Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Mission: Impossible [Special Collector's Edition]


The first film in the series, "Mission: Impossible" is easily the superior of all three films. It sets the tone for the over-the-top stunts and insane situations that Ethan Hunt quickly becomes accustomed too as the franchise steams along. The first story finds Ethan Hunt on the run and he is kept in a situation where he has very few people to trust and the enemy of both his own IMF compatriots and those that the IMF is working to bring to justice. In the first film, the stunts are far more grounded than those of the following two films. Aside from the action sequence where Ethan Hunt is hanging on the side of a high speed train and must try to bring down a helicopter that is pursuing him as they go through a railway tunnel is definitely an over-the-top sequence that defies rule of physics and probability, but it is quite fun to watch unfold. There are a lot of explosions and lots of cool and nifty gadgets and weapons – I want some of that two-colored chewing gum. This is the most intelligent and ´spy-like´ film of the series. The scene where Ethan Hunt must pull files from a computer locked deep in Langley and do so while being held by a fellow agent from the ceiling in a room where temperature, sound and touch will set off the alarm is the trademark and defining scene in the series.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) finds himself and his team nearly eradicated during an operation in Prague. Team captain Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), Claire Phelps (Emmanuelle Beart), Jack Harmon (Emilio Estevez) and Sarah Davies (Kristin Scott Thomas) are killed when the operation goes bad and only Ethan survives. Impossible Mission Force (IMF) official Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) believes that Ethan is a mole that has been working for a mysterious arms dealer known only as Max. Hunt must work to clear his name and that of surviving teammate Claire by enrolling the help of disavowed agents Franz Kriger (Jean Reno) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) to find out who is the mole known as Job and bring him to justice as the one working with Max. Unfortunately, Ethan must steal what Job promised Max, a Noc List that is guarded deep within CIA headquarters at Langley and the identity of Job will completely change the way Ethan viewed the events that placed him as a prime target of the IMF.

The cast assembled for the fist film was very good. Jon Voight is a great actor who always makes his presence known. Any inclusion of the veteran actor instantly adds credibility to a film, though "Anaconda" may be a valid exception to that rule. French sweetheart Emmanuelle Beart has only made two American films and "Mission: Impossible" benefits from this film being one of the two projects she has done. Jen Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave and Emilio Estevez are some of the familiar names and faces that help give "Mission: Impossible" an above average ensemble cast that has become another mainstay of the series. One of the ideas behind "Mission: Impossible: III" was to make the character of Ethan Hunt more three-dimensional than how Cruise portrayed the character in the first two films. I feel the Ethan Hunt in the first "Mission: Impossible" film was the best the actor portrayed the confident and capable spy.

The storyline and action for "Mission: Impossible" is streamlined and minimalistic when compared to the film´s two sequels. The first film found Ethan Hunt as a very capable spy. He had great gear and was physically capable of performing some amazing stunts. The film was more grounded than the two over-the-top follow-ups. Yes, the plot twist that occurs towards the first film´s explosive finale can cause some confusion and worked too hard to trick audiences and keep them on unsteady ground, but that is my only complaint with the film´s story. It was a heavy handed attempt at making the plot deeper than what it needed to be, but it wasn´t too crazy. "Mission: Impossible" was intended to be a big budget action film and not a movie that was trying to woo audiences with a clever story and engaging plot. It was intended to be crafty and fun and under the careful direction of Brian De Palma, the first "Mission: Impossible" film is easily the best of the three and watching Ethan Hunt succeed during the big Langley sequence is easily the best scene in the entire series.

The first film in the series, "Mission: Impossible" is easily the superior of all three films. It sets the tone for the over-the-top stunts and insane situations that Ethan Hunt quickly becomes accustomed too as the franchise steams along. The first story finds Ethan Hunt on the run and he is kept in a situation where he has very few people to trust and the enemy of both his own IMF compatriots and those that the IMF is working to bring to justice. In the first film, the stunts are far more grounded than those of the following two films. Aside from the action sequence where Ethan Hunt is hanging on the side of a high speed train and must try to bring down a helicopter that is pursuing him as they go through a railway tunnel is definitely an over-the-top sequence that defies rule of physics and probability, but it is quite fun to watch unfold. There are a lot of explosions and lots of cool and nifty gadgets and weapons – I want some of that two-colored chewing gum. This is the most intelligent and ´spy-like´ film of the series. The scene where Ethan Hunt must pull files from a computer locked deep in Langley and do so while being held by a fellow agent from the ceiling in a room where temperature, sound and touch will set off the alarm is the trademark and defining scene in the series.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) finds himself and his team nearly eradicated during an operation in Prague. Team captain Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), Claire Phelps (Emmanuelle Beart), Jack Harmon (Emilio Estevez) and Sarah Davies (Kristin Scott Thomas) are killed when the operation goes bad and only Ethan survives. Impossible Mission Force (IMF) official Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) believes that Ethan is a mole that has been working for a mysterious arms dealer known only as Max. Hunt must work to clear his name and that of surviving teammate Claire by enrolling the help of disavowed agents Franz Kriger (Jean Reno) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) to find out who is the mole known as Job and bring him to justice as the one working with Max. Unfortunately, Ethan must steal what Job promised Max, a Noc List that is guarded deep within CIA headquarters at Langley and the identity of Job will completely change the way Ethan viewed the events that placed him as a prime target of the IMF.

The cast assembled for the fist film was very good. Jon Voight is a great actor who always makes his presence known. Any inclusion of the veteran actor instantly adds credibility to a film, though "Anaconda" may be a valid exception to that rule. French sweetheart Emmanuelle Beart has only made two American films and "Mission: Impossible" benefits from this film being one of the two projects she has done. Jen Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave and Emilio Estevez are some of the familiar names and faces that help give "Mission: Impossible" an above average ensemble cast that has become another mainstay of the series. One of the ideas behind "Mission: Impossible: III" was to make the character of Ethan Hunt more three-dimensional than how Cruise portrayed the character in the first two films. I feel the Ethan Hunt in the first "Mission: Impossible" film was the best the actor portrayed the confident and capable spy.

The storyline and action for "Mission: Impossible" is streamlined and minimalistic when compared to the film´s two sequels. The first film found Ethan Hunt as a very capable spy. He had great gear and was physically capable of performing some amazing stunts. The film was more grounded than the two over-the-top follow-ups. Yes, the plot twist that occurs towards the first film´s explosive finale can cause some confusion and worked too hard to trick audiences and keep them on unsteady ground, but that is my only complaint with the film´s story. It was a heavy handed attempt at making the plot deeper than what it needed to be, but it wasn´t too crazy. "Mission: Impossible" was intended to be a big budget action film and not a movie that was trying to woo audiences with a clever story and engaging plot. It was intended to be crafty and fun and under the careful direction of Brian De Palma, the first "Mission: Impossible" film is easily the best of the three and watching Ethan Hunt succeed during the big Langley sequence is easily the best scene in the entire series.

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