History Film / MissionImpossible

* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: Ethan and Kittridge working together in the final act; Ethan lures Kittridge to London via a train race then is given a [=TGV=] ticket and a camera watch. The latter becomes very important.

%%* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: Jim Phelps and Krieger.]]

** cue transition with the iconic M:I theme*

-->'''Luther''': *sternly* There was never any physical evidence I had anything to do with that!...that...*smiles* that ''exceptional'' piece of work.

* ChekovsArmy: Every random extra in the background in the opening scene shows up as a secret agent in the last scene.

%%* DoubleMeaning: [[spoiler: "Why, Jim? Why?"]]
%%* TheDragon: [[spoiler: Krieger.]]

Ethan looks up with an OhCrap look of realization*\\

* FamousLastWords:
** "Uh, then I got a problem." Jack Harmon
** "Jim gave an abort, we should walk away." Sarah
** "Don't. Don't, Jim." Claire
** "'Don't, Jim'?" Jim Phelps

* FreezeFrameBous: If you are careful at looking at the screen during the Prague mission, you will realize who the real traitor is very soon. [[spoiler:When Jim gets "shot", you can see that the hand holding the gun is turned in such a way that it is obvious the shooter is Jim]].

%%* IronicEcho: [[spoiler: "Good morning, Mr. Phelps."]]
* ItsASmallNetAfterAll: After realizing that "Job 314" actually refers to [[Literature/TheBible the Book of Job]] chapter 3, verse 14, Ethan is able to track down the elusive Max on Bible sites online. While it does take him some time, even if he had used the most relevant search terms and stuck to the larger sites in reality it would have taken him at least days to find the right one.

* PhoneTraceRace: {{Subverted}} when Ethan Hunt stays on the line just long enough for his call to get traced to London (but not to the specific address) just as planned. Down to the ''second'', even. The person he was speaking to realizes that someone of Ethan's skill wouldn't have allowed them to track him down unless he ''wanted'' them to. Ethan is a fugitive, having been branded a traitor. Having just found the real mole, he wants the IMF to catch them.

* ThePrecariousLedge: Ethan walks across a ledge on a massive glass building.

* RadioSilence: As the Prague mission goes to hell, Jim orders all radio communication team to be cut off. This prevents Ethan from being able to warn the rest of the team what's happening when Jim is shot, causing everyone else sans Claire to walk to their doom.
* RealityEnsues: The famous CableDrop scene is the result of the heroes with their high tech gear breaking into a high tech vault nearly getting screwed because there was a rat in the vents, which made Kreiger sneeze. At the end of the scene, they're nearly done in by simply dropping something.

** The dangling wires scene was inspired by ''Film/{{Topaki}}''.

%%* UnholyMatrimony: [[spoiler:Jim and Claire Phelps]].

* WhatDidIDoLastNight: The ColdOpen features a crime boss in a room with a dead prostitute. Already horrified by his actions, he's even more so when his DirtyCop associate tells him that the girl is a favorite escort of a rival crime boss. The cop demands information from him in exchange for protection. After he's whisked away, it's revealed to the audience that the cop is really Ethan Hunt in disguise and the "dead" girl is a fellow agent.

* EverythingIsOnline: {{Averted}]. Ethan recruits computer expert Luther Stickell and explains his plan to get access to the computer that holds the NOC list. Luther chuckles and starts to explain to the "computer illiterate" the aversion to this trope, pointing out that this particular system is "what is called a 'stand-alone'". After a few seconds, Ethan reveals that he's not as computer illiterate as Luther thinks and describes the top-notch security around the machine. And yes, this means physically going in and getting the data onto a disk.

** Claire when she realizes [[spoiler: she accidentally outed herself as in cahoots with Jim to Ethan, wearing a face mask of Jim]].

* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: The first plan is played straight (detailed/fails), the second is averted (detailed/succeeds).

* IncrediblyObviousBug: {{Averted}}. The team have to keep tabs on the only analyst in the building allowed to use the ultra-secure computer vault they're trying to access. The act of planting the tracker requires Sarah to brush his jacket with the tip of her finger, and it otherwise looked like a millimeter sized patch of cloth. The close-up on the bug to show what, exactly, she did let you see the fibers of the jacket.

* AirVentPassageway: The film has an air vent infiltration.

* cue transition with the iconic M:I theme*

* BlindfoldedTrip: The 'price of admission' for meeting Max is wearing a full-face balaclava with the eye-holes sewn shut.

* DeathByLookingUp: [[spoiler: Emilio Estevez's character Jack inverts this as he is the one moving up into some spikes]].

* DescriptionPorn: Ethan describing the CIA's defenses in the first movie.

