--- title: "Mission: Impossible" year: 1996 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/mission-impossible" fi1m_id: "mission-impossible" imdb_id: "tt0117060" tmdb_id: 954 wikidata_id: "Q1741232" fi1m_score: 81 critics_score: 75 critics_reviews: 20 published: "2026-09-13" updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:51.625725+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Mission: Impossible (1996) Directed by Brian De Palma · 1h 51m · MPA PG-13 · Adventure, Action, Thriller ## Identity Mission: Impossible - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/mission-impossible - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** mission-impossible - **IMDb ID:** tt0117060 - **TMDB ID:** 954 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1741232 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117060/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/954, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1741232 **Fi1m score: 81** · Critics 75 from 20 reviews *In a sentence:* Tom Cruise hangs from a wire and makes sitting still feel like a dangerous occupation > Brian De Palma’s spy thriller is tense, ingenious entertainment, with Tom Cruise making its elaborate schemes feel urgent. The screenplay makes a simple task needlessly difficult to follow, but the set-pieces are worth the trouble. ## Synopsis Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is a spy trying to protect a list of secret agents. His work involves gadgets, disguises and a succession of complications in which appearances offer little certainty. Jon Voight plays Jim Phelps, Emmanuelle Béart is Claire and Henry Czerny is Kittridge, with Jean Reno as Krieger and Ving Rhames as Luther. Vanessa Redgrave also appears. Brian De Palma directs an action thriller that follows Hunt through covert operations and elaborate physical challenges, as the business of protecting secret identities becomes increasingly difficult. ## Review Brian De Palma gets the important part of *Mission: Impossible* right: he makes us worry about how a job can possibly be done. This is an absorbing spy thriller, even when David Koepp and Robert Towne’s screenplay makes the job itself harder to grasp than it needs to be. Ethan Hunt has a list of secret agents to protect, which ought to be enough trouble for anyone. Gadgets, disguises and complications accumulate around that straightforward premise, but the film earns our patience whenever De Palma settles down to stage a physical problem. Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt with a concentration that makes the gadgets and disguises seem like tools somebody might actually rely on. His seriousness is useful even when the plot becomes faintly ridiculous, because he never appears to be waiting for us to applaud the cleverness of it all. Vanessa Redgrave offers a welcome change of manner: she brings amusement to a film otherwise rather concerned with looking purposeful. The pleasure of her performance is how little effort it seems to take. The wire-suspended vault burglary is where that concentration pays off. We held our breath at the sight of Cruise hanging there; after so much explanation, the precarious position of one body is enough. Stephen H. Burum’s cinematography lets us study the difficulty of the manoeuvre, and Norman Reynolds’s production design makes the vault feel forbiddingly controlled. The setting does useful dramatic work: it looks like a place that will not accommodate a mistake. Paul Hirsch’s editing makes the suspense last without wearing it out, allowing the practical difficulty to hold our attention. A sequence like this needs pauses as much as movement, and the cuts do not keep demanding that we admire the cutting. Danny Elfman’s score keeps pressing the urgency, sometimes harder than the action needs. The film can generate enough tension by leaving Hunt to negotiate a difficult manoeuvre, and the musical encouragement feels less necessary than the careful cutting. Koepp and Towne are less successful with the people who have to live inside their complications. With Jon Voight as Jim Phelps, Emmanuelle Béart as Claire and Ving Rhames as Luther, the cast promises more human interest than the writing supplies. The film gives us plenty to keep track of without always giving us enough reason to care. That is a limitation, and the skill of the action cannot quite remove it. For a spy thriller, this is a pleasingly patient film about getting a dangerous job done. De Palma allows an elaborate piece of action to develop instead of treating its preparation as something to hurry through. The larger set-pieces are enjoyable, but the vault burglary gives the clearest sense of his skill: we understand enough to worry, and have time to do so. At 111 minutes, the film does not need to rush past its most interesting business. Watch it when there is no need to keep one eye on anything else. Interruptions will do the plot no favours, and the careful staging deserves the attention. Keep the conversation for afterwards; there will be a few things to check. *Fi1m score 81, published 13 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Mission: Impossible worth watching?** *Mission: Impossible* is worth watching for anyone who enjoys a patient, ingenious spy thriller, and we scored it 81. Tom Cruise gives its gadgets and schemes a seriousness that keeps them urgent, and the wire-suspended vault burglary is a model of sustained suspense. The screenplay makes the plot harder to follow than it needs to be, so watch it without distractions. **How long is Mission: Impossible, and what is it rated?** *Mission: Impossible* runs 1h 51m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is an adventure and action film. **Where can I watch Mission: Impossible in the US?** *Mission: Impossible* is streaming on Paramount+, HBO Max, The Roku Channel, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How does Mission: Impossible compare to Mission: Impossible II?** *Mission: Impossible* is the better film of the two: tighter, more patient and more interested in how a job gets done than in how its star looks doing it. [*Mission: Impossible II*](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-ii) swaps De Palma's careful staging for John Woo's slow motion and doves, and works for its opening half hour before the plot arrives. Choose the first for suspense, the second for spectacle. **Do you need to have seen the other Mission: Impossible films before Mission: Impossible?