Mission Impossible (1996) Retrospective / Review 

As a child I was for whatever reason really spooked out by the beginning where all the characters get killed. Watching the film again I was really surprised by how haunting some of those scenes still are, with all the fog and good lighting. Brian De Palma really knows his shit when it comes to visuals.

Besides the action scenes, my favorite part of this movie is Henry Czerny as Kittridge. Pretty much steals every scene he's in. The way he enunciates his words; he sounds like a sinister airline pilot. Haha.

It’s is a crime, and such a shame this channel hasn’t exploded into stardom...it is now one of my top 5 channels...I truly love it sir! Thank you

Gotta respect the amount of effort and research you put into these reviews!

I'm going to see "MI: Fallout" tomorrow. I can't believe the series has been going strong for this long.

For me it is the best MI of all Movies.

This movie sounds like it would be amazing now. Definitely ahead of it's time.

My voice may sound a bit more echoey than normal. The past week I've been house sitting a friends place. Their house used to be a chapel and all the rooms have large ceilings so the acoustics were a bit off.

The opening minutes of your retrospectives are better than most trailers.

Haven't watched this movie in nearly twenty years, and you've convinced me to check it out again Ollie. Well done!

Above all the MI franchise has proven how absolutely adept Cruise is as a producer, how completely he understand his own limitations, his strengths and his image. The fact that such a hoary formula is still going very strong indeed (has survived and outlasted Damon's Bourne and Craig's Bond) show's how well he grasps his audience. By the time the next Cold War starts (if it hasn't started already) the MI franchise will be totally fashionable again.

Oliver, brilliant as always. Totally agree. The original will always be the best. De Palma is just amazing with artistic cinematography & camera work. It's modern day Hitchcock with him & always builds subtle suspense, without it looking too explosive & chaotic. I did like Rogue Nation though, because it seemed to go back to the original spy look. I await your Alien review.

'Plenty of doves' Shows pigeons. Made me chuckle.

Truth be told, the first Mission Impossible film is my second favourite of the series, with Ghost Protocol as my personal fave. It always irks me how often I see this film ranked just above M:I:2, when the quality difference between the two is enormous. Once again, great review, Oliver! :)

My god, you have perfected the retrospective review into its own art form. Bravo.

It's a hugely fascinating series. MI1 is a lot like the tv series, MI2 is absurdly overstylized, MI3 is super serious but introduced the best iteration, and 4-6 are beautiful blends of all three. Fallout was a masterpiece of time-ticking fun.

Ollie, Imma say this. Your ability to edit intros the way you do is amazing. You do it so well that I sometimes want to watch films I'm not particularly fond of just because of the way you highlight them. You should be doing this for a living man.

Having grown up a huge fan of this TV series, I was online to see the day it opened. Sadly, I could not bring myself to accept that Jim Phelps would turn traitor and that KILLED the film for me. I did not return to this franchise until Ghost Prtotocol.

Great one, Oliver. I love the first Mission Impossible. The sequels have been okay, but Rogue Nation was better than the first movie or any of the sequels in my opinion, which I don't lightly. It was the culmination of everything good about sequels mixed heavily with most everything that was good about the original. Loved the retrospective! Much love! Much appreciation!

The Mission Impossible theme always reminds me of the classic 80's Carling Black Label tv advert with the squirrel.

This is by far the best RU-vid page, keep up the great work Oliver Harper

Excellent review. You always deliver. The first film is my favorite as well, but I do believe that turning Phelps into the bad guy was wrong. When I first saw the movie I expected Jim would would be revealed as an impostor, but no such luck. They really put the TV show to bed with that move.

My mom was a huge fan of the original 60's series, and then the remake. She never forgave this movie for ruining the Jim Phelps character.

I wonder why Emilio Estevez never got screen credit for this film?

It's really one movie I love, I kept watching it over and over again growing up.

Another fantastic retrospective Oliver Harper . Luckly for me, I tend to agree on all the more personal opinions that seep through your reviews, which makes your retrospectives all the more enjoyable to listen to. Plus, being probably the same age as you, I can often relate to many similar experiences of when certain movies and games came out. I still have Mission Impossible for N64 and what a let down that game was!

My favorite movie of all time. So many twists and turns, great action, and perfect pacing and directing.

