MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (1996) **1/2 It's actually a vast improvement in every way on the dreary television show that inspired it (if not much else). Far from reworking a tried and exhausted theme, superstar crime is reborn into a contemporary framework; computerized, global, and still unrealistic. Which isn't much of a problem. Brian De Palma holds back for much of the film but his sensationalization of suspense is unmistakable and he breathes new life into clichés as old as the train and helicopter scene (surely there's nothing new to be done with it now). He's got the horses to get as ambitious as he wants: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emilio Estevez, Vanessa Redgrave, and Emmanuelle Beart adding yet another dimension that the original lacked. Redgrave is, as usual, the best, looking more amused than convincing at her lines and role-thereby assuring us that things are in the hands of experts who know what they're doing and know that the audience aren't idiots. The special effects team does a great job as demanded by De Palma-none of the big names are going to be remembered for their work here, but it's a non-embarassing spice of entertainment around the periphery for a legend. Try singing the instrumental theme using only the lyric "monkey" repeated on the beats, that's fun!
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