MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: language, violence, thematic elements

Rated:

Under every average-class American is a hunger for life in the fast lane but only a selected few find the dangerous and often deadly career of secret agent enticing. One of them is Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), a young American with the Central Intelligence Agency. His team has just been grouped to prevent personal files being transferred into enemy hands and must infiltrate the American embassy in Prague without alerting suspicions. Under the guidance of a well-known and trusted "old man" of the agency, Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), the six agents, which consist of a computer buff, Phelps's wife Claire and two other female agents as well as Ethan himself find themselves in hot water as apparently their cover is blown, and each find themselves running for their lives.

Five don't make it. Ethan is the only one to escape into Prague alive and contacts his superior, and head of the agency, Kittridge, to inform him that they've been betrayed. Kittridge insists upon a late night meeting in an aquarium restaurant and informs Ethan that the assignment was bogus -- to unearth a "mole" in the agency, a foreign agent who has been selling off secrets for a high price. And as Ethan is the only man to have made it out alive, he's the number one suspect and due for a long life in jail... if not the death sentence. Indignant and knowing he's been framed, Ethan makes a splash with his escape and eludes the agents, returning to their secret meeting place in an attempt to locate the real mole through his central computer. His one code is something that Kittridge mentioned... something about Job 3:14. But it won't come up in the mainframe.

A late night intruder sets the agent on all alert and to his surprise it's Claire Phelps (Emmanuelle Béart). She heard her husband's cry for help on the bridge and abandoned the car, leaving Hannah to her unknowing death. The two of them must unite to find their team's murderer and solve the baffling and deadly conspiracy before every agent in the universe winds up on the Hit List. Mission: Impossible aan action-packed explosive story to counter any James Bond flick with super techno special effects and enough riveting suspense to keep anyone entertained. With only a handful of profanities (the worst being several of "God," two each of "Jesus," and "G-damn," and one "Christ") and very little objectionable content, it's a welcome difference from the sex-obsessed films of the later nineties... and even its own sequel, which falls fate to disbelief. However, violence may drive some families away as it plays a large theme in the basis of the plot from the non-graphic but horrifying deaths of his team members to explosions, knives, and a deadly encounter with a helicopter.

Additionally, I found the plot difficult to follow and at times unbelievable and Claire's thick accent can puzzle rather than enlighten. Various loose ends abound while the director in my opinion fell short. The shots are unimaginative, sometimes downright boring, and the special effects can't quite rescue the artistic ability of the film. Claire shows several instances of cleavage and is checked by Ethan for a gun. (He pats her down briefly and then gives her a good shaking, convinced she's been sent by Kittridge, forcing her down upon the bed, where she bursts into hysterical tears and jabbers out her reasons for not returning sooner.) The theme is recognizable, as catchy as ever and resounds through one's head for the remainder of the day. Mission: Impossible is a good no-brainer and a clean alternative for those who adore action / agent movies but for more concerned parents and those who abhor brutal violence, Mission: Impossible is an abort mission.