Mission: Impossible
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When Ethan Hunt, the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he's surprised to learn that he's the prime suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.
What critics thought
De Palma's blockbuster debut for the franchise divided critics largely along one fault line: the plot, which many found either incoherent or mechanically over-emphatic, even as the set pieces — particularly the CIA vault infiltration and the train-top finale — drew near-universal admiration. The result is a film that plays better as a sequence of bravura moments than as a coherent whole, and audiences have consistently warmed to it more than contemporary critics did.
“This is a movie that exists in the instant, and we must exist in the instant to enjoy it.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“stylish, brisk but lacking in human dimension despite an attractive cast, the glass is either half-empty or half-full here, though the concoction goes down with ease.”
Mike Clark·USA Today
“There are empty thrills, and some suspense. But throughout the film, we keep waiting for some trace of personality, some color in the dialogue, some hipness in the staging or in the characters' attitudes. And it's not there.”
Hal Hinson·The Washington Post
“Intriguing yet mechanistic, jammed with action yet as talky and dense as a physics seminar, the studiously labyrinthine Mission: Impossible grabs your attention without quite tickling your imagination.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
Genres
Action, Adventure, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Brian De PalmaDirector
Tom CruiseEthan Hunt
Jon VoightJim Phelps
Emmanuelle BéartClaire
Henry CzernyKittridge
Jean RenoKrieger
Ving RhamesLuther
Kristin Scott ThomasSarah Davies
Vanessa RedgraveMax
Ingeborga DapkūnaitėHannah
Marek VašutDrunken Male IMF Agent
Danny ElfmanComposer
David KoeppWriter
Robert TowneWriter
Steven ZaillianWriter
Stephen H. BurumCinematographyMission: Impossible
When Ethan Hunt, the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he's surprised to learn that he's the prime suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.
What critics thought
De Palma's blockbuster debut for the franchise divided critics largely along one fault line: the plot, which many found either incoherent or mechanically over-emphatic, even as the set pieces — particularly the CIA vault infiltration and the train-top finale — drew near-universal admiration. The result is a film that plays better as a sequence of bravura moments than as a coherent whole, and audiences have consistently warmed to it more than contemporary critics did.
“This is a movie that exists in the instant, and we must exist in the instant to enjoy it.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“stylish, brisk but lacking in human dimension despite an attractive cast, the glass is either half-empty or half-full here, though the concoction goes down with ease.”
Mike Clark·USA Today
“There are empty thrills, and some suspense. But throughout the film, we keep waiting for some trace of personality, some color in the dialogue, some hipness in the staging or in the characters' attitudes. And it's not there.”
Hal Hinson·The Washington Post
“Intriguing yet mechanistic, jammed with action yet as talky and dense as a physics seminar, the studiously labyrinthine Mission: Impossible grabs your attention without quite tickling your imagination.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
Genres
Action, Adventure, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Brian De PalmaDirectorTom CruiseEthan HuntJon VoightJim PhelpsEmmanuelle BéartClaireHenry CzernyKittridgeJean RenoKriegerVing RhamesLutherKristin Scott ThomasSarah DaviesVanessa RedgraveMaxIngeborga DapkūnaitėHannahMarek VašutDrunken Male IMF AgentDanny ElfmanComposerDavid KoeppWriterRobert TowneWriterSteven ZaillianWriterStephen H. BurumCinematographyStream
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