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Mission: Impossible (1996)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
22 May 1996 (USA) moreTagline:
Expect the ImpossiblePlot:
An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
3 wins & 6 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(184 articles)
Birthday Bash: Impossible Missions, Punch-Outs And Red Carpet Antics Are Causes For Celebration (From MTV Movies Blog. 29 June 2009, 7:00 AM, PDT)
The 50 Greatest Trailers of All Time
(From IFC. 26 June 2009, 1:28 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Not really THAT confusing moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Tom Cruise | ... | Ethan Hunt | |
| Jon Voight | ... | Jim Phelps | |
| Emmanuelle Béart | ... | Claire Phelps (as Emmanuelle Beart) | |
| Henry Czerny | ... | Eugene Kittridge | |
| Jean Reno | ... | Franz Krieger | |
| Ving Rhames | ... | Luther Stickell | |
| Kristin Scott Thomas | ... | Sarah Davies (as Kristin Scott-Thomas) | |
| Vanessa Redgrave | ... | Max | |
| Dale Dye | ... | Frank Barnes | |
| Marcel Iures | ... | Alexander Golitsyn | |
| Ion Caramitru | ... | Zozimov | |
| Ingeborga Dapkunaite | ... | Hannah Williams | |
| Valentina Yakunina | ... | Drunken Female IMF Agent | |
| Marek Vasut | ... | Drunken Male IMF Agent | |
| Nathan Osgood | ... | Kittridge Technician |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for some intense action violence.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
110 minCountry:
USAColour:
ColourAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreCertification:
Ireland:PG | Malaysia:18SG | Brazil:Livre | New Zealand:M | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13Filming Locations:
Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK moreFun Stuff
Trivia:
The main lobby of CIA Headquarters at Langley was actually shot inside County Hall, London. The helipad next to Tower Bridge where Kitteridge lands does not exist and was specially built for the film and removed afterwards. The site is a public park. moreGoofs:
Plot holes: When Hunt falls in the computer room, the air pressure generated ahead of his body by the fall would set off the floor alarm if it were anywhere as sensitive as shown. moreQuotes:
Ethan Hunt: The disk Job sold you is worthless. Bait. Part of an internal mole hunt.Max: And how would you know? Are you another company man?
Max: Like Job?
Max: We're asking about you
Ethan Hunt: I'm NOC, Was. Now, disavowed.
Max: Why, may I ask?
Ethan Hunt: That's the question I want to ask Job.
more
Soundtrack:
Dreams moreFAQ
What is the song played at the end of the movie as it cuts to the credits?Why does Jim Phelps shoot himself?
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I first saw Mission: Impossible when I was 15 and I didn't have a Scooby what the hell was going on. And I considered myself to be smarter than the average bear. In retrospect, it's not that muddled. In comparison to the very-dumbed down sequel it stands out as a better example of film-making made by a director who doesn't underestimate the audience.
Brian De Palma is known to be a wildly inconsistent filmmaker. From the over-rated Carrie, to the under-rated Snake Eyes, the classic Untouchables and the downright hideous Mission to Mars and Scarface, he's been through just about everything. But Mission: Impossible was his first true mega-hit. Movies from TV shows are a dime a dozen these days and are rarely taken seriously, I mean look at trash like S.W.A.T. or Dukes of Hazard, but M:I is actually supposed to be a continuation of the show, rather than a spin-off.
Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt (no, not cockney rhyming slang) an IMF agent who's entire team is killed in a phony sting operation in Prague. Accused of being a traitor he legs it before they can nab him and assembles a team of rogue operatives to find out who the REAL traitor is. Many double-crosses and double-double crosses ensue.
For those who cannot follow the plot there are some really good set-pieces with enough tension and excitement to carry the whole movie. You'll know by now the dangling scene in the top-secret room but the best scene in the movie is the high-speed train rocketing through the English countryside. While other directors might use this as a chance to show off, De Palma keeps it as realistic as possible which makes it infinitely more cooler.
Parts of the movie may seem a bit dated now and it's weird seeing Tom Cruise look like a little boy even though he was already 33. He even sounds different. And what kind of supervillian uses floppy discs? They could have tried something a bit more high-tech there.
The M:I franchise could be a helluva lot better, I suppose. The second film was terrible and the third merely average. But they're still better than the last few Bond outings, though it ain't quite up to the rugged quality of the Jason Bourne movies.
At least it got off to a good start. But can the world tolerate Cruise long enough to ever get a fourth made?