Mission: Impossible - A Franchise of Humble Beginnings
With Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning racking up a franchise-best opening weekend, I thought it would be pertinent to revisit the film that started it all. Across eight entries and nearly three decades, the M:I series has become a fascinating lens through which to track the evolution of the action-espionage genre - shifting alongside audience tastes, trends, and expectations.
By 1995, audiences were starting to feel spy fatigue. The Cold War era America vs. Soviets plots commonplace in the M:I TV series of the ’70s felt stale. With the geopolitical playbook rewritten, screenwriters David Koepp and Robert Towne pivoted. Instead of external enemies, they zeroed in on internal betrayal - rogue agents, shadow governments, and backroom power plays. Mission: Impossible leaned hard into that shift, tapping into a growing cultural mistrust of institutions. This resulted in a taut, thrilling, paranoia-fueled study of CIA opacity.
Assuming Final Reckoning really is the last ride - and that Tom Cruise is finally hanging it up (by a bungee cord, naturally) - there’s no better moment to revisit the bookends of the Mission: Impossible franchise. Looking back, the original film may feel almost modest next to the series’ later obsessions with rogue AIs, nuclear doomsday plots, and Cruise’s increasingly unhinged stunts. But make no mistake: the 1996 Mission: Impossible was a game-changer. Few action films kick off a seven-sequel legacy. So let’s dig into the original script and explore what made it stand out - and why it still matters.
OPENING IMAGE
A high-stakes sting operation unfolds in a Kiev hotel room, monitored by Jack, an Impossible Mission Force (IMF) agent. A Russian mobster coerces their target into revealing the name Dimitri Miediev, threatening him with implication in a woman’s murder. Once the name is secured, the mobster rips off a mask - revealing rookie IMF agent Ethan Hunt. The entire room is a fabrication, swiftly deconstructed. Even the ‘dead woman’ is Claire, another disguised agent.
This information, and Miediev’s inclusion, is unimportant. The opening image is designed to establish the IMF’s tactics and foreshadows the tones of deception, masks, and paranoia. Everything is a performance. The team will go to any means necessary to succeed.
SET UP
On a jet from Chicago to Prague, we meet Jim Phelps, the respected IMF mentor, as he’s briefed on a new, unrelated mission: stop ex-KGB agent Golitsyn from stealing the second half of the NOC list - a file containing the identity of all undercover IMF agents in Europe. He already possesses the first half. Failure to stop him acquiring the second means the series’ favorite threat - disavowal. In the IMF, you’re always one botched mission away from being cast out.
The tape destroys itself, removing any trace of its own existence.
Jim briefs his crew - Jack, Ethan, Claire (Jim’s startlingly young wife), Hannah, and Sarah - on their roles infiltrating the CIA Embassy in Prague. Ethan admits he’s feeling burnt out. Jack arms them with video camera glasses and, for reasons only this franchise could justify, explosive chewing gum. With responsibilities and personalities sketched in, we jump to the heist. Notably, the location is home away from home - the IMF is infiltrating its own American outposts, not Soviet strongholds.
Undercover as Senator Waltzer - an American diplomat conveniently out of town - Ethan joins Sarah (posing as his assistant) at the Embassy party. They tag Golitsyn with a sprayed marker, allowing the team to track him via infrared.
Jack rigs the elevator to grant the team unrestricted access, while recording glasses are set up to capture Golitsyn’s attempt to steal the NOC list and incriminate him. As anticipated, Golitsyn takes the bait. The team intends to regroup and make a public arrest once they secure the evidence - but that’s when everything suddenly unravels.
INCITING INCIDENT
As if their entire plan was predicted, everything collapses. Someone else seizes control of the elevator, resulting in Jack’s death. Panic spreads through the team. Remotely, Jim orders Ethan to abort, but Ethan hesitates, torn between following commands and letting Golitsyn slip away. Meanwhile, Jim rushes toward the Embassy from their safe house, his video glasses capturing the moment he’s shot - apparently killed - as he falls into the Vltava River.
