This is one mission you MUST choose!!!

Rating: 9/10 (19 April 2006)

Mission Impossible will stand the test of time and will be a classic action film and series. I haven't seen an episode of the original TV series in many, many, many years so it in no way effected by opinions of the film blockbuster. Mission Impossible is everything an action film needs to be and easily embodies everything that great action classics have. A top drawing movie star in Tom Cruise, a really good villain, a big action film director, an enormous budget, and a complex and intriguing story line with plenty of action scenes.
Tom Cruise headlines the cast as disavowed agent Ethan Hunt. Now say what you will (and people are saying plenty nowadays) about Cruise but I still think he's a powerful star and a great on screen presence and this was no exception. The character is not entirely difficult or complex but Hunt is suave, smart, well trained and a great hero and Tom Cruise pulls it off flawlessly and no one else could play Hunt. He's perfect in this role!! Jon Voight is his mentor and father figure as well as the perfect adversary as he takes a turn to the bad side as veteran IMF agent Jim Phelps (the only character to return from the original TV Series.) Voight adds class and experience to the cast and he's absolutely villainous as Phelps and although he's really no match for Hunt who he's trained perhaps too well his character is perfect as is he in the role. Emmanuelle Béart is as close to a leading lady as the film has. Mission Impossible kind of has a stigma almost like a "Bond Girl" with each film and Béart is the Mission Impossible girl for this installment, Claire Phelps (wife/"widow" of Jim Phelps.) She does a decent job but the chemistry is slightly lacking between her and Cruise and she never really gets a big character development, she's just kind of there but she does alright. Becoming one of my favorite supporting character actors is french actor Jean Reno who plays bad guy Franz Krieger. I prefer him in hero roles but his bad guy is equally good although he's kind of the henchman of the film and is doomed from the beginning. He still adds to the cast a great deal. Ving Rhames plays disavowed agent Luther Stickell in a role which turns into a long lasting partnership between Luther and Ethan. His role is slightly small but they probably keep it small so as to not overshadow Cruise's character because Rhames can be a big screen presence in his own right. Also noteworthy is MULTI talented and MULTI Oscar nominated (one win) actress Vanessa Redgrave who plays "Max." She deliciously mysterious and bad all at once and the sexual chemistry and banter between her and Cruise is overwhelming and very witty. She definitely adds some class to the film.
Now I will admit to something because I've heard many other people mention this as well, since seeing Mission Impossible over ten years ago and several times since the plot has confused me since day one!! It was only this most recent viewing that I finally understood it. I suppose it's not overly complex but they really don't go into a lot of detail and explain it out. But the film has always been incredible because of it's action sequences and characters which really gives the film a lot of kudos. It's absolutely worth seeing and worth seeing again until you do understand it. I think it could have been simplified but for what it is, it's great and it will be if not already an absolute classic. Ethan Hunt's daring theft of a top secret agent list as he dangles above an incredibly high security room, the edge of your seat chase aboard a high speed train, and OF COURSE...the unmistakable thumping beat of the Mission Impossible song which is used three times in the film and every time absolutely gets your blood pumping!! If you want an unmistakable incredible action film this is it!!! 9/10