Mission: Impossible (1996)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers (WGA):

Bruce Geller (television series)
David Koepp (story) ...

Release Date:

22 May 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Expect the Impossible

Plot:

An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.

Plot Keywords:

Mission | Spy | Stealing | Traitor | Espionage

Awards:

3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Mission Impossible

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some intense action violence.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

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-13

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Body count: 8

Goofs:

Continuity: Krieger throws a disk in the trash really hard and you can see a piece break off. When Ethan recovers it, it is good as new.

Quotes:

Eugene Kittridge: I understand you're very upset.
Ethan Hunt: Kittridge, you've never seen me very upset.
Eugene Kittridge: All right, Hunt. Enough is enough. You have bribed, cajoled, and killed, and you have done it using loyalties on the inside. You want to shake hands with the devil, that's fine with me. I just want to make sure that you do it in hell!

Movie Connections:

References If Looks Could Kill (1991)

Soundtrack:

Theme From Mission: Impossible

Unfaithful to the TV series, but a truly great movie

Brian De Palma's super stylish adap of the TV series packs a stick of dynamite up the show's butt and blows it wide open, often flying in the face of everything its inspiration was about but avoiding travesty status by working as an incredibly slick, exciting thriller. It's a blinder. It's true to say that most of this classy film's strongest scenes hark back to the show – the opening teaser, the astonishing credits sequence, the vault break-in – but the writers have slotted references and ideas from the series into a clever and often underrated plot, managing a tricky balancing act in paying homage to the show without slavishly adhering to it. Cracking set pieces like the aquarium explosion and the train/chopper finale are masterclasses in how to crank up tension and stage action; this is one of the most skilfully directed and edited films out there. Really. The cast is an interesting international mix, but it's The Cruiser who dominates, looking ultra cool and emanating charisma all over the place. I can see why fans of the series would hate it, but God, what a film.