Golitsyn is killed, Sarah is stabbed, and Claire’s car explodes. The NOC list vanishes. Ethan’s team is dead - and it’s obvious he was set up. Though unusually long for an action thriller’s introduction, this sequence effectively disarms the audience. By the end, we understand that trust is impossible, and the setup plus inciting incident make it clear no one is safe. High billing or screen time offer no protection to these characters. From here, we’re in the trenches with Ethan, sharing in the mounting paranoia he must be enduring.
DEBATE
Ethan flees as police appear. He makes contact with IMF deputy director Kittiridge, who arranges to meet Ethan at a restaurant. The debate is simple - who can I trust?
Kittridge reveals the existence of shadowy arms dealer ‘Max,’ whom he suspects is collaborating with the mole on ‘Job 314.’ He then turns his suspicion toward Ethan, citing suspicious family bank transactions as supporting evidence. After discovering that the NOC list Golitsyn targeted was a decoy, Ethan is officially disavowed - the entire operation was a trap to flush out the mole and Kittridge is blaming him. In a dramatic escape, Ethan uses Jack’s explosive gum to slip away.
Alone, grieving, and hunted, Ethan questions who set him up. Without knowing who he can trust, he’s in the cold and gone rogue. The answer to the question - who can I trust? - is clear. No one.
BREAK INTO TWO
Back at the safe house, Ethan realizes that Job 314 points to the Bible verse Job 3:14. He tracks down an (admittedly primal) online discussion group and reaches out to Max, pretending to be ‘Job’. Exhausted, he drifts into a restless sleep and wakes when Claire returns to the apartment. Shaken and in denial - still haunted by the image of Claire’s car exploding - he begins to suspect her as the mole. She does what she can to assuage his suspicions, but he’s reluctant to trust anyone.
FUN AND GAMES
Because Act One runs long, the Fun and Games section is incredibly short, serving mainly to prepare the crew for the major heist after the midpoint. This is a bold choice - this section typically delivers trailer-worthy highlights, not additional setup and exposition.
Max sends Ethan detailed instructions that demand he willingly submit to kidnapping. Max introduces herself, questioning Ethan when she realizes he isn’t Job.
Ethan offers Max the genuine NOC list (something he doesn’t yet have) as bait to draw out the real Job. He warns her that the CIA is already tracking her. Predictably, Kittridge and his team arrive soon after, forcing them to make a quick escape - but successfully gaining Max’s trust.
Kittridge and Agent Barnes strategize on how to capture Ethan. Meanwhile, reunited with Claire, Ethan decides he needs his own team. He assembles a group of other disavowed IMF agents, recruiting Krieger and Luther to help pull off the heist of the NOC list from CIA headquarters in Langley.
As we approach the midpoint, Ethan outlines the plan for the heist and the big set piece of the film. He concisely explains the three Langley alarm systems that they need to bypass.
MIDPOINT
As they take the train toward Virginia, Ethan and Claire become romantically entangled - yet Ethan’s distrust prevails.
At Langley, Kittridge and his men are concerned, trying to predict Ethan’s next move, never expecting him to hit the CIA headquarters - one of the best protected buildings in the world.
BAD TO WORSE
Disguised as firefighters, the crew breaches the building by setting off an alarm. Claire spikes an analyst named Donloe’s coffee, while a guard escorts Ethan to a service vent. Ethan stops Krieger from killing the guard, insisting on a strict no-body-count policy. They then navigate the air vents toward the vault.
They deploy various tactics to circumvent the alarms. Then, Ethan starts his descent into the terminal.
Donloe starts to feel sick from the spiked coffee, vomits, and rushes to the bathroom. Ethan resumes his descent, working against the clock with strict rules: no noise, no contact with the floor, and no raising the temperature. Inevitably, things go wrong, leaving Ethan suspended just inches above the ground.
