Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Mission: Impossible was a great television show, which on a weekly basis showed a team of men and women that were put into impossible situations, where they had to use every resource they had to succeed. It was very exciting, and the drama that they used in the show would translate quite well into a movie format. That is where Tom Cruise and the 1996 release of the first Mission: Impossible movie came into play. Tom Cruise was cast as American agent Ethan Hunt, who works for a team comprised of actors Emilio Estevez, Jon Voight, and Kristin Scott Thomas. Voight plays Jim Phelps, the leader of this team, who has been tasked with keeping a list of undercover agents from being released into the mainstream. If the list of agents and their identities is let out into the public, it could mean the death of everyone on that list. Phelps and his team must now find out who is behind the suspected theft of the disk with all this information.

Coming into the film, I was already a fan of Mission: Impossible through many of the old television episodes that I had seen in repeats. The innovative ways that they had to get out of dire situations, and the methods that they used had hooked me as an interested party. When I heard that there was going to be a movie I got excited, and when I saw the first previews for it, I knew it was something I wanted to go see. Tom Cruise was right at the tip of his career, and any movie starring him was going to bring in a ton of money, so it wasn't far reaching for the company to dump a lot of money into it. All totaled, it cost $75 million to make the film, which back in 1996 was a very high amount still to be spent on an action film. It paid off big time for everyone involved, including Cruise who got a kick-back for helping with production, in the tune of $422 million made world-wide.

The entire film is about deception and betrayal, and the ultimate goal of the "good-guys" to not allow the list of agents to be discovered. There are many twists and turns, and Tom Cruise is of course the man that everyone is supposed to root for as the film goes from one intense sequence to another. Cruise was decent in his role, and I admit that he was extremely believable as an agent on the run, trying to discover the truth. A few of the bigger named actors were really here for their bit parts, but I think that two people really stood out above everyone else: Ving Rhames and Henry Czerny. Rhames is better known for his rolls in Out of Sight with George Clooney, and as a convict in Con Air. Here is a revocated agent, who Ethan Hunt must tap for his computer expertise. He was really fun to watch, and I was glad that he returned for the second film.

Then we have Henry Czerny, who is in the role of Eugene Kittridge. He seems to be the head of the organization that they all work for (CIA most likely), and he plays his part with a lot of grit that may have been overlooked. He is better known for his role in Clear and Present Danger opposite of Harrison Ford. He cannot be overlooked for how much he brought to this movie, and when he is on screen you can actually feel the power that he seems to have at his fingertips. In the role of another agent we also have Jean Reno (from The Professional) who plays the same role he has done in many other films such as Ronin. He is decent, but he could have pretty much phoned in this role. The acting is one of the strong points of the story, and it really has to be, because there are a lot of turns that you have to believe through the way the characters interact, so its importance can not be slighted.

Amongst the chaotic plot, and the many twists of the story, a lot of people who went to see the film left confused. The story is pretty in-depth, and when they go into explanations of what is taking place, it will do you good to pay very close attention. Terms and allegiances are thrown around at the drop of a dime, and it does involve some thinking, even while things are exploding around you. By the time the movie ended for the first time for me, I was pretty excited about the way that it had built up, and was pleased with the ending that they went with. There were some loose ends that could be frustrating to some viewers, but really they aren't that important to the outcome of the film. This is meant to be an action/adventure type movie that gives you a dramatic story in a short amount of time. If you can take it as that, and enjoy the acting surrounding the story, I think you will enjoy this film. It ends up getting 4 out of 5 stars from me.







Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD