Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
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.
Mission: Impossible (1996) is a stylish, confidently directed spy thriller from Brian De Palma that brought a classic TV franchise to cinemas with genuine flair. The plot is deliberately convoluted — a labyrinthine web of double-crosses and misdirection — which is both a strength and weakness; it rewards attention but loses casual viewers. The acting is solid across the board, with Cruise commanding the screen, though supporting roles are underserved. De Palma's direction elevates the cinematography to something genuinely distinctive — the Langley vault heist in particular is iconic, choreographed with surgical tension and visual wit. Novelty earns high marks because De Palma stamps his auteur sensibility all over a blockbuster franchise template — split diopter shots, operatic suspense sequences, and a postmodern self-awareness that sets this apart from generic spy fare of the era. The ending, featuring the chunnel train confrontation, is kinetically exciting but somewhat rushed and overly reliant on spectacle over the intricate plotting established earlier.