Mission: Impossible (film)
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| Mission: Impossible MissionImpossiblePoster.jpg | |
| IMDB Page (external link) | |
| Writer: | David Koepp Steven Zaillian Robert Towne |
| Starring: | Tom Cruise Jon Voight Jean Reno Ving Rhames |
| Director: | Brian De Palma |
| Music by: | {{{music}}} |
| Distributor: | Paramount Pictures |
| Release Date: | 1996 (USA) |
| Runtime: | 110 min |
| Language: | English |
| {{{series}}} | {{{series_label}}} |
| {{{awards}}} | {{{awards_label}}} |
Mission: Impossible (1996) is the first film based on the television series Mission: Impossible. It was directed by Brian De Palma and starred Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. The film was the third highest grossing of the year.
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Plot summary
Ethan Hunt, the point man in Jim Phelps' team of IMF agents, is framed for murdering most of his team and attempting to steal and sell the CIA "NOC" list to an arms dealer named "Max". The NOC list is a list of every IMF agent, their codenames and their real names. He goes rogue and, along with Claire Phelps (the only other surviving IMF agent), offers to steal Max the NOC list for real, in exchange for being put in contact with the person who set him up.
Filming locations include: Prague and London.
Cast and characters
- Tom Cruise — Ethan Hunt
- Jon Voight — Jim Phelps
- Ving Rhames — Luther Stickell
- Jean Reno — Franz Krieger
- Emmanuelle Béart — Claire Phelps
- Henry Czerny — Eugene Kittridge
- Vanessa Redgrave — Max
Crew
- Directed by: Brian De Palma
- Written by: David Koepp, Steven Zaillian
- Produced by: Paul Hitchcock , Tom Cruise
- Composed by: Danny Elfman
Box Office
- Budget - $80,000,000
- Marketing cost - N/A
- Opening Weekend Gross (Domestic) - $45,436,830
- Total Domestic Grosses - $180,981,886
- Total Overseas Grosses - $275,512,947
- Total Worldwide Grosses - $456,494,833
Reaction
The movie was the third highest in box office gross for the year. Despite the large revenues, the film was criticised for being unfaithful to the original television series Mission: Impossible by focusing more on the star (and also producer) Tom Cruise's character Ethan Hunt rather than emphasizing teamwork. At the same time the film made the central character of the television series, Jim Phelps, a traitor in the CIA. The script was also criticized for being too complicated, a twist on the usual complaints that summer blockbusters are too lowbrow and simple. The acting was viewed as flat on most of the actors, due to the fact for being Tom Cruise's debut as film producer. To the film's credit however, it was regarded as much more faithful than its sequel Mission: Impossible II.
Trivia
- The movie prominently features 230 MB magneto-optical discs, curiously named diskettes, maybe a product placement.
- The heist scene seems to be a reference to both Topkapi and 2001: A Space Odyssey movies.
- Peter Graves, who played Jim Phelps in the original series, declined to reprise his role in the movie after learning his character was to die at the film's conclusion.