Another stellar video Oliver.. Keep up the good work..

Stellar retrospective. I was originally negative toward the film as I am a fan of the TV series. However, if I look at it as a stand alone thriller, it's quite good...excellent in fact. I thoroughly enjoyed all the MI films except MI 2.

THANK YOU!!! Finally somebody who reveres this movie as much as I do!! And ESPECIALLY as it relates to the sequels. Nice job bro, great quality video. Subbed.

I always liked the first one the most. Brian De Palma is a great director. He was always great at creating atmosphere and suspense. And I always felt cheated by not been able to see the love scene between Cruise and Emmanuelle Béart. It would be terrific if they could realease a longer version on DVD or Blu-Ray.

For me personally, I loved the second movie as much as the first. Granted, the second movie didn't have much of a plot. But the action scenes did create a sense of tension. The main issue I have, is the overuse of slow motion. Those slow motions scenes, where Tom and Thandie's characters are gazing into each other eyes were hilarious. For me, the weakest was the 3rd movie. Mainly because it just seemed to be a fan service reboot. And the whole idea of the Rabit's Foot, was annoying. Hoffman's part, however, was outstanding. Ghost protocol was awesome! Larry Bird is a brilliant director. The actions scenes were amazing, and weren't over the top at all. The humour was the perfect amount. It is hilariously ironic, how much he paid homage to the movie series in The Incredibles, and ended up directing one.

I think you're exactly right about Tom Cruise - even when he's putting in a great performance, it's still just Tom Cruise. He's made such a name of himself (negatively as much as positively with his maniac period and Scientology) that people only see the actor. For example I love War of the Worlds, but Cruise is such a big name that it was difficult to get invested in his character. Many actors have fallen into the pattern of being so huge it doesn't really matter what film they're in - such as Cruise, Will Smith, and Nicole Kidman among others. Other, better actors can cut through their star-name pull and actually show their true acting ability (George Clooney has been in this bracket for a number of years by carefully choosing what he's in).

One of the main reasons I loved Rogue Nation is because it really feels close to tone of the first movie, love these series, it never gets old

Based on sales adjusted for inflation, the first movie is still the most successful. All of the sequels, continue to decline in ticket sales. Part of that is over saturation of the market and also the theater business in general.

Update: The soundtrack is getting an expanded and re-mastered re-release! In the words of Stimpy: "SCREAM LIKE A GIRL!".

Mission: Impossible II & Rogue Nation are my favorites of the series so far. I'm very interested in seeing what "M:I - Fallout" brings to the franchise.

Remember getting this for a christmas present when I was a kid on VHS, great memory watching this with my parents and loving the twisting tale and seeing the pub my cousins live near in London at the end of the film

Brilliant film. Soundtrack is fantastic and that train sequence is still one of my favorites! I enjoy the sequels a lot (aside from MI2) but this one is special.

"thanx to J.J. Abrams"... I never thought I'd hear that. Usually Abrams is the Grim Reaper, he kills franchises not help it

Great video Oliver. I always look forward to your next upload.

Lately I've been tryin to collect a lot of movies you've been doin retro/reviews even though I already have most of them because whenever I watch yur retro/reviews u make those films sound interestin

I think all the mission impossibles are great , Cruise is a hell of a actor

cheers mate for your time and effort. love watching these before i sleep . your like the new david attenborough

Once again you deliver a great review to a great movie.

It kills me how many movie plots revolve around lists of covert assets being compromised. Speaking as an intelligence officer we don't really has lists floating about... Good movie but silly premise.

Mission Incomprehensible. Great movie, with stylish action set pieces, but a plot that took many rewatches to fully understand.

God this channel is amazing... I'm blown away by the quality of your reviews.