** *Mission: Impossible* is the first film in the series and stands entirely on its own, so nothing needs to be seen beforehand. Ethan Hunt and his list of secret agents are introduced from scratch, and the later films build on this one rather than the other way round. It is the natural place to start. **What should I watch after Mission: Impossible?** After *Mission: Impossible*, try [*The 39 Steps*](https://film.one/film/the-39-steps) (1935, Fi1m 88): For another spy chase where staying alive requires thinking quickly. Then [*The Conversation*](https://film.one/film/the-conversation) (1974, Fi1m 92): For surveillance suspense that makes listening as dangerous as running; and [*Ronin*](https://film.one/film/ronin) (1998, Fi1m 80): For professionals under pressure, uncertain loyalties and car chases with weight. **What order should I watch the Mission: Impossible films in?** Release order is the safe choice for Mission: Impossible, and it is the order [our collection page](https://film.one/collections/mission-impossible) lists them in. *Mission: Impossible* is the first of the 8 Mission: Impossible titles on Fi1m; after it [*Mission: Impossible II*](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-ii). [The full order.](https://film.one/collections/mission-impossible.md) ### Reviews we read (20) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kevin Thomas (90/100, inferred): The film has lots going for it including Cruise's charisma, De Palma's sleek direction, a first-rate cast and superb suspense sequences capped by a breathtaking climax stunt. The script is mercifully simple at heart despite its spy plot complexities. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-05-21-ca-6462-story.html) - **The New Yorker**, Terrence Rafferty (90/100, inferred): De Palma makes action-movie magic with ingenious craftsmanship that elevates the big-budget film beyond crude entertainment. The director's strengths turn the script's commercial strategies into a dense, formally complex visual experience. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/06/03/1996-06-03-085-tny-cards-000151745) - **The New York Times**, Stephen Holden (90/100, inferred): The film is a sleek, entertaining update of the TV series with Tom Cruise as the ideal superhero spy racing to protect a list of secret agents. De Palma directs with chilly suavity, balancing gadgetry and twists in an exhilarating way. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/22/movies/film-review-mission-accepted-tom-cruise-as-superhero.html) - **Little White Lies**, Victoria Luxford (85/100, inferred): The critic praises how Brian De Palma and Tom Cruise's film fundamentally changed action cinema by blending Hitchcockian tension and intricate plotting with breathless stunts. It highlights the movie's success in rebooting the franchise and elevating Tom Cruise's image as a committed action star who performed his own stunts. [Read](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/mission-impossible-20-year-anniversary-tom-cruise) - **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (85/100, inferred): The piece argues the original remains the best entry, crediting De Palma for infusing the star vehicle with perverse suspense, artifice, and humiliation of the hero that still feels fresh and distinctive. It singles out the hybrid quality of classic thriller mechanics and Cruise's star power for praise. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2021/05/tom-cruises-first-mission-impossible-is-still-the-best.html) - **Empire**, Mark Salisbury (80/100, inferred): The critic calls it a summer blockbuster that delivers with gadgets, disguises, and De Palma's masterful set-pieces like the wire-suspended vault sequence. The convoluted plot is forgiven because the film is enormous fun overall. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/mission-impossible-review/) - **Radio Times**, Alan Jones (4/5): Cruise and De Palma deliver a thrilling extravaganza of jaw-dropping effects and stunts; forget the complicated plot and enjoy the epic rollercoaster, especially the vault burglary and helicopter pursuit sequences. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-rkjce1/mission-impossible/) - **The Telegraph** (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the 1996 film as a smart, intricate spy thriller true to the original TV series, highlighting Brian De Palma's masterful suspense craftsmanship and complex plotting that distinguished it from later entries and Bond films. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/mission-impossible-tom-cruise-brian-de-palma-original/) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (3/4): The critic finds the plot nearly impenetrable and overly reliant on double-crosses but praises Brian De Palma's focus on style, suspenseful set pieces like the computer heist and train chase, and Tom Cruise's cool presence in the action. The film succeeds as slick, entertaining spectacle despite its logical flaws. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mission-impossible-1996) - **Slant Magazine**, Zach Campbell (75/100, inferred): The film's appeal lies more in improbability than suspense, with De Palma and screenwriters crafting a meta-action piece full of defiant spectacles and narrative gaps that reward analytical viewing. It sustains interest through self-aware chutzpah despite not being a full postmodern masterpiece. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/mission-impossible/) - **The AV Club** (75/100, inferred): The retrospective views the film as unmistakably De Palma's work, a paranoid surveillance thriller that turns the spy premise into stylish suspense rather than anonymous action. It praises the director's signature set pieces and willingness to subvert expectations from the source material. