Mission: Impossible (1996). As Tom Goes By.

[@michaelproctor8100]

The Jim Phelps from the television series would never have betrayed his country.

[@vinceferraro2120]

That's why Peter Graves didn't want to return because he knew his character wouldn't do this.

[@TheBeird]

Vanessa Redgrave’s voice was my introduction to ASMR before I knew what it was.
But yeah, I actually quite love this film. When the credits roll, I feel good. And I dig that Ethan doesn’t fire a single shot and gets beaten up by a middle aged man too.
Really like the series overall.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Good point, now the character is practically invincible.

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

The whole movie has a lot of nice ASMR moments. Not even audible but also De Palma's cinematography.

[@TheToonMonkey]

Still the peak film of the series for me.

[@mhoppy6639]

Agree!! It’s so stylish

[@TheToonMonkey]

@@mhoppy6639 without being overly stylised - expecially looking at you number 2.

[@thirdcoast6513]

Its my fav. Theres something special about Brian De Palms use of paranoia and anxiety.
The kittdridge scene is one of the best parts of the movie tbh

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@@thirdcoast6513 Yes, you got it. Paranoia and Anxiety. The first MI Film somewhat echoes 1970's paranoia thrillers.

[@moredumbtoit5325]

Aside from MI2, it's so inspirational how they've accomplished to make every entry an 8/10 or higher.

[@dmichael1172]

It's because Tom Cruise loved the franchise and one of the elite who still want make straight forward movies for the theater.

[@igk1099]

I suppose you are saying that MI2 is an 11, because it is

[@SJKPJR007]

"Disjointed like a long-jumper who trains exclusively on concrete" what a line. Great video Stam Fine.
I'm indifferent about Mr Cruise. He's never been the reason I will or won't watch a movie. Brian De Palma is the real star of this movie. His skill as a director really turned this mish -mash of contrived nonsense into a enjoyably watchable mish-mash of contrived nonsense.

[@Primus54]

I’m finding your reviews “Must see T.V.” (actually the 21st century version… CZcams). It took me several years to decide to watch the M.I. films. They start out with a gem, then wallow for a while getting their legs, then get really good. Like many people, I don’t run to the theater because Tom Cruise is in a movie, but I seldom regret the decision once there. One thing is certain, he absolutely gives his all to entertain us.

[@sandytrunks]

@10:30 Jazz isn't dead, it just smells funny. (Zappa)

[@johnpotts8308]

The character I really remember from this film is actually the main(ish) antagonist: Kitteridge. The thing is - he's not malicious, he has very good reason to suspect Ethan is the mole and acts accordingly. And when he realises he's wrong, he releases his aunt(?) and allows Ethan to resume his job (in fact, gives him a promotion, since he's now team leader). He might be a jerk, but like M in most Bond films, he realises Ethan is the best they've got and ultimately supports him.

[@mrg3241]

That Kitteridge is like a proto Agent Smith. Wouldn't surprise me if he influenced Hugo Weavings performance in some way.

[@johnpotts8308]

@@mrg3241 More like Inspector Javert (Les Mis), although Kitteridge's pursuit of Ethan (unlike Javert's of Jean Valjean) is justified by the enormity of his (supposed) crimes.

[@HoustonSoto]

@@mrg3241YES. Every time I hear the “take something important to them and you *squeeeeze*” line I think Hugo Weaving had to have been watching this film before coming up with his “Smith” voice.

[@SurlyInsomniac]

I recommend the 60s caper comedy "Topkapi" if you want to see the apparent inspiration for the NOC list theft scene.
Though I've enjoyed all the MI movies to varying degrees, I wish they had more closely followed the cool ensemble vibe of the original show and the caper movies of the 50s & 60s that inspired the show, rather than lean in on the "Tom Cruise star vehicle action adventure stunt spectacular" approach, but I'm probably in the minority on this opinion.
In other words I wish the films were more "Topkapi" than "Top Gun".

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

"This tape will destroy itself....... if it is not properly stored."

