Mission: Impossible

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ethan hunt wire scene

Mission: Impossible – A team of agents are sent to Prague to prevent the theft of classified material which could provide the code names of all secret agents to the highest bidder. After the mission fails, Ethan Hunt is the only survivor and is then implicated as a mole by the head of his organisation. Now Ethan must use unorthodox methods, work with disgraced former agents and an international arms dealer in order to prove his innocence and expose the real mole before the organisation can catch up with him.

Mission: Impossible (1996) – Director: Brian De Palma

Is Mission: Impossible appropriate for kids

Rating: PG

Running Length: 110 mins

Starring: Tom Cruise, Emmanuelle Béart, Vanessa Redgrave

Genre: Espionage, Thriller

REVIEW: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE

The first instalment of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise, based upon the TV series which began in the 1960’s, introduces Ethan Hunt as a secret agent for an unknown organisation which sends its agents on dangerous missions. Cleverly written and expertly paced, the twists and turns never become too confusing to follow; they instead keep the audience gripped with anticipation of what will happen next. This is such an intelligent movie that, despite being understandable on the first watch, on each subsequent viewing it provides more detail to be picked up on and therefore can be watched over and over without becoming stale.

Tom Cruise is excellent as a man on the run, someone who relies on his wits and intelligence to survive rather than superhuman abilities (unlike Mission: Impossible 2). De Palma’s directional style uniquely sets this first instalment so far apart from the sequels that, other than Cruise playing the role of Ethan, it is almost unrecognisable as a movie of the same franchise. Unlike its successors, ‘Mission: Impossible’ is, first and foremost, a thriller with some exciting action thrown into the mix. While this is not a throw-away popcorn movie, it does not take itself so seriously that it can only appeal to those who enjoy cerebral drama. It is a movie for everyone to enjoy and take something from with plenty of tension to keep the excitement levels high throughout.

CONTENT: IS ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The first 20 minutes of the film sets the tone for the level of violence in the rest of the movie. It opens with a scene where agents are watching a conversation between two men on a black and white TV screen. A woman’s body is seen on a bed behind them and she is covered with blood (although due to the images being in black and white, the blood only appears to be grey in colour). There is a close-up shot of her which lasts a few seconds but this should not be overly distressing for children. A little while later, there is a close-up of a needle being put into a characters arm but this is to help them rather than cause any harm.

The strongest of the violence happens when Ethan’s team are being taken out. They are shot, stabbed and blown up. Some blood is seen with the shooting and stabbings, however this is not too graphic. However, the worst is when a character is killed by having a sharp metal object pushed into their face. Although there is no blood or gore, from a side-on view the camera shows the character looking up and the metal object going into his eyes for around 1 second. I have seen this movie several times and this part still makes me wince! This death is also quite surprising as this character is the first to be killed and could therefore be quite distressing for kids. None of the action in the rest of the movie is as strong as this.

There is an intense scene at the end of the movie which last approximately 10-15 minutes involving a helicopter which is attached to a train and forced to fly inside a tunnel. This part is very exciting and Ethan is in danger the whole time. The helicopter blades almost kill him twice and, in a shot lasting around 2 seconds, one character is killed by being crushed. As it is the climax of the movie, children should have become used to the level of action so will probably be more excited than upset by this scene.

There are two mild instances of animal cruelty. One happens when Ethan uses an explosive device on an aquarium in order to escape a dangerous situation. The tank explodes and, from a distance, fish are seen lying on the ground as Ethan runs away. Later, a rat is killed by one of the characters although nothing is shown on camera. The character lunges towards it and a squeak is heard then the dead rat is seen lying next to the character a short while later. While some children may be a little upset by these moments, they are done in a quick and matter-of-fact way so should be overly concerning.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?
VERDICT: IS ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE’ FOR KIDS?

‘Mission: Impossible’ is an excellent movie which has mainly been targeted towards adult audiences but can still be enjoyed by younger viewers. We feel that this movie should be appropriate for kids aged 10 and over, mainly due to the complex plot which younger children may find hard to follow and perhaps a little boring.

  • Violence: 3/5 (while the level of violence in the action sequences is relatively low, the moment when a character is killed with sharp blades (as detailed above) is the strongest we have seen for a ‘PG’ rated film. We would therefore recommend caution for this part)
  • Emotional Distress: 1/5 (several established characters are killed and one mourns the death of her husband but this is not too distressing)
  • Fear Factor: 3/5 (the tension in the action sequences is often very intense, particularly the finale of the movie. When Ethan is taken to the arms dealer, he has a hood put over his head to prevent him from seeing the location. However, he is never distressed during this situation.)
  • Sexual Content: 0/5
  • Bad Language: 1/5 (infrequent mild cursing and blasphemy)
  • Dialogue: 1/5 (one character is quite aggressive and at one point threatens to cut another character’s throat)  
  • Other notes: Deals with themes of being framed for a crime you haven’t committed, working against the authorities to find the truth, teamwork, betrayal and knowing who to trust.

Words by Laura Record

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