7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 3.3 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Henry Czerny, Jean RenoAction | 100% |
Adventure | 72% |
Thriller | 50% |
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.41:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
It's much worse than you think.
It seems eons ago that the major trend in Hollywood centered not on the big-screen adaptations
of
the world's favorite comic book superheroes, but rather the translation of small-screen favorites
from years past into big-budget summer spectaculars. Few such adaptations turned out to be
quite
as good as 1996's Mission: Impossible, the film expertly covering all the bases, offering a
wonderful
ensemble cast, each delivering top-notch performances; a vision from a legendary director that
lent
to the film both a unique and fascinating perspective; and a screenplay that forces
audiences to use their intelligence rather than insulting it. It is perhaps the latter -- a story that
finds an amazing middle ground between thrilling action and brain-twisting intrigue -- that sets
Mission: Impossible far ahead of the curve of summer blockbusters from its -- or any --
era.
Tom Cruise goes to great lengths to discern audience reaction to his films.
Mission: Impossible comes to Blu-ray with a 1080p, MPEG-2 encoded transfer framed in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The picture quality is rather uninspiring from most every angle, with only an average amount of fine detail, mediocre color reproduction, and little-to-no 3-D "pop." Much of the finer details of the film seem lacking, not necessarily scrubbed away but certainly not offering the lifelike imagery of the best high definition transfers. Still, there is a nice cinematic look to the presentation; a bit of grain is seen over the entirety of the image. Also, plenty of black and white speckles appear over the print throughout the course of the film. Colors are slightly dim and flesh tones tend towards the red side of the spectrum in some scenes, appear normal in others, and in still others appear somewhat pale. Much of the image is soft, which seems to be a culprit in the absence of the finer details. Blacks are decent, and some of the film's intentionally hazy and foggy scenes don't feature any bothersome pixelation. Mission: Impossible easily falls into the lower tier of Blu-ray releases, offering acceptable-at-best high definition imagery.
Mission: Impossible fails to intrigue with its rather pedestrian Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Mission: Impossible's famed opening theme plays nicely over the credits but doesn't create a sense of a live performance; it's strong and acceptable for a lossy mix, though no doubt a lossless offering would have benefited this and other aspects of the track. Oddly enough, one of the finest moments of the soundtrack comes in chapter eight as Hunt breaks into the heavily protected computer room. The near-silence of the sequence, punctuated by the faintest of hums of the running equipment in the room, makes for a fascinating listen, a rarity in any movie to feature an extended quiet period. On the opposite end of the spectrum are a few pronounced effects, such as explosions, but most lack the power and oomph that may have elevated the track above the level of "bland." Save for a few moments of percussion-heavy music that creates a nice bit of thumping in the track and the film's climax, there is not much to become excited about. The chase atop a speeding train is easily the highlight. Sound travels effortlessly across the soundstage, generally from front to back, with a fine level of authority and realism; listeners may practically feel the chill of the rushing air is it seemingly blows past. Considering it accompanies the film's one true, extended action sequence, it's presentation, sonically, is befitting the moment. Dialogue reproduction is sufficient throughout. All in all, Mission: Impossible is mostly bland from a sonic perspective.
Paramount delivers Mission: Impossible to Blu-ray with a lengthy list of supplemental
features. Mission: Remarkable - 40 years of Creating the Impossible (480p, 11:26)
takes
viewers into the storied history of the franchise and focuses on Tom Cruise's desire to play the
lead
character, the differences between the television show and the films, the cast and crew
discussing
their favorite scenes, the development of the stories, and a look at the progression of the series
in
the two sequels. Mission: Explosive
Exploits (480p, 5:09) looks at Tom Cruise's physical performance in the film and his
insistence
on performing the stunt work. Mission: Spies Among Us (480p, 8:40) looks at the
hypothetical work an agency like IMF might perform, the roles of real-life spies, and the process of
intelligence gathering. Mission: Catching the Train (480p, 2:39) takes a brief look at the
creation of the film's climactic action sequence.
Mission: International Spy Museum (480p, 6:31) features host Peter Earnest, Executive
Director of the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., guiding viewers through some of
the museum's highlight exhibits. Mission: Agent Dossiers allows viewers to analyze
agent profiles for Ethan Hunt, James Phelps, Sarah Davies, Claire Phelps, Jack Harmon, Hannah
Joan Williams, and Luther Stickell. Excellence in Film (480p, 9:15) is the tribute played
for Tom Cruise's receipt of the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film.
Generation: Cruise (480p, 3:36) is the tribute played when Cruise was presented with
the first-ever MTV Generation Award. Concluding this supplemental package is a photo gallery
and Mission: Marketing, a collection the film's teaser (1080p, 1:11) and theatrical
(1080p, 2:01) trailers, in addition to nine TV spots (480p, 3:52 combined runtime).
Mission: Impossible is a breath of fresh air in a world of generally mindless summer blockbusters that require little in the way of thought on behalf of the audience. Generally, all that is required is the decision on what size popcorn and soft drink to buy in the lobby, but in this case, the film delivers plenty of impressive visual stunts and action framed smartly around a plot that dares to move past the mundane, offering a genuinely mysterious narrative that lends both credence and importance to the action. Unfortunately, the latter two films in the series, particularly the second, veer more towards straight Action with minimal plotting, but cinephiles will undoubtedly enjoy De Palma's somewhat avant-garde style of filmmaking found here, particularly as it is combined with elements that make it, superficially, a summer popcorn movie. All in all, Mission: Impossible is a gem of a movie, but it's not so sparkly as one might hope on Blu-ray. Paramount's effort here is adequate, but it doesn't compete with newer Blu-ray releases. The MPEG-2 video is underwhelming, and the lossy soundtrack is merely sufficient. The disc does offer a fair amount of bonus materials, however. Mission: Impossible is a fine movie, but one can only hope that Paramount will revisit both it and its successors on Blu-ray in the near future.
1996
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1996
Remastered | 25th Anniversary Edition with Collectable Car Decal
1996
1996
2015
2018
2006
2000
2011
2006
2012
15th Anniversary Edition
2002
2002
Collector's Edition
2021
2012
2014
2008
2019
Holiday Gift Set
2010
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1973
2023
2010