[@mesicek7]

They did quite a lot of movies that were based classic tv series back in the 90s. Beverly Hillbilies, MI, Flintstones, Addams Family, The Fugitive, Avengers, Wild Wild West, My Favorite Martian, Lost in Space...

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Unfortunately, most of them were worthless. The Addams Family Movies and The Fugitive were the few that were above average.

[@joshgrumiaux6820]

@@ricardocantoral7672 The Brady Bunch movies were also pretty good.

[@katestevens1572]

Yet another brilliant review.
You have a truly awesome sense of humour, and your narration is invariably superb in every way.
Obviously I'll never understand why you go to so much trouble on the narration, only to ensure that no viewer with even slight hearing impairment (or trying to watch in a less-than-ideal environment noise-wise) will be able to hear what you're saying without cupping both ears at all times, but your material is so good it's still worth the hassle.

[@OK-hl6qd]

Can't wait till you do the original series!

[@TheDukeofMadness]

That Henry Czerny was with Dana Delany for a while. Lucky bastard.

[@oobrocks]

This Fine channel deserves more subscribers; let’s go fans!!

[@karlkarlos3545]

This "fine" channel sucks. Hence the few subscribers.

[@toddnolastname4485]

I always thought they should start a subsequent movie with Hunt at a funeral, and as he walks away, he glances back to the photo of the deceased, and it's Peter Graves. To tell us that the Jim Phelps in the first movie was not the real Phelps, but someone who took over his identity to continue the IMF.
And maybe other movies could tell us what happened to Briggs, the original leader, or other agents, such as Cinnamon (Bains), Rollin (Landau), and Paris (Spock).

[@Treaclebasket]

I do really like this movie (pretty much all of the others are fun too), yet it's always made me laugh - or at least made me wonder about the character of Ethan Hunt - that a disavowed, hunted, supposed traitor is able to get hold of a Jon Voight mask in order to smoke out Claire in the baggage car of the chunnel train. Where was that mask from? Did Ethan keep a few spare Jon Voight masks from that IMF Christmas party one year when everyone went as Jon Voight? Is there a really good rubber mask shop near Liverpool Street station? Does Ethan just continually wear other faces? Is his own face real? Maybe under the Tom Cruise mask there's a little Jon Voight, and the whole thing's been a cheese dream...
I might have taken that a bit far.
Anyway, aside from that, I do enjoy the films and I love the channel. Keep it up; you're hilarious!

[@Ubernerd3000]

I was one of those people who were really bothered by them changing the property to a Tom Cruise-vehicle, instead of a team ‘heist’, and then turning Jim Phelps into a traitor; I bowed out on the series for awhile, but eventually came back…I’m not proud of myself for doing it…

[@inkermoy]

It's amazing that a vehicle like Mission Impossible that originally seemed like Cruise wanting his own James Bond franchise has continued on to this day. I never watched the TV show, but I can understand if fans were angry that Phelps was the mole. The 2nd-4th films weren't memorable IMO, except the overused/vomit-inducing shakeycam that Abrams did in the 3rd one.
The MI franchise really hit its stride with Rogue Nation, Cruise collaborating with Chris McQuarrie to start connecting most of the pieces of the franchise. Fallout builds upon that by bringing back Ethan's (ex)wife, and the daughter of Max. We seem to finally have a fairly steady ensemble roster of Ethan, Luther, Benji, with Isla Faust as a foil/wild card. (Brandt could be thrown in there too, but his roll has been diminished and still best wishes to Jeremy Renner on his recovery.) With these characters it's like having an American live-action Lupin the 3rd gang. And that's not a bad thing.
Dead Reckoning brings back Kittridge who hasn't been seen since the first film, pulling together the disparate threads even tighter. It seems that Cruise is putting a bow on his career, revisiting his most iconic roll as Maverick, and ratcheting up the excitement for Dead Reckoning, a 2-parter! Despite what some people think of him, Cruise puts it all on the line for his craft and to entertain the audience. And I for one appreciate his efforts and the risks he takes, and it's all on the screen. Can't Bruise The Cruise!

