MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE . Directed by Brian De Palma; written by David Koepp and Robert Towne; produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner for Paramount. Starring Tom Cruise, Emmanuelle Beart and Jon Voigt. Rated PG-13 (violence, but not very graphic)
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Mission: Impossible gets the job done. Exciting action (although dragging a bit in spots), big stars (some REALLY big ones in surprising, cameo-like roles) and not much to think about (except the confusing plot)—sounds like summer's here!
Some fellow baby-boomers might remember the TV series from the '60's and '70's that the movie is based upon. It was one of my family's favorites. The same kind of story that the TV show made famous is used here in the big-screen version. It's got a meticulous, sometimes confusing, plot, involving lots of gadgets, disguises and nail-biting suspense.
One difference (symptomatic of these cynical times, perhaps?) is that on the TV show, you always knew precisely who the good and bad guys were. Here, we're not too sure. But, and this is a big plus, they've kept the familiar musical theme, which I'm sure you've heard, even if you never watched the old show, and which is probably some of the best series music ever composed.
Overall, though, the movie doesn't quite come up to the high quality the show reached week after week. This isn't great cinema, not even great summer cinema. But it is stylish and mostly fun, and will be popular, if not, perhaps, as popular as its makers might have hoped.
Cruise does a good job as the action lead and he's surrounded by an astonishingly notable supporting cast. Vanessa Redgrave, of all people, shows up as an international crime figure; Voigt is solid as Cruise's mentor; Emilio Estevez (apparently uncredited) makes a brief splash, but a splash, nonetheless; Ving Rhames and Jean Reno make a high-powered couple of side-kicks.
May 29, 1996