Mission: Impossible (1996)

Directed by: Brian De Palma | 110 minutes | action, thriller, adventure | Actors: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Henry Czerny, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kirstin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave, Dale Dye, Marcel Iures, Ion Caramitru, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Rolf Saxon, Karel Dobry, Andreas Wisniewski, Rudolf Pechan , Gaston Subert, Tony Vogel, Laura Brook, Morgan Deare, Emilio Estevez

Besides a large budget for the film itself, little cost has been saved on the advertising for this first ‘Mission: Impossible’ film adaptation. U2’s Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton have taken the well-known piece of music in hand and scored a top 40 hit with it. The catchy song and clip caused a revival and high expectations for the film. Fortunately, ‘Mission: Impossible’ did not disappoint in the expectation of James Bond-esque stunts and gadgets.

Tom Cruise plays the emphatic lead role as Ethan Hunt who unfortunately needs help from a few extra team members here and there. The comic relief roles are played by the heavily built Ving Rhames who plays against the odds as a computer expert and Jean Reno as a selfish but excellent pilot. The latter is especially apparent towards the end of the film, where stuntmen and the computer animators have had their hands full.

The most famous scene from ‘Mission: Impossible’ is the impossible break into the CIA headquarters where the problem lies in not having any pressure on the floor. Cruise hangs there from a single wire around his waist just inches above the ground. In order not to keep hitting the ground with his head, he cheated slightly by weighing down his shoes with coins. So he can really buy anything with money: even balance.

Brian De Palma has hit his big hits with mafia stories like the classics ‘Scarface’ and ‘The Untouchables’, but with ‘Mission: Impossible’ he ventures into grandiose actions with brand new technical gadgets and suspense by sensation. Although this is almost diametrically opposed to his previous experience, he manages to survive in this world of espionage, tight action and unreal heroes.

The spectacular action may be incredibly unbelievable, but it’s definitely worth watching this movie to the end. In addition to the entertaining middle section in which Tom Cruise is the float, the end of the film is a pinnacle of speed and crazy revs on top of a TGV. A very successful action film with a more than decent story in which the plot twists lie around your ears.