Cruises along

Rating: 6/10 (16 February 2008)

They weren't wrong with the tagline: Expect the impossible. I've never seen helicopters flying in tunnels despite oncoming trains, and I've not seen people break in to the CIA headquarters as firefighters.
But the film starts off well, and I very much enjoyed the idea of having a mission that messes up to start everything off. From then on, Ethan (Cruise) tries to find the man responsible for the ambush and death of 4 of his agents. He does this whilst being hunted by his own organisation which suspects him of being behind it. There are plot inconsistencies - why does Ethan decide to infiltrate the CIA's vault just to arrange a meeting with a cyber-terrorist who knows who the mole is? Why when he knows who the mole is, does he not go after him? Some loved the final sequence of a helicopter attached to a train, but it was that kind of enthusiasm that led to scenes like Boeing jumbo jets being split in half by lasers in later action films! Note most of this film is about Cruise being a hero with that occasional trademark smile. He does a good job of it.