Hello Oliver, Eric Ryder here! Wonderful review on "Mission Impossible (1996)". I really thought this was a very well-executed spy, suspense flick. I have grown to like Ethan Hunt as a character here because he was more believable than James Bond and that he wasn't a slick, suave individual, but a man serious and dedicated to his missions as precarious as they were. I liked that he was a decent character and that he didn't engage in any intercourse with the female lead, Clare Phelps who's married to Jim Phelps. I liked that the film got its audience guessing and thinking rather than wowing. Sure it wasn't fast-paced or explosive, but subtle and smart. The final scenes between Hunt and Phelps was very intense and their conflict wasn't flashy, but it stayed real and I wanted the franchise to have stayed this way. I guess the action fans wanted thrills for the sequels which is still wonderful as this franchise progresses, but it loses its direction from going from a spy thriller to an action film without giving a real reason except that it changes directors from Brian De Palma to John Woo. It's still a great film and a great franchise 9/10 for me. Please come visit my channel with my review on "Mission Impossible". Feel free to leave a comment. Okay? Thank you.

I’m a fan of the entire franchise, but this is the only one that I truly regard as a great standalone film. Not only the best in the series, but one of the best action/thrillers of all time imo. The direction is vintage De Palma, and Elfman’s score is brilliant.

Mission: Impossible II didn't feel like a Mission: Impossible film at all, but more of the lines of a James Bond film from the Brosnan era and since that is considered to be one of the weaker eras of that franchise, that is saying something.

25:32 The disk featured in the film is a 90 mm (3.5") MO-disk (Magneto Optical disk). At the time of the film 640 MB MO-disks were available, but the sponsor of the film Apple at that time still only sold the previous generation 230 MB drives, so these were used in the film.

I finally gave this one a full watch through in doing my franchise re-watch ahead of Dead Reckoning Part One, and it was very impressive. The 4K does a great amount of justice. It might feel a little 90's at times, but despite the conflicts on set, De Palma delivers the most paranoid thriller of the franchise. It does require tight attention to weave through the plot, and the point where Hunt is thinking one thing but saying another took a rewind to start grasping the filmmaking intentions there. So, maybe on a first watch it gets a little tangled, but it's truly a superb thriller with smart sequences and clever storytelling to make it feel like a noir espionage mystery. I need more De Palma in my life! I believe he did speak more in-depth in his "De Palma" documentary a few years ago about the problems on this film. I'll have to watch that full doc eventually.

Stephen H Burum was one of the best American DPs of the 80s and 90s. He made only 2 more movies with De Palma before being dumped. De Palma, being relatively private, never explained why (to my knowledge). Burum also shot Mystery Men (1999), which might be worth reviewing.

Just watched it in a marathon for the MI films. It was a solid film. I saw it when I was 17 and hadn't seen it since. I remember not enjoying it then, but that's probably because of what you mentioned. It doesn't hold your hand. Another good one Oliver.

De Palma had already emulated Hitchcock's psychopath and noir-ish suspence films several times. But Hitchcock was also known for spy suspence as well. I was happy to see De Palma finally direct something more along the lines of "North By Northwest." I love the imaginative and compelling use of spy cliché throughout the movie.

Original cast member Martin Landau (who also hated the film) said that all the original TV cast members were offered roles in the film. Specifically they were supposed to play the IMF team who gets killed off. That is why the movie feels lite on giving the team depth because originally it was supposed to bank on the audience knowing the team from the series. Landau refused their offer when he found out that he was going to killed off before the end of the first act. He said that he did not want to make fans of his character mad or pissed off in seeing him die.

I always enjoy your retrospectives; every single new one is on par with being as exciting as arriving on the day when a film that you were gagging to see arrives. Being a John Woo fan and someone who particularly loved _The Killer_ and _Hard-Boiled_ I was initially impressed by _M:I2_ when I saw it in the cinema, although it has been quite a while since I last saw it so I may have to give it another watch soon to see if my opinion of it has faltered at all (and, if it has, by how much). I saw _Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation_ on the Tuesday just gone and I absolutely loved it. The scene with Tom Cruise on the plane was just jaw-dropping in parts.

I agree with you the first one was the best out of all the Mission: Impossible movies. I was surprised to hear that Tom Cruise was a fan of the TV show because the movies don't really seem to embody what the show was about (basically a spy thriller that fit the mold of a heist movie), with that said the first movie managed to capture the FEELING of watching the show (I used to see re-runs as a kid and for example the wire scene really gave you that tension you would feel when watching the show) however, what really bugged me from Mission: Impossible 2 and from what I saw of the 3rd one, felt they would've been really good action movies if they didn't try to package themselves as Mission: Impossible movies. As usual, I really appreciated your retrospective. Thank you.

