Why I absolutely despise this film...

Rating: 5/10 (10 November 2001)

The answer is in the first twenty minutes of the film. Being familiar with the wonderful television show that this film was based upon, I was grossly horrified that so many people were senselessly murdered in the first twenty minutes of the film! The entire team sans Tom Cruise is killed, and there are some big names in that list (Emilio Esteves, Kristen Scott Thomas, and Joh Voight as Jim Phelps). I always thought that the appeal of the original television show was the ensemble cast working together on these very complex and often convoluted plots. This film flatly contrasts with the one thing that made the show so fabulous and action-packed.
When I first saw this film in the theatre, I was horrified. I couldn't believe that anyone could have let this film be made. It's just so different from the television show. While I can see the point of making a film based upon a television show drastically different from the show itself, the very fact that Jim Phelps is the villain of this film is reason enough to ridicule the film. It just doesn't fit! It's almost as if Tom cruse didn't have enough of a role as the IMF's "team leader" he also had to become the head of the IMF at the very end of the film as Jim Phelps is killed at the end and everyone that was involved on the very convoluted plot against the IMF is killed.
I like Brian De Palma. Unlike most people, I think his style of paying frequent homage to his predecessors should be quite flattering, not an insult or a sign of an inexperienced, unoriginal director. This time, though, what we have is a very good action movie that falls flat when the film becomes a single character vehicle rather than an ensemble piece similar to the original show. The ensemble would have made the film all the better, even if the writers did have to rewrite the entire film in order to get a new plot. (BTW, I think it is interesting to note here that "Mission: Impossible" managed to receive a Razzie nomination for "Worst Screenplay for a Film that Made Over $100 Million." Just a small tidbit to back up my point)