* DutchAngle: During the meeting between Ethan and Kittridge, things start getting skewed as Ethan realises he's been framed as TheMole.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Despite the movie being the TropeNamer for MissionImpossibleCableDrop. which in turn would set the bar for the high concept scenes and stunts of the sequels, the first film is VERY different in tone from them. There's very little in terms of action scenes until the end - even the titular MissionImpossibleCableDrop scene is more tension than action or complex stunts. Ethan's character doesn't have that "larger than life" reputation and presentation the other films give him. It's a much more quiet and psychological film whose tone does clash with its sequels, who would become more known for their action and stunts, when watching the series back to back.
%%* EvilBrit: [[spoiler:Max.]]
%%* EvilElevator: Poor [[spoiler: Jack]]...

* Ethan looks up with an OhCrap look of realization*\\

* FaceHeelTurn: The ''infamous'' - [[spoiler: Jim Phelps, the hero of the original TV series, turns out to be the BigBad in the end. This is why Peter Graves, who played Jim Phelps in the TV series, refused to do a cameo.]]

* HereWeGoAgain: Ethan takes a plane ride home at the end and is approached with the exact same code that Jim Phelps began the movie with.

%%* NotAsYouKnowThem: [[spoiler:Jim Phelps]]

* FaceHeelTurn:
** The ''infamous'' - [[spoiler: Jim Phelps, the hero of the original TV series, turns out to be the BigBad in the end. This is why Peter Graves, who played Jim Phelps in the TV series, refused to do a cameo.]]

** [[spoiler:Phelps when he realized Ethan put on the video glasses, proving to Kittridge that he was still alive.]]

* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: Jim Phelps and Krieger.]]

* BigBad: [[spoiler:Jim Phelps is the main antagonist of the film.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:Jim Phelps and Krieger.]]

* ButtMonkey: The CIA vault employee, who gets tagged with a liquid that makes him sick to his stomach long enough for Ethan's rogue team to make a copy of the NOC list and leave. [[AllThereInTheManual Despite his spotless record]], Kittridge has him relocated to a different job and ''how''.

* DoubleMeaning: [[spoiler: "Why, Jim? Why?"]]
* TheDragon: [[spoiler: Krieger.]]

* EvilBrit: [[spoiler:Max.]]
* EvilElevator: Poor [[spoiler: Jack]]...

* FaceHeelTurn: The ''infamous'' - [[spoiler: Jim Phelps, the hero of the original TV series, turns out to be the BigBad in the end.]]
** This is why Peter Graves, who played Jim Phelps in the TV series, refused to do a cameo.

* HyperAwareness: Ethan meets his IMF superior for a debriefing after a botched mission. He looks around the cafe and recognizes around him another IMF team that had also been present at the botch.

* IronicEcho: [[spoiler: "Good morning, Mr. Phelps."]]

* NotAsYouKnowThem: [[spoiler:Jim Phelps]]

* UnholyMatrimony: [[spoiler:Jim and Claire Phelps]].

Directed by Creator/BrianDePalma, the movie became well known for the interweaving and [[GambitPileup complicated plotting.]] -- and the signature image of the MissionImpossibleCableDrop. This is the least violent ''Mission: Impossible'' film, by far. And given that you can clearly see an eye gouging for a few frames and that [=DePalma=] is the one helming this one, that's saying something. The film however was (and remains) very divisive among long-time fans of [[Series/MissionImpossible the TV series]] (due to who the villain is, and the fact the story tends to focus on a single character, rather than a team), and was publicly disavowed by at least two cast members of the original series.

%%* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: Jim Phelps and Krieger.]]

* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: Jim Phelps and Krieger.]]

* BaitAndSwitchComment / ButHeSoundsHandsome: When Ethan admires Luther's infamous hacking of NATO Ghostcom:

* ExplodingFishTanks: When Ethan realizes that he's been framed, he blows up the floor-to-ceiling aquariums in a restaurant as cover for his escape.

** Kittridge when he realizes that Ethan's chewing gum on the fishtank is about to explode.

* ChekhovsBoomerang: The "Red Light, Green Light" exploding gum. Yes, it is [[IncrediblyLamePun Chekhov's Gum]].
* ChekhovsGun: The Bible in the Prague hideout, which leads to another use with the mention of the Drake Hotel in Chicago. Also, an attentive viewer will be able to know that [[spoiler: Kreiger]] is a villain due to [[spoiler: carrying the same distinctive-looking knife as the one found on Sarah's body]].

* BlackTieInfiltration: The film opens with the team breaking into a social event in Czechia to steal intelligence. [[spoiler:Turns out the information they were after was bait to smoke out TheMole, who saw it coming and pinned it on Ethan.]]

* BatmanGambit: Really [[spoiler: Phelps']] plan relied on a ''lot'' of people reacting in a very specific manner and being able to pull off feats that no one could be certain they could. If Ethan hadn't been able to track down Max [[spoiler: to meet her]], convince Max that [[spoiler: disc was a trap]], be willing to [[spoiler: trust Claire at all because of his attraction to her]] or manage to [[spoiler: steal the real list from the CIA]] then, at best all they'd be able to do would be [[spoiler: disappear and hope whoever they sold their knowledge to didn't have a CIA mole who would report them]]. And even before all that, at the embassy if Ethan had been able to [[spoiler: reach Phelps]], if Phelps had [[spoiler: actually been followed]] or if [[spoiler: Sarah had avoided being stabbed]] then the entire plan would have fallen apart.

