Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows

Mission: Impossible

Play trailer 1:50 Poster for Mission: Impossible PG-13 Released May 22, 1996 1h 50m Action Adventure Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
66% Tomatometer 67 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
When U.S. government operative Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his mentor, Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), go on a covert assignment that takes a disastrous turn, Jim is killed, and Ethan becomes the prime murder suspect. Now a fugitive, Hunt recruits brilliant hacker Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and maverick pilot Franz Krieger (Jean Reno) to help him sneak into a heavily guarded CIA building to retrieve a confidential computer file that will prove his innocence.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Full of special effects, Brian DePalma's update of Mission: Impossible has a lot of sweeping spectacle, but the plot is sometimes convoluted.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (67) Critics Reviews
Carol Buckland CNN.com The "set" pieces of this film come off like clockwork, but there's no connective tissue -- no story line, no solid characterization, etc. In the end, De Palma's work seems full of sound and visual fury without signifying much of anything. Jan 5, 2018 Full Review Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly When it’s over, and the Rubik’s Cube finally does line up, we’re left with the odd sensation that, distracting as the picture may have been, there never was very much to it. Rated: B Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Steven D. Greydanus Decent Films De Palma has a choppy, episodic sense of story, and he crafts individual scenes rather than telling a single unified story. Rated: C+ Oct 29, 2008 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand ... an engaging and exciting piece of action filmmaking, directed with devious style by De Palma, who knows how to stage a set piece Apr 26, 2025 Full Review Betsy Sherman The Improper Bostonian What should have been a finely honed spy thriller is on Cruise-control in more ways than one. Or maybe the impossible mission is expecting a coherent movie from director Brian “Setpieces ’R’ Us” De Palma anymore. Rated: 1.5/4 Jul 15, 2024 Full Review Patrick Hicks Feelin' Film Podcast This works as a really great conservative prototype for future installments, complete with fun tech gadgetry and big action set pieces. Rated: 4/5 Jul 3, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+) audience reviews
rjerrycaldwellmsncom I enjoyed watching it but I have seen it before. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/25/21 Full Review Hailee B Okay, awesome action movies nowadays are not as chaotic as this movie. Way to go, Brian!!. The transition at the beginning of the movie of Ethan ripping off the makeup was so awesome was not expecting that at all don't really see that in movies as good as that. The scene of the aquarium restaurant breaking was crazy, and man, that gum is crazy, such little things make the biggest things happen, would love to go there lol. That mission to recover the disk was crazy bro almost got trashed and that idiot dropped his freaking knife ugh dumbass. The great chemistry in the movie was awesome, it all felt so real, and to know some of these stunts are actually real is crazy. Coming to the end of the movie, wow, what a crazy twist, man. It really got me thinking that everyone died. Nope, everyone was just fake as hell. Crazy action with the helicopter and the train holy crap man and especially when there linked together crazy well derserved good movie cant wait to continue the franchise. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/26/25 Full Review 21 - Priyan B Gripping thriller. Rating: 7.6/10 Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/22/25 Full Review Russell H Cool 90s action but a lot of down time Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/22/25 Full Review Angry M The first film looks kind of low on action these days in comparison to the others and even though it has a decent plot about betrayal it isn’t really a great film in any respect sure the train scene got people talking but as action spy films go it’s not Casino Royal or Skyfall , It can be a little boring and tame compared to the other films but it’s better than the second one and because it’s the original I give it 3 out of 5 for that alone Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/25 Full Review Glafira Regina O The first part of the Mission: Impossible franchise is an absolute thrill ride. Typically, this happens when a film is genuinely interesting, and you don’t even notice the minutes flying by. And indeed, Mission: Impossible impresses with its spectacular visuals. I won’t go into the legendary theme song, which has become iconic and is passed from person to person, playing in each installment. Even someone deep in sleep could recognize the tune and know exactly where it's from. The acting aspect is also top-notch. Each character is well-developed, with their own backstory, motivation, and beliefs. The actors playing their roles don’t falter and present their beloved characters skillfully. However, the secondary characters seem somewhat underdeveloped and lack depth, but the main characters grab most of the attention. However... I really don't like Tom Cruise and another actress (forgot her name) appearance. Just... not my type. Plot: Many people claim that action movies can’t have an interesting plot, but every film has a cyclical story. Whether it’s presented well or poorly depends on the film itself. In this case, it’s done pretty well. We’re not introduced to Ethan Hunt's character from the beginning; instead, we’re thrown straight into the middle of the action. This isn’t a bad thing, as over time we learn more about the main character, his goals, and his backstory. The plot twists, Agatha Christie-style, are also quite intriguing, especially the mystery of who the ‘rat’ in the agency is. However, despite all the positives, I’d like to mention what I personally think is a weak aspect: the action scenes. The film is designed as an action movie, and as a fan of the genre, I was a bit disappointed that there were very few fight scenes. This is odd because Tom Cruise was only 37 at the time, still young, and considering that by the third part the film embraced more of those "action-packed" moments, this first film feels a step behind. Still, it’s a very cool movie that can be rewatched many times, and each time, it remains just as interesting as the first. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/16/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Mission: Impossible

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Mission: Impossible

Movieclips: Mission Impossible's Best Scenes Movieclips: Mission Impossible's Best Scenes 32:30 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Is He Serious? Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Is He Serious? 0:59 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Tunnel Chase Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Tunnel Chase 2:12 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - High-Speed Train Ride Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - High-Speed Train Ride 2:12 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Master of Disguise Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Master of Disguise 2:11 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Out of the Vault Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Out of the Vault 1:33 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Into the Vault Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Into the Vault 2:13 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Close Call Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Close Call 2:13 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Mission Gone Wrong Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - Mission Gone Wrong 2:07 Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - A Mole Hunt Mission: Impossible: Official Clip - A Mole Hunt 2:13 View more videos
Mission: Impossible II 56% 42% Mission: Impossible II Watchlist TRAILER for Mission: Impossible II Mission: Impossible III 71% 69% Mission: Impossible III Watchlist TRAILER for Mission: Impossible III Extreme Ops 7% 28% Extreme Ops Watchlist Die Another Day 56% 41% Die Another Day Watchlist Tomorrow Never Dies 57% 53% Tomorrow Never Dies Watchlist Discover more movies and 온라인카지노추천 shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis When U.S. government operative Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his mentor, Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), go on a covert assignment that takes a disastrous turn, Jim is killed, and Ethan becomes the prime murder suspect. Now a fugitive, Hunt recruits brilliant hacker Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and maverick pilot Franz Krieger (Jean Reno) to help him sneak into a heavily guarded CIA building to retrieve a confidential computer file that will prove his innocence.
Director
Brian De Palma
Producer
Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner
Screenwriter
David Koepp, Robert Towne
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Paramount Pictures, Cruise-Wagner Productions
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Action, Adventure, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 22, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
May 2, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA)
$180.9M
Runtime
1h 50m
Sound Mix
Stereo, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
Most Popular at Home Now