[@colormedubious4747]

My favorite part was the magically disappearing catenary (overhead power lines) that would have made every scene involving the helicopter chasing the train LITERALLY impossible even before the super-duper-impossible Chunnel scene. That's the point in the film where suspension of disbelief truly becomes the impossible mission! 🤣

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Thanks to Brian De Palma, this is the only film in the series that the brought on the "cinema".

[@alanhouston5874]

Liked the jazzy remix of your theme tune

[@allendean9807]

You forgot the famous deleted scene where hunt was forced to download real player 7….

[@brianmccarthy8541]

The use of the Channel Tunnel train when it was relatively new is the scene for me....rarely have i seen a cinema audience gobsmacked when the helicopters in the tunnel.

[@CaminoAir]

The big problem with the twist about Voight/Phelps being still alive is that the angle of the footage of him being shot is so unnatural. It is clear that this is not the perspective that should have been shown if his murder was really taking place. So I was expecting Phelps to re-appear. And the casting of the initial M.I. team members with such recognisable actors is clearly meant to help conceal this twist when they themselves are killed off. So why go to those elaborate lengths and give it all away with an obvious visual clue.

[@gannon3578]

I actually didn’t mind this when it came out and they got even better after this and when I say after this I mean MI3 onwards the less said about MI2 the better

[@ERMediaOfficial]

I'd like to see you do Snake Eyes while we are on DePalma^^

[@craignedoff991]

The Secretary will disavow your actions, and bring you coffee. Expresso for everyone ☕️

[@marienbad2]

Stay a whille, stay forever!
Great review, had me laughing all through.

[@RichardEKranz]

I'm watching this ONLY because of your great writing and sense of humor(e) for you Brits. Otherwise I hate these movies.

[@lisvender]

Glad those two didn’t make a game about building a Scotch empire. Who’d want to play Mike Clunt Liquor Tycoon?

[@nicholashqar1654]

It started all ❤

[@bob23301]

We can be thankfull that they changed Cruises charactors name from the initial Mike Hunt.

[@Merylstreep1949]

Lol I still say Hastalasagna lol
Yeah definitely still holds up better than 99 percent of the 90s movies

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

LOL it was "Hasta La Vista, throw it away Mister" in the german dub :D

[@ashroskell]

Thanks a bunch, Mr Fine! “Definitely not Clunt,” caused me to spurt out the milk I was drinking all over my damned screen! I was still giggling like a tw@ while I was wiping it all off again. Somewhere in Heaven, Clive James was grading that gag a full 10 out of 10, based on audience reaction alone.

[@michaelstaunton1632]

👍👍👍🎥

[@tskmaster3837]

Mission Impossible is the one I remember.... at all.
I'm genuinely impressed when people can tell them apart past the second one. De Palma., Woo... Abrams... and everything past II is why we have smart phones.
I only know Abrams did III because it's numbered.

[@moredumbtoit5325]

You should give the newer ones a chance, 4 and fallout are definitely some watershed filmmaking

[@tskmaster3837]

@@moredumbtoit5325 I've seen them, I just don't remember them
To me, it's like if every Bond film was either Thunderball or Never Say Never Again.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@@tskmaster3837 Jesus, you must hate the Bond films. Thunderball is yawn inducing after the first act. From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

[@tskmaster3837]

@@ricardocantoral7672 Never Say Never Again is the remake of Thunderball.
It's just the same mediocre story with the only real difference being Connery's age and hairline.
MI series: Just the same mediocre story with the only real difference being Cruise's age and hairline.
I think this is why each MI is really known by which "crazy stunt" Cruise did "himself".

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@@tskmaster3837 I know NSNA is a remake of Thunderball. I thought you meant that every Bond film was like those two. Sorry.

[@RighteousBrother]

So that's what it's all about!

[@tomsenior7405]

The highlight of this film was a fainting David Schneider. Everything else was meh. After MI3, Tom turned things around to produce some of the most outstanding action in cinema. The stunts have improved with each new incarnation. It is as though audiences want to see Tom Cruise come a cropper or defy an horrific end. After all, you can say what you like about Tom Cruise...

