Action Doesn’t Make Up For Very Confusing Story Line

It is inevitable that “Mission: Impossible” will be one of the biggest movies of the summer. The film has everything going for it: a big-name lead actor who teens want to watch, a well-known title and a story that will keep adults flocking to the theaters.

Unfortunately, without these two fairly superficial qualities, “Mission: Impossible” would have never made it to the big screen. Its flimsy plot is held together only by quality supporting players. The cameras focus so hard on Tom Cruise’s physique that one finds it difficult to care about his character, Ethan Hunt, or any character at all.

For those readers who haven’t yet picked up the story from the last six months of theater trailers and television ads, here’s the general plot: Hunt’s IMF team is sent on a mission that turns out to be a decoy, an attempt to expose someone on the team who is thought to be a traitor.

After everyone on his team dies (or so we think), Hunt is disavowed by the CIA and he spends the rest of the picture trying to get his good name back.

By pretending to be the traitor, Hunt comes in contact with a woman who calls herself Max (Vanessa Redgrave). For some unknown reason, Max wants something called a “noc-list.” This list contains the names of all American undercover agents abroad.

Hunt gets the list (how he does it is quite a riot) and sets up a meeting with Max so she and the traitor can be caught. Hunt hopes this will enable him to regain his honor.

Compelling? Not quite. The film seems to try to confuse its audience. Until close to the end, there are no real clues as to who the traitor is. This is one rare instance where a small dose of predictability may have come in handy.

“Mission: Impossible” did have one thing that few films today seem to have: a measure of morality. There were no explicit sex scenes, no graphic violence and no excessive use of obscenities. It was a psychological thriller all the way; there were only three or four violent scenes in the entire film.

And note must be given to the special effects aspects of the picture. Whenever an opportunity arose to make the movie temporarily exciting to the eye, such a chance was fully exploited.

I never expect too much out of action-thriller films in regard to plot. I loved both “Speed” and “Goldeneye” - two films that didn’t have meaningful, complex stories but kept the viewers’ attention even between the exciting action scenes. This film didn’t even have that.

“Mission: Impossible” is fun to watch and probably worth seeing - on cable.

Grade: C