1. Overview
"Mission insolvable", released in 1996, is a asset suspenser directed by Brian De Palma and starring Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. It's grounded on the 1960s TV series of the same name and came the foundation for one of Hollywood's most successful action votes. The film blends spying, deception, and high- stakes action, featuring a complex plot with double- crosses, backstabbings, and suspenseful set pieces.
2. Plot Summary
Ethan Hunt is a member of the insolvable Mission Force( IMF), a covert U.S. government agency specializing in high- threat spying operations. The film begins in Prague, where Hunt's platoon, led by Jim Phelps( Jon Voight), is assigned to recover a stolen list of covert operatives( the NOC list) before it falls into adversary hands. During the charge, everything goes disastrously wrong — Phelps is supposedly killed, along with utmost of the platoon, leaving Hunt as the sole survivor.
Hunt connections his superior, Eugene Kittridge( Henry Czerny), only to realize he's being framed as a operative within the IMF. Kittridge explains that the charge was actually a setup to uncover the real snake, but since Hunt survived, he's now the primary suspect. Realizing he has been betrayed, Hunt flees and sets out to prove his innocence.
Hunt enlists the help of two disavowed agents, Luther Stickell( Ving Rhames) and Franz Krieger( Jean Reno), along with Claire Phelps( Emmanuelle Béart), Jim Phelps' woman. Together, they insinuate CIA headquarters in Langley to steal the real NOC list, in one of the film's most iconic scenes — Hunt is lowered into a high- security vault, unfit to make a sound, in a sequence of absolute silence and pressure.
As Hunt tries to vend the list to the arms dealer Max( Vanessa Redgrave), he pieces together the true conspiracy Jim Phelps is alive and is the real snake. Phelps, motivated by rapacity and disillusionment with the IMF, offered his death and framed Hunt. The final battle takes place on a high- speed train, where Hunt fights both Phelps and Krieger in a apocalyptic action sequence that involves a copter being pulled into the Channel Lair.
3. Main Characters
Ethan Hunt( Tom Cruise) A professed IMF agent framed for disloyalty, who must clear his name and uncover the real operative.
Jim Phelps( Jon Voight) The IMF platoon leader who betrays his own platoon for fiscal gain.
Claire Phelps( Emmanuelle Béart) Jim Phelps' woman, who remains nebulous in her commitment until the end.
Luther Stickell( Ving Rhames) A brilliant hacker who helps Hunt recoup the NOC list and becomes a pious supporter.
Franz Krieger( Jean Reno) A mercenary working with Hunt but latterly revealed to be in league with Phelps.
Eugene Kittridge( Henry Czerny) The head of the IMF, who originally believes Hunt is the operative but latterly realizes the verity.
Max( Vanessa Redgrave) An arms dealer who plays a crucial part in the plot by trying to acquire the NOC list.
4. Conclusion
In the film’s climax, Phelps reveals himself as the snake but is eventually killed when Hunt tricks him into exposing himself. Hunt manages to survive the violent train sequence and ensures that the NOC list does n't fall into adversary hands. In the fate, Kittridge clears Hunt's name and offers him another charge, intimating at unborn adventures.
The film readdressed the asset kidney with its intricate conniving, swish direction, and high- energy action. It also solidified Tom Cruise as a global action star and led to an enduring ballot. The success of Mission insolvable paved the way for multiple conclusions, each raising the stakes and action, making it one of the most iconic action series in cinema history.