They escape at the last possible moment, securing the NOC list and seemingly evading detection - though Krieger accidentally drops his knife, leaving behind proof of their intrusion. The stakes rise sharply as Ethan becomes further implicated in the conspiracy.
The crew heads to London and contacts Max, setting up a meeting on a train where Ethan will trade the NOC list for Job. Krieger objects to Ethan’s plan, but Ethan stays one step ahead. Krieger leaves, establishing his eventual alignment with Job. Subtle signs cast doubt on Claire’s loyalty, feeding Ethan’s growing paranoia. He discovers that the Bible he’s been referencing to communicate with Max - retrieved in Prague - is stamped by Chicago’s Drake Hotel, a place Jim Phelps visited just days before his death.
The news reports that Ethan’s mother and uncle have been busted for running a drug ring, a result of Kittridge’s framing. Ethan takes the bait and calls Kittridge, who is able to track him to London. Ethan hangs up before they can get a pinpoint location, suggesting he wanted to give the CIA an approximate lead.
BREAK INTO THREE
Ethan comes face-to-face with a wounded - but breathing - Jim Phelps. Jim reveals he survived and has been narrowly missing Ethan’s crew at every turn. Then, he drops another bombshell;
Ethan lays out his plan, and Jim insists that Claire must not know he’s alive. Ethan moves forward with the trade, set to happen aboard the train bound for Paris. Meanwhile, Kittridge receives an anonymous tip revealing the location of the upcoming exchange.
FINALE
Aboard the train, all the major players converge. Max confesses she doesn’t have Job, but assures Ethan that once she receives the promised payment, Job will come to him. Suspecting Kittridge is Job, Ethan is stunned to learn Kittridge is also on the train. Then comes the twist: Job is actually Jim Phelps - and Max has set Ethan up. Jim plans to kill him when he arrives to claim the money.
Claire meets with Jim and reveals their plan;
But Max is overheard—Ethan had anticipated the betrayal all along. He reveals he was one step ahead, suspecting Jim was Job from the start, and confirming it with the stamped Bible. Jim sneers, mocking Ethan for ever thinking Claire genuinely cared about him.
Ethan reveals he’s been secretly recording Jim with his video glasses, exposing their entire plan. With the footage, Kittridge now knows the truth. Enraged and desperate, Jim shoots Claire and makes a run for the helicopter arranged by Krieger.
Both men climb onto the roof of the speeding train, grappling fiercely as it barrels toward the underground tunnel connecting England and France.
Inside the train, Max scrambles to upload the NOC list before they enter the tunnel and lose signal. It’s a classic countdown - halted at the final second, preserving the sensitive data and vindicating Ethan’s methods. Meanwhile, the helicopter, still tethered to both Jim and the train, is yanked into the tunnel, turning an already tense escape into a deadly high-speed trap.
As a last resort, Ethan deploys his explosive chewing gum and explodes the chopper, killing Kreiger and Jim. Kittridge approaches Max, confronts her. They agree to keep the police out of things, certain they can exchange information of mutual benefit.
Ethan and Luther meet in a quiet pub, where it’s revealed their disavowals have been cleared and Ethan’s family has received a formal public apology. There’s a newfound camaraderie between the pair, having been through so much in such a short period of time. But they go their separate ways.
CLOSING IMAGE
The closing image elegantly mirrors the film’s opening - just as Jim Phelps once received his mission, now it’s Ethan who does. Exonerated and in demand, he steps into the role fully, becoming the seasoned IMF agent we’ve come to know and admire. No matter how he may try, there’s no running from this life.
WHY IT’S GREAT
Let’s be honest - it’s Mission: Impossible, and its legacy speaks for itself. Before Ethan Hunt was battling rogue AIs, clinging to aircraft, or becoming a “mind-reading, shapeshifting incarnation of chaos,” he was at the center of a relatively grounded espionage thriller. While the screenplay hits some thrilling highs with its clever set pieces and serpentine plot, a closer look reveals some clear weaknesses.