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/our-mission-which-we-accepted-was-to-watch-the-missio-1798266534) - **Sight and Sound**, José Arroyo (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film glamorous, exciting, sexy and sometimes witty with indelible visual moments, but gleefully superficial and lacking depth or coherence. It belongs to a history of cinema of attractions, offering spectacle and set-pieces that assault the senses. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/mission-impossible-popcorn-movie-take-seriously) - **Time Out**, TCh (70/100, inferred): The film is a bewildering, ludicrous but mostly fun postscript to the spy genre, with more and less than meets the eye; De Palma crafts elaborate conceits and a nail-biting robbery sequence with Hitchcockian panache, though the result is ultimately superficial. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/mission-impossible) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Hunter (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film dour and only fitfully entertaining, with a dreary script and half-baked characters that take themselves too seriously despite some strong actors being underutilized. The climactic train sequence provides crowd-pleasing fireworks, and performances like Vanessa Redgrave's stand out. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/mission-impossible-movie-1996-review-tom-cruise-1235536387/) - **Variety**, Greg Evans (30/100, inferred): The film is dour and sexless escapism with a letdown from its top creative team, though De Palma generates tension in set pieces like the vault heist and train climax. It succeeds as a star vehicle for Cruise but lacks heart or identifiable villains. [Read](https://variety.com/1996/film/reviews/mission-impossible-2-1200445784/) - **The Ringer**, Shea Serrano (90/100, inferred): The first Mission: Impossible remains the closest to perfect in the franchise and a perfect action movie with a perfect Tom Cruise. The critic singles out the tense, expertly choreographed Langley vault heist sequence for its sustained suspense, silence, and small human details like a bead of sweat. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2018/07/25/movies/mission-impossible-1996-tom-cruise-jon-voight-brian-de-palma) - **Den of Geek**, David Crow (85/100, inferred): De Palma's original remains a marvel for its restraint and tension-building, especially the iconic CIA vault sequence that showcases masterful suspense craft over CGI excess. The film excels as a sleek, knotty thriller highlighting the director's Hitchcockian skills and Cruise's stunt work. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/first-mission-impossible-one-of-greatest-action-set-pieces/) - **The Playlist**, Jason Bailey (80/100, inferred): The critic highlights how the film is thoroughly a Brian De Palma movie with stylish camerawork and memorable set pieces like the Langley heist, appreciating its auteurist approach over later standardized entries. They praise the director's playful style and the suspenseful sequences. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/mission-impossible-25-anniversary-essay-20210520/) - **Eye for Film**, Gator MacReady (70/100, inferred): The review notes the film's complex plot but praises its strong set pieces and tension, particularly the train sequence, crediting De Palma for not underestimating the audience. It complains about some dated elements. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/mission-impossible-film-review-by-gator-macready) - **Film Stories**, A J Black (70/100, inferred): The critic praises De Palma's 1996 film for its deconstruction of the TV series concept and standout set pieces like the Langley heist, noting how it launched the franchise with a nihilistic twist. They single out the film's tension and iconic sequences for praise while highlighting its post-Cold War relevance. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/mission-impossible-revisited-brian-de-palmas-mission-impossible/) ## Details - **Director:** Brian De Palma - **Director:** Brian De Palma - **Screenplay:** David Koepp, Robert Towne - **Story:** Steven Zaillian, David Koepp - **Cinematography:** Stephen H. Burum - **Editor:** Paul Hirsch - **Music:** Danny Elfman - **Production design:** Norman Reynolds - **Costume design:** Penny Rose, Timothy Everest - **Producer:** Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner - **Cast:** Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt; Jon Voight as Jim Phelps; Emmanuelle Béart as Claire; Henry Czerny as Kittridge; Jean Reno as Krieger; Ving Rhames as Luther; Kristin Scott Thomas as Sarah Davies; Vanessa Redgrave as Max - **Runtime:** 1h 51m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 22 May 1996 - **Genres:** Adventure, Action, Thriller - **Part of:** [Mission: Impossible](https://film.one/collections/mission-impossible.md) · 1 of 8 - **Budget:** $80 million - **Box office:** $458 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8Pbjh4EZRk ## Where to watch in the US - Paramount+: streaming - HBO Max: streaming, uhd - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd - Apple TV: add-on, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $16.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $16.99, uhd *Checked 2026-09-13.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film 1997: Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film (nominated) - MTV Movie Award for Best Action Sequence 1997: MTV Movie Award for Best Action Sequence (nominated) - Satellite Award for Best Editing 1997: Satellite Award for Best Editing (nominated) ## If you liked this - *The 39 Steps* (1935), Fi1m 88: For another spy chase where staying alive requires thinking quickly. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-39-steps.md) - *Le Cercle Rouge* (1970): For a carefully staged robbery that rewards attention to small movements. - *The Conversation* (1974), Fi1m 92: For surveillance suspense that makes listening as dangerous as running. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-conversation.md) - *Sneakers* (1992): For gadgets, professional bluffing and a team allowed some warmth. - *Ronin* (1998), Fi1m 80: For professionals under pressure, uncertain loyalties and car chases with weight. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ronin.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/mission-impossible