Mission Impossible - Movie Review

Rating: 9/10 (24 May 2020)

Everyone always says how good the latest three Mission Impossible films are, but I think the franchise started off with a bang. This first film, released all the way back in 1996, is such a blast from start to finish.
Tom Cruise was good in the film, but I actually think his acting has progressed over the years. Still, he was more than serviceable and the supporting cast around him also did a terrific job.
The impressive thing about Mission Impossible is that there isn't much action until the last twenty minutes of the film, but it managed to keep me on the edge of my seat the whole time because of how tense some of the scenes are.
My favourite part of the whole film is where they break into the IMF office to steal the NOC List, because I felt the stakes of the scene and it was very well executed.
The direction is also slick, with some nice set pieces, great use of sound, and a score which fit the tone of the film nicely. There are a lot of pieces which go into making a successful film, and most of them were achieved in Mission Impossible.
I do think the narrative could be quite convoluted at times, and the pacing was a little off for me, but those are only small gripes in an otherwise excellent film, and a terrific start to one of the best action franchises of all time.
SCORE: 86%