Mission: Impossible

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1:50

Mission: Impossible

PG-13

Released May 22, 1996

1h 50m

Action

Adventure

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

65%

Tomatometer

66 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

When U.S. government operative Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his mentor, Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), go on a covert assignment that takes a disastrous turn, Jim is killed, and Ethan becomes the prime murder suspect. Now a fugitive, Hunt recruits brilliant hacker Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and maverick pilot Franz Krieger (Jean Reno) to help him sneak into a heavily guarded CIA building to retrieve a confidential computer file that will prove his innocence.

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Critics Consensus

Full of special effects, Brian DePalma's update of Mission: Impossible has a lot of sweeping spectacle, but the plot is sometimes convoluted.

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Carol Buckland

CNN.com

The "set" pieces of this film come off like clockwork, but there's no connective tissue -- no story line, no solid characterization, etc. In the end, De Palma's work seems full of sound and visual fury without signifying much of anything.

Jan 5, 2018

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

When it’s over, and the Rubik’s Cube finally does line up, we’re left with the odd sensation that, distracting as the picture may have been, there never was very much to it.

Rated: B

Sep 7, 2011

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Steven D. Greydanus

Decent Films

De Palma has a choppy, episodic sense of story, and he crafts individual scenes rather than telling a single unified story.

Rated: C+

Oct 29, 2008

Full Review

Betsy Sherman

The Improper Bostonian

What should have been a finely honed spy thriller is on Cruise-control in more ways than one. Or maybe the impossible mission is expecting a coherent movie from director Brian “Setpieces ’R’ Us” De Palma anymore.

Rated: 1.5/4

Jul 15, 2024

Full Review

Patrick Hicks

Feelin' Film Podcast

This works as a really great conservative prototype for future installments, complete with fun tech gadgetry and big action set pieces.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 3, 2023

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible is clever sleight-of-hand filmmaking on a Hollywood scale, earning the label of pure cinema.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 6, 2023

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rjerrycaldwellmsncom

I enjoyed watching it but I have seen it before.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/25/21

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Fer S

It is a good movie, but it does not make much sense and it was kind of confusing at the beginning. The last action scene was totally ridiculous.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/25

Full Review

LABEL 2

故事简单明了、影像工整扎实，但反派动机不够充分，对后冷战时代的乐观主义表现使观众回望时不可避免地感到一种“未完成”。

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/25/24

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Matthew K

Super well-thought out plot with a ton of twists that makes this an absolute must watch.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/18/24

Full Review

Pedro Henrique C

Honestly, this movie is very confusing and rushed, 1h 50m was not enough for me to understand the main story. Tom Cruise could not bear the movie.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/15/24

Full Review

Daniel C. M

The one who started it all. Actually feels very grounded and realistic despite...well...everything (don't ask me how they achieved this), and the action and direction are very good, it's suspenseful and thrilling scenes also work really well, which is rare for a movie like this. But the pacing can take quite a toll sometimes.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/05/24

Full Review

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Brian De Palma

Director

Tom Cruise

Ethan Hunt

Jon Voight

Jim Phelps

Henry Czerny

Kittridge

Ving Rhames

Luther

Kristin Scott Thomas

Sarah Davies

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Movieclips: Mission Impossible's Best Scenes

32:30

Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Is He Serious?

0:59

Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Tunnel Chase

2:12

Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - High-Speed Train Ride

2:12

Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Master of Disguise

2:11

Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Out of the Vault

1:33

Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Into the Vault

2:13

Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Close Call

2:13

Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Mission Gone Wrong

2:07

Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - A Mole Hunt

2:13

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Mission: Impossible II

56%

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TRAILER

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Mission: Impossible III

71%

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Mission: Impossible III

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Extreme Ops

7%

28%

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XXX: State of the Union

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XXX: State of the Union

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Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

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Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

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Mission: Impossible: Trailer 1

1:50

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Synopsis

When U.S. government operative Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his mentor, Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), go on a covert assignment that takes a disastrous turn, Jim is killed, and Ethan becomes the prime murder suspect. Now a fugitive, Hunt recruits brilliant hacker Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and maverick pilot Franz Krieger (Jean Reno) to help him sneak into a heavily guarded CIA building to retrieve a confidential computer file that will prove his innocence.

Director: Brian De Palma
Producer: Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner
Screenwriter: David Koepp, Robert Towne
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Cruise-Wagner Productions
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 22, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 2, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $180.9M
Runtime: 1h 50m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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