MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

"MISSION IMPOSSIBLE"
(1996) (Tom Cruise, Jon Voight) (PG-13)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Mild	Mild	Moderate	Moderate

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Minor	None	Mild	None	Mild

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Minor	Mild	None	Minor	Moderate

QUICK TAKE:: A secret government agent must find out who killed off his team.

PLOT:: Ethan Hunt (TOM CRUISE) is the point man and Jim Phelps (JON VOIGHT) the leader of a spy team from the IMF (Impossible Missions Force), a secret government agency. When the rest of his team is wiped out while on a mission to recover a secret list of undercover spies, Hunt goes on the run since he doesn't know whether his government or a counter group of spies led by "Max" (VANESSA REDGRAVE) is responsible. From then on, there are plot twists and turns and character reversals that Hunt must deal with while trying to find out the truth.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Yes. Although they won't remember the TV show, the barrage of action packed ads and the presence of Tom Cruise will have them begging to see this.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: TOM CRUISE plays Hunt, a man determined to find the truth by any means possible.
JON VOIGHT plays Phelps, the leader of the spy team who may or may not be a good guy.
VANESSA REDGRAVE plays Max, a counter spy who wants to steal a list of undercover spies so as to expose them.; JON VOIGHT plays Phelps, the leader of the spy team who may or may not be a good guy.
VANESSA REDGRAVE plays Max, a counter spy who wants to steal a list of undercover spies so as to expose them.; VANESSA REDGRAVE plays Max, a counter spy who wants to steal a list of undercover spies so as to expose them.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: A man consumes a poisoned drink.
People drink cocktails at a reception.
Several drunk people leave a reception and stumble their way down the street (but in reality they are only acting drunk).
An IMF guy drinks wine in a restaurant.
A team member drinks a glass of wine.
A team member drinks a beer.

BLOOD/GORE: A dead or injured woman lies on a bed covered with blood (turns out to be a setup -- the woman is okay).
During an interrogation, a needle is inserted into a man’s arm.
A member of the team is impaled in the face by spikes at the top of an elevator shaft.
Phelps looks at his bloody hands after he’s been shot several times.
A bloody knife is seen, as are the two victims stabbed with it.
A bloody Phelps shows up and surprises Ethan.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: All of the characters are well versed in the art of deception (which could be considered lying and thus bad attitudes).
Ethan learns that the agency has set up and arrested his innocent parents for drug smuggling (in order to get back at him for disappearing).

FRIGHTENING/TENSE SCENES: Ethan escapes from a restaurant as it explodes.
Ethan and his crew break into a high security CIA room in a scene full of tension.
Ethan has several close encounters with a train and a helicopter in the tense final sequence.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Handgun: Used to shoot Phelps.
Car bomb: Used to kill one of the team members.
Knife: Used to kill a team member and the man the team was trailing.
Small explosive: Used by Ethan to escape from some bad guys.
Handgun: Used by Ethan to confront Claire, Phelps wife.
Machine guns/Handguns: Held by agents as they storm a room looking for spies.
Machine gun: Held by a C.I.A. security guard.
Knife: Almost used by a team member to slit a guard’s throat (but is stopped by Ethan).
Handgun: Used by Phelps to hold Ethan at bay, and is then accidentally fired during a struggle where his wife, Claire, is hit by a bullet.
Small explosive: Used by Ethan to blow up a helicopter that kills two bad guys on board.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): The most suspenseful scene (breaking into a high security CIA room) is music free. There are a few other scenes that have mildly tense music.

PROFANITY: 5 S.O.B.'s, 2 damns, 2 "ass" words,, and 2 uses each of "Jesus" and "God dammit," and 1 use each of "For Christ's sake" and "Oh my God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: It’s implied that Cruise and Claire (Phelp's wife) slept together (after she thought her husband was dead).

SMOKING: An interrogator smokes a cigarette.
Phelps smokes a cigarette to cover the smoke coming from his mission tape that has just self destructed and is itself smoking.
A man the team is trailing smokes a cigarette.
A team member smokes a cigarette.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Espionage.
Trusting others to be what they appear to be.

VIOLENCE: An interrogator smacks a man several times.
A member of the team is impaled in the face by spikes at the top of an elevator shaft.
Phelps is shot several times and falls off a bridge into a body of water.
A car bomb kills a member of the team.
Ethan sets up a small explosive device that injures some bad guys and allows him to escape.
Ethan holds a gun on Claire after he’s thrown her across the room. He then pins her to a bed in order to get information from her.
Ethan kicks a CIA guard in the stomach, knocking him against a wall. A team member then grabs the guard and is set to slit his throat but Ethan stops him, saying "Zero body count."
A team member warns Ethan, "Try a slight of hand with my money and I’ll slit your throat."
Phelps holds a gun on Ethan and later, as they struggle, it goes off and hits Claire. Phelps then beats up Ethan and flees.
A team member tries to strike Ethan with helicopter blades during a chase scene inside a train tunnel.
Ethan sets off a small explosive that blows up the helicopter killing two people on board.

Reviewed May 21, 1996

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