In truth, this script is significantly elevated by Brian De Palma’s direction. In less skilled hands, the film might not have launched a franchise at all. The screenplay is solid, but not extraordinary - and that’s a problem when the film’s success hinges so heavily on directorial flair.
While the cold open sequence works as a standalone set piece, the fact that it is disconnected from the main narrative renders it largely inconsequential. In a story driven by twists and tight resolutions, integrating Dimitri Miediev into the finale would provide a more satisfying payoff. Given the franchise’s penchant for bringing every character back - even minor ones like the diarrhea-suffering CIA agent - leaving this thread unresolved feels like a missed opportunity to strengthen narrative cohesion.
Act 2A, including the Fun and Games section, feels underdeveloped. While it functions as setup for Act 2B’s payoff, it lacks a strong direct connection to the finale, making it largely forgettable. Expanding the “assembling the team” sequence by deepening character dynamics - infused with mounting paranoia - or adding a standout set piece could inject energy and better engage the audience during this stretch.
The first half vacillates repeatedly on Ethan’s willingness to trust others. He appears resolved to rely solely on himself, yet he accepts Claire’s unlikely survival story with surprisingly little skepticism. Despite lingering doubts about her, he also embraces her recommendation of Krieger - someone she openly admits to never having worked with before. To strengthen this element, commit to a clearer stance on Ethan’s trust issues. Either reinforce his paranoia as a core flaw driving tension or depict his misplaced faith as a critical vulnerability.
The issue with Ethan is that we don’t learn who he is before the plot kicks in. Clarifying whether his distrust is inherent and absolute or if he consistently overestimates his allies would sharpen this plot thread and deepen his character arc. Reinforcing emotional stakes for Ethan beyond just survival - perhaps by leaning harder into betrayal and moral ambiguity - would make the narrative more resilient without relying on the director's vision to fill in the gaps.
Although Ethan remains largely proactive, the revelation that the Bible is stamped in Chicago feels circumstantial - it’s not the result of his investigation, but a careless mistake on Jim’s part. This undercuts Ethan’s agency and feels misaligned with the otherwise sharp storytelling. It also diminishes the impact of his character’s intelligence and determination. We want this moment to result from Ethan’s resourcefulness!
The third act tends to overexplain its unnecessarily intricate plot, draining momentum from the train sequence. This is particularly frustrating because the story itself could be relatively straightforward - the complexity comes from a stylistic choice to present it as layered and deceptive. As a result, the untangling feels self-imposed. Additionally, setting the tunnel twenty minutes away slows the pacing on the page!
A few plot threads fail to pay off or meaningfully deepen character. Ethan’s early comments about burnout are never explored and barely inform his decisions. Though he chooses to walk away from the IMF in the final moments, he’s almost immediately drawn back in - making the arc feel hollow. Similarly, his “relationship” with Claire lacks weight; we’re never given time to invest in it emotionally or understand its significance. Use it or lose it!
CONCLUSION
There’s plenty to admire in the original Mission: Impossible, long before the franchise embraced high-flying stunts and snappy banter. It’s almost hard to believe that the same series that once delivered a tense, paranoia-driven spy thriller in the mid-’90s eventually gave us lines like the following:
It might seem controversial not to give this film full marks, but a look into its production history reveals significant dissatisfaction with the screenplay. Robert Towne fired David Koepp, both brought in to rewrite a troubled draft by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, which struggled with both story and dialogue. The film began production without a finalized script, forcing De Palma to piece things together on the fly - letting the plot drape around the action rather than drive it.
The result is a solid film built on a decent - though not exceptional - screenplay. The problems are obvious and underscored by Cruise and producing partner Wagner opting for an entirely new creative team for the next installment. Without De Palma’s sleek, obsessive direction and signature Dutch angles, it’s unlikely Cruise would have launched a $4.2 billion franchise (possibly reaching $5b in the weeks to come!) off this foundation alone. Credit where it’s due: nice work, Brian.
We award a tentative 3.5/5.
