Product: Mission: Impossible (1996)
Rating: 4.0
And I thought I had impossible days...
"Mission: Impossible" takes the basic premise from the TV series, the theme music and the character of Jim Phelps and reinvents them for this enjoyable action movie. This review was originally written for the first edition of the DVD. First an update--the earlier DVD looked decent but the new DVD is a marked improvement. We get a sharp looking anamorphic transfer with bold colors. Some digital flaws occasionally show up but they're not all that big a deal. The previous edition had no real extras to speak but here we get some decent ones. "40 Years of Creating the Impossible" basically is a promo for Tom Cruise's films not for the series per se. Most of the extra featurettes are short but entertaining and interesting. Most important you get a movie ticket to see "MI3" if you choose to acccept that mission. Overall this edition is a marked improvement over the previous version of the filmPhelps (Jon Voight)puts together a team including Ethan Hunt (Cruise), Phelps wife Claire (Emmanuelle Beart), Sarah Davies (Kristin Scott Thomas)and Jack Harmon (Emilio Estevez)to catch a diplomat stealing the identities of US Undercover agents. When the sting goes horribly wrong, Ethan and Claire appear to be the only survivors of the operation. Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny who has playing bueracrats down to a fine art)an IMF supervisor believes that Ethan betrayed both his team and the IMF acting as a mole selling information about the organization.Ethan and Clarie are on the run but not before Ethan hatches a plan to prove his innocence and find out who murdered his teammates; he uses IMF's database to track down two disavowed (basically agents that have been busted for one reason or another whether they were caught doing something illegal by IMF or by another government)agents Luther Strikell (Ving Rhames) a computer expert and tough guy Franz Krieger (Jean Reno)to tap into the IMF mainframe and steal information that will help Ethan trap the real mole and prove his innocence.A taunt thriller well directed by Brian DePalma ("Sisters", "Obesession", "Carrie", "The Untouchables", "Carlito's way")and co-written by David Koepp ("Jurassic Park", "Spider-Man", "Panic Room" and "War of the Worlds"), Robert Towne ("Chinatown", "Personal Best")based on a story by Koepp and Steve Zailian ("Schindler's List", "Clear and Present Danger" and "The Falcon and The Snowman"), the film isn't an extension of the TV show so much as a reinvention. DePalma's film has a number of stunning set pieces including the break-in into the CIA's computer complex. Although the film's plot is convoluted, the twists and turns will keep viewers on the edge of their seat.The supporting cast including Scott-Thomas, Estevez and Voight all deliever. Rhames who returned in the sequel (and will be in "Mission: Impossible 3")gives a rich nicely detailed performance as well. Vanessa Redgrave (!)shows up as an arms smuggler in a nice extended cameo.