Review of Mission: Impossible (1996) by Conner R — 06 Jun 2011

Mission: Impossible is, in my opinion, one of the finest spy thrillers out there and my personal favorite. Now I might be biased, due to the fact that I am a huge fan of both Brian De Palma and Tom Cruise, but it just has everything I love about the genre and no real flaws of any kind. It manages to be entertaining, smart and executed with style no matter how many times you watch it. Not many movies with plot twists can retain their edge, but this definitely does. Maybe that is because it's more about the adventure and character moments surrounding the major plot than boiling to a conclusion that only strives for shock. Mission: Impossible gets everything right when it comes to storytelling, character development and filmmaking.

To me, Tom Cruise is one of the greatest actors out there and his Ethan Hunt is just ridiculously cool and the American equivalent of a young James Bond. At times he's incredibly cocky and over his head, but when it comes down to high pressured situations, he's the best at what he does. Seeing him go from a seemingly naive agent into a paranoid conspiracy theorist and then into a mastermind of deception is just really fun. Then there's an endless amount of great supporting roles including an effectively creepy John Voight, Jean Reno and Ving Rhames.

What this does in terms of plot is really original for a T.V. adaptation. It continues the story of Phelps, while also making something completely new with the general idea. David Koepp does a great job of making this something that nearly anyone can watch instead of just fans of the show. The plot is just a really great espionage scenario in which you have the whole concept of secret agents being questioned. The series of twists and turns that follow the initial mission are really well put together; it's just endless in delivering great action and intense character moments.

Brian De Palma is a director that I admire a lot and he does some amazing work here. He manages to keep the story going smoothly, but also bring in some of his trademark techniques that make it more than just average film making. His mastery of split screen, long shots, flat out bizarre camera angles and sequences editing together into in ways you just wouldn't expect. He basically makes this movie more than entertainment and knows exactly what he's doing in terms of storytelling and giving a unique experience.