Review of Mission Impossible

Introduction

I saw this at the cinema and really enjoying it and have watched it on video a couple of times since then. Having then been to see the sequel in the last few weeks, I was pleased to re-acquaint myself with Tom Cruise`s first outing as Ethan Hunt.

The film has a great theme tune, knock-out cast and some great set-pieces - for example the scene in the Langley Black Vault is a cinematic classic already - and when added to the foxy Emmanuelle Beart , you`ve got a recipe for an entertaining movie.

Video

Video is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and is in general of a high standard throughout. There are no compression problems evident and the scenes set at night are particularly clear and sharp.

The various special effects and explosions still look good and in general the locations are realistic (if you ignore the train chase at the end which while entertaining and impressive both visually and audibly has some major "as-if" type problems).

Audio

The sound, as you would expect in a modern blockbuster movie is Dolby Digital 5.1. The theme tune has never sounded so good at home (I just can`t wait for the sequel to arrive on DVD later this year!).

Sound throughout is good throughout but of particular note is the train chase sequence at the end. Once on top of the carriages, there`s plenty of wind noise, bridges etc to keep your 5.1 speaker system busy.

My only minor niggle about the film is that the LFE channel is perhaps a bit on the low side with not quite as much bass as you would expect in some scenes.

Features

One word sums this up - DISMAL.

This is a clear case of "let`s get the film out damn quick to cash in on everybody who has been to see Mission Impossible 2". The only thing on offer is a trailer - this is not an extra!

(It`s not just us Region 2 folks getting shafted here, the Region 1 release is equally lacking).

Conclusion

Well, I enjoyed watching this again. The picture and sound are both good, and the film entertaining. The end chase with the train and helicopter is hokum (for example, TGV`s are electric, and don`t run in the UK, yet we have one here with no obvious means of power; assuming that the helicopter actually made it into the (non-Chunnel) tunnel - the train coming the other way would have destroyed it etc etc) but good fun and sounds great and Langley scene is very good.

The cast is strong and all play their parts well, and Tom Cruise of course gets to do his trademark running as fast as he can shot!

The extras however are woeful and make this disc poor value for money compared to the VHS version. Fair enough the sound and picture are better, but studios should be giving us more for our money and as a result the overall score has been reduced.