a great and well-written(!) action movie

Rating: Null/10 (12 April 2002)

*possible spoilers* Proving how stale the recent Bond movies have gotten, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE is what the future Bonds should aspire to be like. An exceptionally well-written spy-thriller with mysterious characters and a plot for those who like to play the mystery. Tom Cruise is awesome as IMF team pointman Ethan Hunt, who's on the run to prove his innocence after nearly his entire team is killed during a mission in Prague. For the entire film, we're absorbed with the story and Hunt's quest to clear his name and find the person responsible. Co-stars Ving Rhames, Jean Reno, Henry Czerny, and the beautiful Emmanuelle Beart lend some good support to the film as shady characters who you're never sure what side they're on. Jon Voight is a standout as Jim Phelps, in a role that now seems to have typecast him as the over-the-top villain. Much like RONIN, the film has a gritty realism and shows that flashy cars and neat Bondian toys can't always save you. From the now famous (and often copied/spoofed) CIA computer room break-in to the adrenaline-pumping helicopter/train finale, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE is one of the best spy-thrillers ever made, and though I love many of the Bond movies up until TOMORROW NEVER DIES, this film most assuredly topples them all.