High levels of action, not much else

Rating: 4/10 (15 May 2007)

Although there was an impossible mission in this movie, the story has nothing whatsoever to do with the classic TV series. In the show, a team of under cover specialists created an artificial situation for the benefit of the victim(s) of a "Sting" type operation, usually resulting with their enemies turning on each other.
The "IMF team" in this movie pretty much refers to Tom Cruise alone, with the rest of the team reduced in status to nameless flunkies who just stand around and watch as he single handedly saves the world. The TV show's covert stealth premise was tossed out, since Cruise doesn't emote well enough to convey the tension of committing espionage right under a dangerous enemy's nose. Instead, the original format was replaced by cranked up action at an "impossible" James Bond on steroids level, with scenes such as the exciting but ridiculously over the top helicopter/train sequence.
Other actors have woefully limited screen time, but act their parts faithfully. The original score from the show is utilized well, spicing up the action effectively. The script is shallow, and the entire mole "twist" bit is concealed as well as is as an elephant hiding behind an ant. It's also an insanely stupid plot twist, which spits on the TV series.
The Impossible Mission: to make Tom an action hero. See a James Bond flick or a rerun of the original TV series, instead.