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Yeah, the stunts become more impressive but that's all the series is now, stunts. This first MI gave me the challenge of trying to keep up with it, not knowing whom to trust, and if course that wonderful sequence of breaking into the IMF mainframe. The film would have been even better if Ernest Lehman agreed to write to script but oh well, you can't always get what you want. At least De Palma was on board.

[@eric-ty3yn]

Mission impossible movies were all great

[@robabiera733]

What would happen if that tape machine got stuck on fast-forward?

[@nathanrenga78]

and then there is a windows update....´savage´!😆

[@ErikWoodsCinSoundRadio]

CLUNT! 🤣

[@robvegas9354]

Fun movie! the sequel was really good especially for the Aussie locations. The third one was..... let's be kind..... absolutely sh!thouse!!! from 4 onwards the movies have been top shelf entertainment!!!!!!

[@moredumbtoit5325]

You kidding? The 2nd was embarrassing tryhard "I'm so cool" and the 3rd one opens with Tom's most vulnerable and unflattering reactions to his wife being killed, such a chilling course correction

[@flashrobbie]

The likes for you because I hate that guy. Do Hill Street Blues.

[@torchwood00]

i am upset were sliders

[@ptittannique5621]

Of course the real high-speed train that crosses the channel, the Eurostar, is bright yellow, not blue, each direction has its own separate tunnel--they never cross in the tunnel like in the movie--, and, most obviously, the UK side does NOT travel at high speed for lack of proper infrastructure...

[@bernadmanny]

I do enjoy the action scenes but I wish the film would stop trying to have plot as they are so ridiculously terrible (aside from MI:3 which made somewhat sense) it really pulls me out of my enjoyment zone.

[@Malvito]

I have no personal feelings about Tom Cruise; I have enjoyed his movies and could not care less about the gossip column B.S.. I do love this movie series, even apart from the television series; as long as Tom Cruise is willing to do absurdly stupid dangerous shit for my movie-going entertainment, I am willing to pony up the dollars to watch him somehow survive it.

[@diegodelsol1309]

A director who knew what they were doing was ALLOWED to take a mish-mash script and turn out something semi-memorable... You don't see that anymore. The MESSAGE rules all.

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

Exactly. Nowdays they use "THE MESSAGE!" as the script glue but it's just a shitty glue... the shittiest of them all..

[@n.d.m.515]

Tom Cruise did help with his screen presence.

[@mysteriouse5891]

2 and 3 disappointed. Ghost Protocol was a breath of fresh air.

[@lancetison5856]

huzza

[@Blindgenxgamer]

🤣 🤣 🤣

[@lancetison5856]

when's #11thdr

[@SnabbKassa]

The silly computer interfaces in every shot of a computer might seem less wrong now, especially if you never used Windows 95, but they were so wrong at the time that they are the movie's major flaw. "This isn't set in the the real world" is not an excuse. It's a reason to skip the movie.

[@wilfredohernandez154]

You know this film ripped off Robert Redford film Sneakers

[@Romans8-9]

Not really. Apart from both being heist movies and Sneakers certainly wasn't the first one!

[@gailseatonhumbert]

I had been looking forward to it until the entire team was killed off in the beginning of the first film. It was just another Tim Cruise vanity project. Not my thing.

[@YourreelmemoriesAu]

I enjoyed this review until it self destructed.

[@carlrood4457]

This movies was really insulting to fans of the TV show

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

LOL yeah. Let's kill every character, turn Ethan Hunt (who came to the show before it wrapped) into the main hero and turn Jim Phelps into the villain. What a kick in the guts. xD

[@permiek]

Sorry Stam, I have a life time ban on watching Tom Cruise movies. I am sure its up to your usual level of excellence though.

[@StamFine]

no worries. there are only seven more MI movies to go.

[@citykids]

Never show a good movie in the middle of your crappy movie
I'd rather go and watch 'Ronin' instead 😂

[@shannonbayley3684]

Grouse movie!!

[@michaelhorning6014]

The plot is held together only by Tom Cruise's charisma.

[@karlkarlos3545]

And Brian De Palma's perfect direction.

[@Truthseeker1515]

MI2 was terrible. Such a disappointing sequel.