* BattleCry: Ethan screams a wordless one at Krieger, after [[spoiler: hooking his and Phelps' escape helicopter to the back of a EuroTunnel-bound bullet train]].

''Mission: Impossible'' (1996) is the first entry in the ''Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries''.

In the first film in the ''Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries'', made in 1996, Jim Phelps is called upon for a new assignment dealing with very sensitive information regarding IMF agents and their cover [=IDs=]. He brings in his standard crew, including point man Ethan Hunt, and they plan out how to recover the info. Unfortunately, their mission was compromised horribly and Ethan finds himself the lone survivor and the top suspect as a traitor. The discovery of two other survivors doesn't alleviate his paranoia, so he goes into the list of blacklisted former IMF agents to put together another team to get to the bottom of their original mission and the conspiracy behind it.

Directed by Creator/BrianDePalma, the movie became well known for the interweaving and [[GambitPileup complicated plotting.]] (And the signature image of the MissionImpossibleCableDrop) This is the least violent Mission Impossible film, by far. And given that you can clearly see an eye gouging for a few frames and that [=DePalma=] is the one helming this one, that's saying something. The film however was (and remains) very divisive among long-time fans of [[Series/MissionImpossible the TV series]] (due to who the villain is, and the fact the story tends to focus on a single character, rather than a team), and was publicly disavowed by at least two cast members of the original series.

* BlackTieInfiltration: The film opens with the team breaking into a social event in Germany to steal intelligence. [[spoiler:Turns out the information they were after was bait to smoke out TheMole, who saw it coming and pinned it on Ethan.]]

Directed by Creator/BrianDePalma, the movie became well known for the interweaving and [[GambitPileup complicated plotting.]] (And the signature image pictured above) This is the least violent Mission Impossible film, by far. And given that you can clearly see an eye gouging for a few frames and that [=DePalma=] is the one helming this one, that's saying something. The film however was (and remains) very divisive among long-time fans of [[Series/MissionImpossible the TV series]] (due to who the villain is, and the fact the story tends to focus on a single character, rather than a team), and was publicly disavowed by at least two cast members of the original series.

-->'''Phelps''': …when you think about it, Ethan, it was inevitable… no more Cold War. No more secrets you keep from everyone but yourself, operations you answer to no one but yourself. Then one morning you wake up and find out the President of the United States is running the country - without your permission. The son-of-a-bitch! How dare he? You realize it’s over; you’re an obsolete piece of hardware not worth upgrading, you’ve got a lousy marriage and sixty-two grand a year.

* AdaptationalVillainy: [[spoiler: Jim Phelps, the main protagonist of the original TV series, is the mole. It seems almost like a deconstruction of what the movie ''thinks'' is the 'idea' of Jim Phelps. He's a Cold War agent who ran his own show, but when the conflict is over he finds himself in a low-paying job without a say in policy and a lousy marriage to a woman he doesn't love, so he throws his morals out the window by selling out his country to work for money. Ethan Hunt works as a reconstructed successor to the antiquated "old spy" Jim Phelps, reaffirming his loyalty to his country after they turn on him and ushering in a new era of espionage.]]

-->'''Luther''': And you really think we can do this?
-->'''Ethan''': ({{Beat}}) We're ''going'' to do it.
-->*cue transition with the iconic M:I theme*

-->'''Ethan''': This is Ethan Hunt. They're dead.
-->'''Kittridge''': Who's dead?
-->'''Ethan''': My team, my team is DEAD!

-->'''Ethan''': This whole operation was a mole hunt?...This whole operation was a mole hunt...*buries head in hands*
-->'''Kittridge''': [[SmugSnake Yeah.]] The mole's deep inside...and like you said, Ethan...
-->*Ethan looks up with an OhCrap look of realization*
-->'''Kittridge''': ''You survived.''

* FaceHeelTurn: The ''infamous'' - [[spoiler: Jim Phelps the hero of the original TV series turn out to be the BigBad in the end.]]

-->'''Ethan''': So how does it feel to be a solid citizen again?
-->'''Luther''': I don't know, I'm gonna miss being disreputable.
-->'''Ethan''': If it makes you feel better, I'll always think of you that way.

-->'''Kittridge''': I can understand you're very upset.
-->'''Ethan''': Kittridge, you've never seen me very upset.

-->'''Flight Attendant:''' Excuse me. Mr. Hunt? Would you like to watch a movie?
-->'''Ethan Hunt:''' Oh, uh, no thank you.
-->'''Flight Attendant:''' [[{{Bookends}} Would you consider the cinema of the Caribbean? Aruba, perhaps?]]

* BigBad:[[spoiler: Jim Phelps.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing:[[spoiler: Jim Phelps and Krieger.]]