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Common Sense Note

This blockbuster thriller is chock-full of narrow escapes, chases and battles -- just what teens love to see. But parents beware: This film shows a lot of violent deaths, which make it too violent for anyone under 12. Teens will love the cool ambiance and the exhilarating action sequences.

Ving Rhames provides welcome comic relief as a computer hacker with an attitude, and the theme song gets a cool reworking. But red herrings unnecessarily complicate the plot. Tom Cruise's character is in constant peril throughout the movie. The most suspenseful (and unrealistic) sequence involves a helicopter chase under the English Channel. Families who view this film may want to discuss its themes of death, self-sacrafice and patriotism. What level of each does each family member believe is appropriate? What would you give up -- how much would you place your life in peril -- for what you believe in?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Randy White

The Cold War may be over, but the spy genre is alive and well in Tom Cruise and director Brian De Palma's sometimes confusing and implausible thriller. Still, the movie has great Prague sets, requisite turncoat agents, high tech espionage, and three thrilling action sequences that will keep action-crazy adolescents on the edge of their seats.

The big screen Mission Impossible may not have the campy sensibility of its TV predecessor (the show ran from 1966-1973), but it generates plenty of nail-biting suspense while capturing the overall spirit of the spy genre. It helps that the setting is Prague, behind the old Iron Curtain, and the lives of "Eastern European" operatives are at risk. There are also nice genre touches such as a park bench rendezvous under a streetlight, in the fog, with a secret password to boot!

The TV show used cutting-edge technology to engineer high-risk, rogue operations for the U.S. government. The movie is likewise filled with high-tech gadgets -- pilfering James Bond's fondness for sexy, sensational spy toys. And like the 007 series' recent sacrifice of logic to style, the movie unfortunately foregoes plot coherence and plausibility in favor of sensationally shot break-ins and escapes. The CIA headquarters break-in, while exhilarating, is particularly dubious.

The movie certainly has a great opening, breaking the rules of the Hollywood thriller by (seemingly) killing off stars (Jon Voigt, Emilio Estevez, Kristin Scott Thomas) in the introductory sequence. Director Brian De Palma also does a fine job of creating an atmosphere of suspicion; nobody with whom Tom Cruise comes into contact is completely trustworthy. And the action sequences -- in particular the helicopter in the Chunnel -- are some of the best Hollywood has to offer.

For similar fare, check out Mission Impossible 2, or the Bond movies, particularly the fine Tomorrow Never Dies. Then look for Harrison Ford in Clear and Present Danger.

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