Mission: Impossible

1996 • 110 minutes

About this movie

Tom Cruise ignites the screen in this runaway smash hit that "holds you on the edge of your seat before blasting you out of it." (Howard Rosenberg, Los Angeles Times). Cruise stars as Ethan Hunt, a secret agent framed for the deaths of his espionage team. Fleeing from government assassins, breaking into the CIA's most impenetrable vault, clinging to the roof of a speeding bullet train, Hunt races like a burning fuse to stay one step ahead of his pursuers... and draw one step closer to discovering the shocking truth.

Ratings and reviews

74/100 - There's something to be said for a summer action blockbuster that is exactly that executed to its fullest potential. Yes, the first of the M:I films is a little ridiculous, a little too complicated for its own good, and obviously focused on the action. But what good action it is! Cruise shows a nice combination of dedicated stuntwork and solid dramatic acting, and the screenplay allows for a lighter tone with good comedy. A well-acted, well-directed action thriller. What more can you ask for?

A stab in the back to fans of the series by turning Mr Phelps into a traitor. The movie is still worth watching and many of the sequels are good (if not just action montages). Gone is the format that so many loved during the series run so in reality it isn't really Mission Impossible but a different entity using the name.

Lots of fun but a bit dated by now. The "Internet" here is a bunch of newsgroups and modem access is the protocol of the day, but it's still a fun action piece and the best movie version of the show they've made.