the latter pointedly keeping a very low public profile when the film opened, last-minute heavy re-editing and the dropping of Alan Silvestri's original score (not, it has to be said, anywhere near as effective as Danny Elfman's replacement) - yet the result is a lot more fun than it has any real right to be. There's little relation to the original series aside from the title, Lalo Schifrin's theme music and an ill-done by Jim Phelps, here played by Jon Voight rather than Peter Graves - indeed, the original cast turned down offers of cameos in a film which kills off almost the entire Impossible Mission Force in the first twenty minutes so the star can hog the spotlight. But then, in those days Tom Cruise still sold more tickets than anyone else and the film raked it in - as they say in gangster movies, it's nothing personal, just business.
Although it was apparently Emmanuelle Beart's role that bore the brunt of the pre-release cuts, Cruise is in more danger of being overshadowed by co-stars Ving Rhames and Jean Reno, neither of whom get as many close-ups but make up for it with much more unforced charisma and screen presence. The plot doesn't always make sense - there's really no reason to break into the CIA's headquarters in Langley to steal a real list of undercover agents' names to use as bait other than allowing the director to stage a Topkapi-inspired high-wire heist - but it just about serves to fill in the gaps between setpieces, including a neat sequence that's pure De Palma where one character's explanation of events is accompanied by visuals gradually piecing together what really happened and a doozey of an action sequence involving a helicopter in the Channel Tunnel that caused the Bond producers to drop their original storyboarded-but-unshot Channel Tunnel pre-title sequence from the script of GoldenEye as well as boasting a neat line in spectacularly breaking windows.
No classic but an above-average Summer movie that holds up surprisingly well. Although an improvement over the bare-bones original DVD release (though the transfer of the film itself is identical and hasn't been upgraded), there's a distinct feeling that the reverential special features in this special edition are there merely to reassure Cruise and his fans that he is indeed the most special and wonderful person in the world.
Although it was apparently Emmanuelle Beart's role that bore the brunt of the pre-release cuts, Cruise is in more danger of being overshadowed by co-stars Ving Rhames and Jean Reno, neither of whom get as many close-ups but make up for it with much more unforced charisma and screen presence. The plot doesn't always make sense - there's really no reason to break into the CIA's headquarters in Langley to steal a real list of undercover agents' names to use as bait other than allowing the director to stage a Topkapi-inspired high-wire heist - but it just about serves to fill in the gaps between setpieces, including a neat sequence that's pure De Palma where one character's explanation of events is accompanied by visuals gradually piecing together what really happened and a doozey of an action sequence involving a helicopter in the Channel Tunnel that caused the Bond producers to drop their original storyboarded-but-unshot Channel Tunnel pre-title sequence from the script of GoldenEye as well as boasting a neat line in spectacularly breaking windows.
No classic but an above-average Summer movie that holds up surprisingly well. Although an improvement over the bare-bones original DVD release (though the transfer of the film itself is identical and hasn't been upgraded), there's a distinct feeling that the reverential special features in this special edition are there merely to reassure Cruise and his fans that he is indeed the most special and wonderful person in the world.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
very complicated but that's not a bad thing
A superior blockbuster in nearly every respect, I can see how this adaptation of the '60s TV series could provoke a lot of unnecessary head-scratching, as I had to pause the film... Read more
Published 2 months ago by bizmandan
still mission impossible
what a dreadfull moovie! its all about US, it's peoples and it's national security institutions being always betrayed by the ??? greedy US peoples and its institutions. Read more
Published 4 months ago by matt
Enjoyable
this was an enjoyable movie - some good locations and a good few twists and turns.
Published on 19 Jan 2009 by Prolific Reader
The mess will self destruct in 5 sequels.
Cruise again on another self funded pile of rubbish making out he can pretend as well as professional actors can. Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2008 by Ramsey Tupper - Raven's Foot
Best of the Three
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... Read more
Published on 12 April 2007 by Jay
Superlative spy thriller.
Fabulous cast, especailly strong support from Henry Czerny, Jean Reno and Jon Voight, and a great plot which alas was too complex for some but which weaves a web of deceit and... Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2006 by Nostromo
Mission Improbable
I was a huge fan of the TV series in my youth and remembered the news that a movie was to be made with some excitement.
I couldn't wait to see the film. Read more
I couldn't wait to see the film. Read more
Published on 26 July 2006 by andy
Mission 1: Ultra Complicated, Mission 2: Ultra Rubbish
This has to be on of the most over rated films of all time. When I purchased this I thought it would be two good spy thrillers, but what I ended up with was one film which was... Read more
Published on 14 Mar 2004 by Uni Student
Da da, da da, da, da, da da, da, da, da da...DUN DUN DUN!!!
9 February, 2004
A materpice of a spy thriller ( evn though a 2 is in the title)! A truely enjoyable 90 minutes of *Tom Cruise* being well, just Tom to be honest, nice... Read more
A materpice of a spy thriller ( evn though a 2 is in the title)! A truely enjoyable 90 minutes of *Tom Cruise* being well, just Tom to be honest, nice... Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2004 by R. Covell
Da da, da da, da, da, da da, da, da, da da...DUN DUN DUN!!!
A materpice of a spy thriller. A truely enjoyable 90 minutes of *Tom Cruise* being well, just Tom to be honest. He's cool, suave and quick to ACT! Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2004 by R. Covell
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