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Suddenly the situation spirals out of control as, initially, Jack is killed in a freak accident, then Hannah, Sarah and Golitsyn all die violently. Ethan, left isolated on the front line, sees Jim shot down as he hurries to assess the situation. Teetering on the edge of panic, surrounded by the corpses of his friends, Ethan contacts CIA agent Kittridge (Henry Czerny) for immediate instructions. Meeting in person, at the Akvarium Restaurant, Kittridge reveals that the whole operation was a set-up to expose a double agent within the IMF. In a flash, Ethan realises that he is the obvious suspect, since he's the only member of the team left alive after their catastrophic failure. Luckily he escapes, by destroying the Akvarium with explosive chewing-gum, and is able to set off in search of the real IMF mole.
Ethan returns to the group's apartment, where much of their equipment has been left, and starts investigating his only lead - an anonymous arms trader known as "Max" (Vanessa Redgrave). Amazingly, Claire later stumbles in on him, having survived the debacle, and makes the decision to join Ethan in his quest for revenge. A meeting with Max indicates that this shady character still desires the NOC-list, in order to sell to the highest bidder, and will pay handsomely. Since the IMF mole was going to provide just this information Ethan decides to steal it himself, from CIA headquarters, and use it as bait for the real traitor. Gathering a team of similarly disavowed IMF agents, Luther (Ving Rhames) and Krieger (Jean Reno), they set off to attempt something that really is impossible.
Bursting into action with that unmistakable theme tune, Mission: Impossible guts the TV series of its essential aspects (mostly the cunning devices) and weaves these into a standard "one man proving his innocence against all odds" storyline. The plot itself is fairly straightforward, although flashbacks and red-herrings are used to complicate matters, but this isn't the reason for seeing such a summer action movie. In this genre stunts, explosions and wildly improbable chases provide generous amounts of eye-candy, stimulating the senses like a roller coaster. Mission: Impossible rests upon three particular sequences, each paced in slightly different ways, and they combine to great effect; suspense, pain, intrigue and danger mixed together in a powerful potion. As might be expected the characters are pretty laughable, behaving in inexplicable and stupid ways when the story requires it, although they don't become a fatal flaw. The cracks only show up in the slow sections where too much talking, and not a lot else, takes place. Mission: Impossible knows its audience though - thrills galore, instantly forgettable entertainment.
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