On DVD: Mission Impossible HD-DVD

Directed By Brian DePalma

Starring Tom Cruise

It's a real shame when you see a good actor potentially destroy his career through his shall we say "offbeat" personal life getting into the media a little too much.  Tom Cruise had done something pretty amazing up to now.  He's a short guy, not particularly muscular, and not extremely mocho, but he had become something of a successful action star.  Bruce Willis did this same thing by playing the everyman in unusual circumstances but even when he was goofier his machismo came through.  Cruise pulled it off by playing the super smart and slick guy, sort of an American James Bond if you will.  Eventually he would play a cop on the run in the future in Minority Report and later even a villain in Collateral.  He owes nearly all of that success to the first Mission Impossible film. 

The Movie

Back in 1996 two things weren't as prevalent as they are today, the first is the TV to film franchise, and the second is the heavy use of CGI.  Both were around, but they were in their infancy.  Nowadays the TV to film business is considered easy coin and it doesn't usually draw the talent that this film did.  The script was written by David Koepp (Carlito's Way, Spider-Man) and Robert Towne (Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown)  and directed by Brian De Palma (Scarface, The Untouchables).  Also, Cruise does his own stunts in the film with very little digital enhancement.  This allows for some very realistic reactions to the going s on.

Mission Impossible gained a reputation back when it was originally released for being a complex film.  In reality though it's not a difficult one to follow, it's just smarter than most Hollywood summer movies, by standards of that era and especially by today's standards.  Ethan Hunt (Cruise) takes his team on a mission to retrieve a stolen list that reveals the identities of under cover operatives working for the United states in locations all over the world.  We of course can't let this list fall into the wrong hands.  In the end the list they find is a fake and the whole mission was just a hunt for a mole within the agency the Hunt works for.  Nearly all of Hunt's team is killed and his peers are blaming him and are convinced that he is the mole.  Hunt concocts a plan to steal the real list and bring the mole out of hiding and he assembles a team of disavowed agents to pull it of.

While the film is definitely a thinking man's action film the complexities are perfectly balanced with some heart stopping action and well timed suspense.  The story never gets to dense with espionage and plot twists, and at the same time it doesn't devolve into a mind numbing Michael Bay effort.  Few summer flicks have ever been able to strike such a near perfect balance.  This is probably why ten years later this film still holds up extremely well where others from the same year do not.

You can't really talk about this film without mentioning the one action sequence in the film that has become a classic.  The team lead by Hunt invades CIA headquarters to steal the real list and Hunt is forced to enter the tower like structure from the roof careful not to set off the myriad of alarms in his path.  The sequence is action packed and extremely suspenseful.  It's no wonder it's one of the most copied and spoofed action sequences in the last twenty years.

As is the case with most spy thrillers of this type the film is built on a heavy plot twists, but what isn't common is the action/suspense/plot twists balance makes the film enjoyable on repeat viewings where other films of the genre can often hang their hat on the twist.  You have to look past Cruise's current weird behavior and remember his performance in this film and you'll find yourself enjoying it all over again.

9/10

The Video

The anamorphic widescreen transfer here is splendid with good contrast, solid black levels, and deep detail,  De Palma shoots the film in an epic and almost traditional truly widescreen manner that translates really well in 1080p high definition.  Now it isn't perfect, there is a bit of surprising grain and some dirt and speckles on the image.  Also there are some sequences that appear hazy but that is purposeful but the soft credits are not.  Even with these complaints this is absolutely the best this film has ever looked on home video and with its many action scenes and explosions is a good demo disc for that big new plasma TV.

9/10

The Audio

The Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 presentation here is top notch is good balance and a strong mix for the dialogue, score, and sound effects.  Action sequence take full advantage of the surround sound environment with sounds blazing from all speakers and a dynamic range that makes good use of the sub woofer.

9.5/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features

This single HD-DVD release comes in a standard amaray case with artwork replicated from the special edition DVD that came out last year sans slipcover.  The artwork doesn't knock my socks off, it just feels like standard DVD artwork.  What about a box that looks like an IMF dossier or something like that?  Now that screams special edition!

It's also disappointing to find that there are no special features exclusive to this HD-DVD.  Everything here is copied from the special edition DVD:

Mission Remarkable - 40 Years of Creating the Impossible is a featurette covering the original series and the films.  Some bits of good information are available here and there but this thing is mostly cotton candy.  Interviews with Cruise and the crew are cut with sequences of the films.

Mission - Explosive Exploits takes a look at the major stunts and set pieces of the film.  There's some behind the scenes footage and some great information about the concepts behind the set pieces.  Here we learn that Cruise in fact does all of the on camera stunts for the film.

Mission - Spies Among Us is a series of interviews with cast and crew, and most importantly some real ex-CIA agents discussing what it takes to be a real agent and what the real agents must go through.  If it weren't for the inclusion of the real agents this would be a major fluff piece, but having the real deal there gives the featurette some weight.

Mission - Catching the Train focuses on the finale of the film and the films most amazing action sequence.  There's very little real information here though.  We get interviews with Cruise, De Palma, and the visual effects supervisor and they all gush about how great the scene is (and it really is awesome) but they don't share much detail about the execution of the sequence.  This featurette could really have been combined with Explosive Exploits.

Mission - International Spy Museum is one of my favorite featurettes.  It takes us on a tour of the museum revealing real technology and techniques used by spies of the past and today.  It offers a great parallel to the gadgets used in the film and is completely fascinating.

OK, after the above we are "treated" to a couple of tributes to Cruise and his work that features montages of his films.  This wasn't al that interesting too me and since it isn't included as part of some sort of Cruise box set it didn't seem to fit.  Wouldn't this feel more appropriate on a film that won a number of Oscars and was known for its artistic merits?

There are also some trailers, photos, and TV spots.

Overall the extras here offer some great information.  The interviews with real agents and the spy museum being the coolest.  The fluffy marketing featurettes should really have been buffered by a De Palma commentary though. 

7/10

This is a great spy flick full of plot twists, suspense and amazing action, easily one of the best in the genre.  If you ask me whether this is worth the upgrade or not I hesitantly say yes.  The lack of new extras is really bothersome but if you have an HD-DVD player and a plasma TV then you really want to own this film on a truly high definition disc.

Overall  (Not an Average) 8.5/10

Stephen Lackey

Review:

The Movie 9/10

The Video 9/10

The Audio 9.5/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 7/10

Overall ( Not an Average) 8.5/10