My favorite spy action thriller and one of my favorite movies of all time . Master piece

Mission Impossible seems to get better with each movie.

Awesome video Oliver. In 1996, "Mission Impossible" was distributed here in Chile by UIP (United International Pictures). This movie was so succesful that UIP decided to asked for more money from the chilean cinemas to let show this film than the rest of the distribution companies. As the cinema chains did not agree they decided to wait and althoug "M-I" was released in may 22nd, chileans have to wait until September 12th to see it. During the summer of that year I got the chance to spend one week in London and one big theater (which name I can´t remember) was showing this movie. Until this day I regret not watching it in the UK, because unfortunately here in Chile was projected in few theaters that didn't digital sound and very old projectors so the movie was really dark. Although is not my favorite of the franchise, every movie of the saga has been one step ahead in the spy genre taking a different road from the "coolness" of the Bond movies and the "non stop action" of the Bourne films.

This review makes me want to watch this movie again.

Good stuff as always. I don't think I ever sat through this movie, I only managed to catch certain scenes of it. After watching this review, I may want to seek this movie out. Great Job.

Oliver's trailers are always so good man!!

I respect this film as the most original and quality of the series. But I also respect Tom Cruise and his dedication to the role, specifically when he broke his leg and some of the endurance and other injuries he has sustained from this role. He has been burnt, beaten and cut many times. These movies are not all safe moments when they're made. He truly put a lot of his life into Ethan Hunt.

I agree, oliver. The first is still the best, and it is because of the plot which is one of the best seen in a spy films. Part two is the weakest, I was very disappointed when I saw it. Other parts then were good entertainment, but far from the first plot. It is true that Tom Cruise's role in the film industry is already so iconic that he has become a man, who plays Cruise. But he is, however, really always a pleasure to watch. And can expect that there will be good entertainment. Thank you again for the excellent job, Oliver.

Excited for Dead Reckoning. Fallout was one of the best action movies in recent years. I didn't think they could top Rogue Nation but they did. Wouldn't put it past Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise to knock it out of the park again.

Kitteridge's mole hunt works thank to Ethan " Morning Mr. Phelps." Brilliant Movie

Mission Inpossible is such a great film.I loved the villains' theme in MI:2. Definitely a John Woo film.MI:3 is my favorite. It was more of a team film and Philip Seymour Hoffman's villain is still unmatched in my opinion. Admittedly the film is missing something that the first film has.

The first one is still the best. Though Ghost Protocol and Fallout are awesome.

Just wish the first 3 Mission: Impossible movies would get 4K remasters and all the extras for Blu-ray or UHD Blu-ray. Seen all 5 M:I films in cinemas and a huge fan of the Original including 1980's TV show. Also the rumored 3 1/2 hour cut for Mission: Impossible 2.

Excellent job, Oliver. I'd been looking forward to this ever since I saw the preview. What's next? I noticed you have touched Scorsese. Perhaps, it's time to visit Goodfellas?

Oliver your reviews are great and they deserve more views and subscribers. I heard on a previous review you're a big street fighter fan. There's a live action adaption called Street Fighter - Assassins Fist, which shows the back story of Ryu & Ken, Its the best street fighter adaption I've ever seen and I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on it. Its available on Netflix or RU-vid. Cheers mate keep up the good work.

This series has been going nearly 25 yrs is crazy especially since Fallout is likely my favorite one to date.

I have nostalgia for this because I really remember when it came out. More than anything, I remember my older brother telling me this was too smart for me, bastard... There's a story that De Palma evidently told off visiting director Reza Badiyi, who directed the most episodes of the television show and was asked by Paramount to visit the set. Who knows if it is true, but given De Palma's genius for putting his foot in his mouth on set, I believe it. The second movie was one of the first films I remember playing the first summer I worked at the cinema, and thought it was trash.

I watched it again today (remembering what you said, good sir) and have a newfound love and appreciation for it 👍👍 _Ghost Protocol_ and this one are my favorites

Was that Emilio Estevez line, *Hasta lasagna, don't get any on y'ah* improvised?

