Luke’s Favorite Films Take Two: #73

#73: Mission: Impossible (1996)

Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight and Emmanuelle Béart
Plot: “An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.”
Stock: Up
Previous Ranking: #96

“Would you consider the cinema of the Caribbean? Aruba, perhaps?”

Mission: Impossible was one of the first movies that fell in the, “I need to watch that again, category.” A re-watch was necessary so I could pay closer attention to certain details and see what I had missed the first time around.

For an eleven-year-old kid, this is a pretty big deal. Up to this point in my life, movies were straight-forward by design. Their main purpose was to give my parents a break from parenting. Thanks to Mission: Impossible, my entire perspective changed as to what a film could be.

I didn’t enjoy all the other Mission: Impossible films nearly as much as I did the original, so don’t go expecting to see Ethan Hunt any more in my top 100. Instead of focusing on the twists of the story, I felt as if the first couple of sequels created action at the expense of plot.

What I appreciated the most from Mission: Impossible is that it had thrilling and tense sequences, it was cleverly written, and it had a strong and constant moving plot. Seems rather simple, but you’d be surprised how difficult it is to have all those parts play an equal role in any film’s equation.

UPDATE

I first watched this film at home with my Mom. When it was over I remember being excited for my Dad to view it and told him before he started, “now Dad, you have to pay very close attention the entire time.”

In other words I was trying to give my Dad a heads up that this movie wasn’t like the hundreds of others he took me to. He wasn’t allowed to doze off like he did during Matilda.

Mission: Impossible was a turning point for me with movies … and thankfully, for my parents as well.

Fun Fact: The only Mission: Impossible film that doesn’t feature any shootouts/gunfights.

Hint for #72: Apparently King Kong doesn’t have anything on this man.

Peace Be The Journey.