A pretty decent thriller that launched a long-running franchise

Rating: 6/10 (18 January 2017)

"Mission: Impossible" is an American 110-minute movie from 1996, so this one is already over 20 years old. The director is Brian De Palma and the lead actor is Tom Cruise, possibly the biggest movie star back then when this film came out and still among the very biggest today, over 2 decades later. This film is based on a television series from several decades earlier, but of course most people don't know about that one, let alone have seen it (or episodes of it) and the movies are much more famous today. I said "movies" and this already tells you that several sequels were made and the franchise is still alive today because it keeps getting large crowds into theaters. As for this one here, the cast includes several known names, such as Cruise of course, but also Reno and Rhames are fun to watch. From the older generation, Jon Voight and Vanessa Redgrave are on board. Béart and Scott Thomas (in a pretty small role) play attractive women and Emilio Estevez has an okay cameo too. But all in all, it is really all about Cruise. The film does not offer too much in terms of performances and range really, but it does not have to do so in order to be a success.
I think the film manages a good balance overall here. It starts with a real boom that is a crucial event linked to everything that happens afterward, the entire movie, so our attention is right there where it needs to be from the very start. This film is about a lot more than just dealing with the question: Who is the traitor? It is also interesting to follow Cruise's path to finding out the man's identity and that was the real challenge. But still, it was nice to see the coat and the suspense at the end. The train scene (more what happened inside than outside) was truly a highlight here, also with Max and Hunt's aides etc. But it is only the second best scene. The absolute highlight is of course the scene in which they steal all the data, really nerve-racking stuff and so tense that it will inevitable have you at the edge of your seat in its entirety. Certainly a contender for best movie scene of 2016 and I also think the writing there was very good with the temperature, sound sensors etc. This is thriller genre at its very best and judging from this scene alone, the film would have deserved an 8/10 at the very least. But sadly there were also some weaker moments such as the way Reno exits eventually or the plot twist at the end with Béart's character who was not half as memorable as she could have been. And there are others too. But nothing is so grave or bad to a level where it keeps this film from being a really good viewing experience. I highly recommend to check it out, if you are one of the few who haven't already. I myself will check out the sequels at some point in the future as well. Guaranteed. I give this one here, how it all started, a thumbs-up. Go see it.