Stylish TV remake.

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2006)

After Carlito's Way, all of Brian De Palma's movies have been more about style than content. When the plot and characters weren't good enough to keep the film interesting, we got crap like Femme Fatale. When, on the other hand, De Palma had an intelligent script and a reliable cast to work with, the result was quite pleasant. Mission:Impossible belongs to the second category.
Based on the popular TV show from the '60s, the movie starts with Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), leader of IMF (Impossible Mission Force), preventing the latest terrorist plot before receiving a new assignment ("This message will self-destruct in five seconds"): he has to locate and arrest a double agent. The problem is, his whole team, including himself, gets wiped out during the mission. Only Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is left, which brings his superiors to a "logical" conclusion: he has to be the traitor. Alone and on the run, Hunt has to prove his innocence and find the real dirty agent. He will receive some help from Claire (Emmanuelle Bèart), Jim's wife, computer whiz Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and mercenary Krieger (Jean Reno). An impossible mission? Perhaps...
As I already said, this film relies heavily on style, and De Palma artfully delivers when it comes to staging an exciting thriller. Two scenes in particular prove the Scarface director was the right man for the job. One sees Ethan trying to rob a maximum security vault whose alarm basically reacts even if you have to scratch your nose. That scene is loaded with suspense and is one of the best ever directed by De Palma. The other memorable bit is the final set piece (I'll just say three words: train, tunnel, chopper), which proves things can really get impossible in these movies.
As for content, David Koepp's script is brilliant as long as it deals with the various conspiracies, but rather shallow in terms of character development. Take the IMF team at the beginning: they're so hastily introduced it's hard to feel for them when they're all killed five minutes later. Apart from Cruise, who manages to turn an otherwise one-dimensional protagonist into a charismatic lead, the only characters worth watching are Phelps (a superb Voight) and Max, a criminal mastermind, masterfully underplayed by Vanessa Redgrave.
All in all, not as good as De Palma's earlier works, but nonetheless quite stylish, charming and enjoyable, not to mention a really good adaptation of a TV series. If only other remakes (Charlie's Angels, for example) were this good.