Mission: Impossible (1996) Dir: Brian de Palma

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Brian De Palma's 1996 action thriller marked the start of a popular and iconic franchise that has spanned decades. This first film is actually the only one in the franchise I'd seen before.

The story is exciting and suspenseful, and is served well by some classic spy set pieces. The over-the-top climactic scenes nearly ruined it for me, but I still found some enjoyment, despite the absurdity of it.

Tom Cruise, of course, stars in what would become one of his most famous roles. His performance was charismatic and intense, similarly to the bulk of his roles, which, in this case, is no bad thing by any means.

Emmanuelle Béart was the best of the rest, in my view at least. She had some really strong scenes, especially in the second act.

The other standout for me was Jon Voight, who was pretty decent in his performance, other than maybe one scene, where he was a little mediocre.

The best of the other supporting cast members were, by some way, Ving Rhames, Vanessa Redgrave and Jean Reno.

Overall, this was a solid spy film with plenty of drama and action to entertain its audience with ease.

It gets a little ridiculous at the end, but beyond that, it's actually pretty believable and a whole lot of fun.