![]() ![]() I'm also not convinced De Palma has ever been a great action director. ![]() And how did Kristin Scott Thomas and Jean Reno get roped into doing dull, forgettable roles that anybody could have played? Emilio Estevez is wasted in what looks like a "I'm cashing a paycheck because I really want to direct" cameo, while Emmanuelle Beart is a beautiful but utterly forgettable love interest. All we get is a star vehicle for the toothy actor, and aside from perhaps Ving Rhames as his right-hand man Luther Stickell, none of Hunt's support team is given an opportunity to shine. The team dynamics of the original series are all but jettisoned, to such an extent that you wonder why Hunt even needs anyone to help him if he's his own one-man James Bond. I won't spoil the plot (not that I could explain it anyway) other than to say that the biggest problem with casting Cruise is that 'Mission: Impossible' had to reimagined as the Ethan Hunt show. Though I will give De Palma props for not simply replicating the flat look of the TV show on the big screen, ultimately the film doesn't amount to anything meaningful. Plotty, emotionally inert and far too convoluted for its own good, I've seen the flick about four times now and I still can't figure out what the heck is going on for most of it. Indeed, the screenplay by David Koepp ('Jurassic Park,' 'Stir of Echoes') is a mess, and seems to discard all of low-tech charms that made the original show such a cult favorite. Unfortunately, no one seemed to pay as much attention to the script. Cruise the producer tapped Brian De Palma ('Carrie,' 'Scarface,' ' The Untouchables') to launch the property, ensuring that - if nothing else - the movie would look great. Intended to be a big-budget update of the classic television show, things certainly looked good on paper. ![]() But watching 'Mission: Impossible' again today, just on its own terms, I can't say that Cruise's maiden voyage was a particularly auspicious start. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, well, only history will be the judge. Was it his breakout success with 'Risky Business' that turned him into such a guarded control freak? The mammoth 'Top Gun'? Or that Oscar nom for 'Rain Man'?įor my money, the moment that Cruise really went from being just your average A-list star making $10 million a picture to a true Hollywood player was actually 'Mission: Impossible.' The first film that bore Cruise's name as both a producer and as an actor, its eventual blockbuster success ensured that he would never be a mere gun-for-hire again. Which film they choose seems to depend on the critic. When critics point to the moment that Tom Cruise transformed from serious actor into serious Hollywood ego trip (or just seriously crazy, depending on your point of view), they tend to point to one his biggest hits. ![]()
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