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Mission: Impossible

Play trailer 1:50 Poster for Mission: Impossible PG-13 Released May 22, 1996 1h 50m Action Adventure Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 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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Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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rjerrycaldwellmsncom I enjoyed watching it but I have seen it before. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/25/21 Full Review Aiden K Hey that’s pretty good 7.1/10 Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/25 Full Review super k An Admirable start to an iconic franchise. While the plot and script might be a bit confusing to follow, the main highlight is the use of the gadgetry and the action. Of course, Tom Cruise is always a charm to watch on screen. I like it. B- Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/17/25 Full Review Audience Member This review occurs at 2025. A monotonous action movie with impressive high-tech thrill and descent acting. I mean, I have seen action movies that are way more interesting and that's due to the fact that the character was more complicated and developed. You have to give "Tom Cruise" the incentive to act emotionally. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/25 Full Review Kelly N I liked. Different way to do an action without. Hardly any guns shot. Great stunts. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/25 Full Review tiago m Não é um filme ruim, tem uma boa reviravolta (embora tenha sido confusa pra mim em alguns pontos), mas é lento, e eu senti falta de cenas de ações, o filme ganhou essa nota muito por isso e pelo fato de ser meio lento. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/08/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Mission: Impossible

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Mission: Impossible

Movieclips: Mission Impossible's Best Scenes Movieclips: Mission Impossible's Best Scenes 32:30 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Is He Serious? Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Is He Serious? 0:59 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Tunnel Chase Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Tunnel Chase 2:12 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - High-Speed Train Ride Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - High-Speed Train Ride 2:12 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Master of Disguise Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Master of Disguise 2:11 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Out of the Vault Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Out of the Vault 1:33 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Into the Vault Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Into the Vault 2:13 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Close Call Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Close Call 2:13 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Mission Gone Wrong Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Mission Gone Wrong 2:07 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - A Mole Hunt Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - A Mole Hunt 2:13 View more videos
Mission: Impossible II 56% 42% Mission: Impossible II Watchlist TRAILER for Mission: Impossible II Mission: Impossible III 71% 69% Mission: Impossible III Watchlist TRAILER for Mission: Impossible III Extreme Ops 7% 28% Extreme Ops Watchlist Die Another Day 56% 41% Die Another Day Watchlist Tomorrow Never Dies 57% 53% Tomorrow Never Dies Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

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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