New to ya channel an I've spent the whole weekend watching your videos n I must say I love your taste in movies.. I just wish my friends were in to movies as much as I am so could share your videos

This one is my favorite from the MI series by far. Great mix of a spy mystery with good action. If you are into older PlayStation games and don't mind a bit of clunky graphics/gameplay, I recommend playing the game for the PS1. It offers a good amount of stealth (which was rare at the time), puzzles and some action. The soundtrack is brilliant as well.

Twenty-one years and four sequels later, this is still the best Mission.

Superb movie.. another de Palma classic

I found the helicopter scene at the end just too silly, but the rest of the film is sheer brilliance. Great review, again!

I went to see the film at the cinema and I tend to agree with Martin Landau when he said that it was a great film but it's not Mission Impossible. It's as if they took a typical spy/action thriller and added just enough to make it look like it was a tie in to the original series but it doesn't feel anything like it to me. For me the best movie version of the Mission Impossible tv series was Chris Nolan's Inception, which got the concept right and added a few layers but the foundation of it was very much akin to a Mission Impossible episode.

One thing I can never figure out is did Claire actually kill Hannah? And did Claire only go along with Jim because he was her husband? It's obvious that she didn't won't to kill Ethan because she told her husband " don't Jim" when he pointed the gun at Ethan.

Could you please do Men In Black? It's such a great movie and a classic!

very very good!I'm amazed at how so many times I completely agree with your opinion and review!

Love M:I 2. Hated 3. 1 ok. 4-5 are excellent with Brad Bird.

Another fascinating review Oliver. One point I did disagree with was your take on the killing off of the well known actors so early. I remember when I first saw the movie that part really shocked me. I naturally assumed that those characters would be the IMF team for the whole movie. Killing them off so early created a great sense of tension and alarm setting the paranoia tone that lasted for the whole movie. I think using the well known actors made up for the lack of "getting to know them" and for me is one of my most the most memorable "twists" or "shocks", especially being so early. If we had spent too much time with them the shock of their early deaths would be have diminished.

People say Tom Cruise was too small to play Jack Reacher and Hugh Jackman was too tall to play Wolverine so imagine if they had swapped roles as in if Jack Reacher had come out at the same time as the First X-Men. I'm sure there's an alternate reality where that happened.

Wonderful review Oliver ! The best MI by far, the direction, score and acting are all amazing. It also is the most realistic of the series. Anybody knows how to see or has seen the cut love scene between Ethan and Claire shown briefly in the trailer ???

This soundtrack was actually composed by The Propellerheads, who are a dance music outfit.

We don’t talk enough about how odd this movie actually is in its production. Okay, Tom Cruise as star and producer. Makes sense. Adaptation of a semi-popular IP. Makes sense. The original main character “dies” early on and is also the villain? Okay… directed by Brian De Palma of Carrie and Blow Out? Also odd, but I suppose The Untouchables had come out, he can do action. Written by David Koepp (Jurassic Park), Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List) and Robert Towne (Chinatown). Um, huh? And the main action set piece is a mostly silent scene in which Tom Cruise dangles from the ceiling on a wire. Like, what is this movie? And why is it the best Mission: Impossible?

This movie for a first installment in the Mission Impossible Film Series is pretty good. For a film with little action, it's story and plot are engaging.

Your finally paragraph sums it all up. This first "bland" movie is much closer to the series, and that´s why it´s so good.. (For me at least!) Keep up the good work, Oliver!

NGL I actually like the N64 MI game just as much if not more than Goldeneye. I actually LIKED its focus on stealth and weird mix of mechanics even if as you said a bit clunky.

Emilio not having a screen credit is bizarre considering he was famous and had speaking credits in beginning

I am with you on the charm of the 1st movie. I was amazed back in 96 watching this on big screen. I watched the tv series after that and that feels totally different. I can however understand the show fans being annoyed with Jim Phelps being the bad guy. I also hated MI2 and loved MI3 mainly as that also operated as a team movie as opposed to Tom doing his magic. MI4 had one amazing scene in Dubai but I did not care for the bad guy. MI5 was better and MI6 was even better due to Cavill. But overall I am nostalgic for the 1st movie more than others. Nice Retrospective/Review.

Oliver, plan on doing another Tom Cruise movie sometime? Might I suggest Interview with the Vampire or War of the Worlds?

Love this movie but Phelps would NEVER betray the IMF.