| Action | MPAA:PG13 |
My wife and I were so excited -- for the first time in years we were going to the theater to see a movie (the last movie we went out to see was the Lion King). As part of a promotion, they were giving away Tshirts, books, posters, computer software, and gift certificates for a local yuppie restaurant or hotel stay. We had #3955 & 3956. They gave away dozens of Tshirts -- all to people with numbers like 4405, 4344, and 4201. They did this for 2 showings, and we were sure that our tickets had been put in the box for the earlier showing. The couple next to us both won something; the family in front of us won 3 times. They draw for the computer software, no luck there either (we were all disappointed, because we were under the impression that a computer was being given away -- silly us). Finally, the gift certificates, and surprise surprise -- they pull my wife's number. She's so thrilled that she doesn't notice the manager repeatedly asking her if she wants the Cheddars gift certificate, or the Hampton Inn gift certificate. She turns to me, and thinking that the Hampton Inn would be worth more, I tell her to pick that one. She does. Everyone hoots, hollers, and cheers. Oh well, I guess you had to be there. It almost made the movie anticlimactic. Almost.
The film starts with the IM force finishing up a sting on a guy in Kiev. There we run into Tom Cruise's character, Ethan Hunt, and Emanuelle Beart's part -- as Jim Phelps' wife. Those of you watching the Mission reruns on FX will be pleased to know that the traditional opening theme show montage is still alive and well, as images from the film flash by while the credits roll. Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) gets his crew's marching orders from a stewardess on a commercial airline flight. After a typical exchange of recognition signals, she hands him an 8mm video cassette with his mission briefing, and assignments for members of his crew. His crew includes, his wife, Ethan, someone played by Kristin Scott Thomas (seen in Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient), Emilio Estevez (who is acting incognito -- you don't see his name in the credits) and someone I can't remember. It really doesn't matter -- because within 10 minutes most of them will be dead. Emilio is the Barney of the group, he tricks the computers and elevators into getting Tom and Kristin into a super secret section where they plant a camera in order to get proof that someone is stealing information. Emilio dies when the elevator he's supposed to be controlling gets slammed up into some spikes at the top of the shaft. Then, when Phelps comes out to help, he says he's been shot, and it shows his bloody hands, and him falling from a bridge. Then the girl I couldn't identify gets blown up in a car, while Kristin gets stabbed. Tom escapes, and arranges a rendezvous with the CIA head of the IMF. At the meeting, Tom is told that there is a double agent working in the IMF, and this operation was a sting to smoke him out, and since Tom was about the only one to survive, it must be him. Before they can haul him into custody, he escapes by using some explosive chewing gum. He goes back to their hideout, trying to find the arms dealer he supposedly was in cahoots with, and is surprised by the arrival of Phelps' wife. Turns out she wasn't in the car when the other girl was blown up. The two of them, now on the run, enlist the aid of 2 other guys, also on the 'disavowed list' to get the list for 'Max' (Venessa Redgrave, doing a Maggie Smith impersonation). They sneak into the CIA headquarters, and in the silliest part of the film, copy the "NOC List" from the CIA's computer. They go to London to give the list to Max, and who should Tom run into but the supposedly dead Mr. Phelps. He tells Tom that it was the head of the CIA that was the mole, but as he's talking, Tom realizes that it wasn't the head of CIA that set him up, but Phelps' and possibly his wife that did it. Tom arranges to meet Max and exchange the disk for money, and find out if Phelps' wife was in on it. He also manages to get the Head of CIA on the train, where with the help of the video equipped spectacles and watch, shows him that Phelps is still alive. Phelps tries to escape via helicopter, but Tom catches up to him, and tethers the escape helicopter to the end of the train they're riding. The helicopter flies into the Chunnel behind the train, and after lots of exciting stunt work, Tom pulls out another of his explosive sticks of gum, blows up the helicopter, killing Phelps and his accomplice (Phelps had already shot his wife in attempting to escape). The CIA catches Max, and Tom and the surviving member of his team (Ving Rhames) are returned to active status. On the plane flight home, Tom is offered a chance to watch an 8mm video cassette...
The original intent was for the old IM force to be the one's killed off in the first 15 minutes of the film, but they didn't want any part of it, thus explaining the crew of younger people who get axed right away. As I told another guy watching the film, it was nice to see Emilio Estevez working again, even if he did use another name, but then to be killed off so quick -- it was like, why bother. There was a lot of action in this film --- stuff blowing up, people in disguises, sneaking around here, there and everywhere. What they don't tell you in the previews is that you get a 15 minute action comedy in the middle of the film -- the entire theater was all but rolling in the aisles. I suppose they wanted it to be breathtakingly suspenseful, but not from all the laughing. And to have the Hero of the TV show be the bad guy -- that was the only real major disappointment for me. On the whole though, it was a very interesting film, and the updated version of the theme song from the unpretentious half of U2 was pretty kickin' too (although I read that Sting didn't like it -- golly). There is a little bit of sneakiness from Apple Computers in the film as well -- all the good guys use various Macintoshes throughout the film, all with the Apple logo prominently displayed, But, the bad guy's computer is a small black notebook, with a little red button between the 'G','H', and 'B' keys, two, thin, inch long buttons beneath the space bar, and on the outer cover, a small gray oval where one would normally see an IBM logo. Hmmm. If you haven't see it yet, rent this film, but pay close attention -- there are some parts that get a little vague, and as Entertainment Weekly says, you do sometimes have to work at keeping the plot straight. But, now that it's out on video, it's no longer an impossible mission.