A sleek, twisty spy thriller with standout set pieces, sharp visual control, and a strong sense of paranoia. It’s less about relentless action than about deception, surveillance, and watching a professional team unravel under pressure.
Mission: Impossible
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Adventure · Action
Wed · 1h 51m
Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart
Overview
When Ethan Hunt, the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he's surprised to learn that he's the prime suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.
Director
Brian De Palma
Cast
Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart
Curator Review
Verdict
A sleek, twisty spy thriller with standout set pieces, sharp visual control, and a strong sense of paranoia. It’s less about relentless action than about deception, surveillance, and watching a professional team unravel under pressure.
Best for
spy thriller fans
viewers who like elaborate double-crosses
people who enjoy stylish 90s studio filmmaking
audiences who want suspense over nonstop action
fans of heist-like planning and execution
Skip if
you want the modern franchise’s biggest action spectacles
you prefer straightforward plots with minimal misdirection
you dislike elaborate exposition and betrayal-heavy stories
you want a lighter, more playful espionage tone
Overview
Brian De Palma turns a big studio spy property into a tense game of suspicion and performance. The movie is at its best when it treats every conversation like a trap and every piece of tradecraft like a magic trick, with Tom Cruise playing Ethan Hunt as both athlete and strategist.
Worth noting
What lingers most is the atmosphere: glassy surfaces, shadowy interiors, and a constant feeling that someone is always watching. The famous vault sequence is the signature image, but the film’s real pleasure is how carefully it builds and then reverses trust.
Bottom line
It can feel a little over-constructed, and some of the plotting is more intricate than elegant, but that’s part of the appeal. As a 90s espionage thriller, it’s polished, tense, and unusually committed to making intelligence itself feel cinematic.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Framesofnick (3.5★) · 9784 likes
If Tom Cruise wasn’t weird he’d be the coolest guy to ever exist im sorry
Chris Evangelista (4★) · 9288 likes
My favorite part of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE is when Tom Cruise attempts to find info on a super-secret arms-dealer named Max by going to MAX.COM
Patrick Willems (4★) · 5447 likes
If this were made now, Cruise totally would've clung to an actual bullet train. Still, good movie tho
Jay (3★) · 5266 likes
if only i could tear off my mask only to reveal i was tom cruise the whole time
demi adejuyigbe (4.5★) · 4216 likes
the action sequences make the franchise lasting and iconic, but i think what really keeps it continually exciting is how hard the screenplay works to make you believe that ethan is mentally adept as he is physically. he's not just a guy who'll die for the cause, he's paying close attention and playing tricks on both the enemy and the audience. silly as it sounds, the scene where he does sleight of hand is an encapsulation of ethan hunt's real
Themes
espionage, betrayal, paranoia, identity, surveillance, double-crosses, team dynamics, institutional distrust