Mission: Incomprehensible!

Rating: 6/10 (29 February 2000)

Aside from a fairly good performance by Vanessa Redgrave, and a really good performance by Ving Rhames, this is not a great film. Yes, I know, Cahiers de Cinema listed it among the ten best films of the nineties...perhaps they thought its self-deconstructing plot and unsympathetic characters were somehow "postmodern', perhaps it's the same French auteurism that elevates Mans Favorite Sport to "Masterpiece" status simply because it was directed by Hawks( Dont get me wrong, it is a very smooth piece of professional cinema by Hawks, it's just not Bringing Up Baby or Rio Bravo). The syllogism is a simple one ( for a French critic) Mission: Impossible is a Brian DePalma film ( Incontrovertible premise) , Brian DePalma is a genius ( questionable middle term of syllogism),THEREFORE< Mission: Impossible is a masterpiece.( logically valid, but far from true, conclusion). Lets hope Woo can do better...