The first Mission: Impossible film is easily the best of the three
Sound:
The music and sound design of the "Mission: Impossible" films are an important part of what has made this a successful franchise. In regards to this first film, there is just something magical about hearing Danny Elfman´s interpretation of the well-loved and overly familiar "Mission: Impossible" theme. The rushing sound of the train in the tunnel and the beating of the helicopter blades against the air sound great. What is very impressive is that you can hear the fabric of Tom Cruise´s clothes as the air beats him down onto the train. Then of course, Elfman´s music kicks in. Amazing sound effects and the best score of the three films during this climactic moment is awe inspiring. This first film is not nearly as dynamic as the sequels, but it is still a powerful and aggressive soundtrack. For this first release and in tune with the sequels, Paramount has included English 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus, French 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus. English, French and Spanish subtitles are provided, as well as an English SDH track.
Extras:
Billed as a "Special Collector´s Edition," this single disc release of "Mission: Impossible" is the only title of three films to lack a commentary track for the HD-DVD and Blu-ray releases. There is, however, over an hour of vignettes and featurettes detailing the production of the film. Most of the features are The majority of the supplements are sadly mastered in standard definition and provided in 480p and were simply lifted from older DVD releases. However, the new photo gallery looks extremely good in high definition and the teaser trailer and theatrical trailer are also provided in high definition. When compared to the incredible 2-disc special edition released for "Mission: Impossible: 3" many months ago when this first film was only available in the $100 box set, this is not an overly impressive special edition release. It is superior to the second film in the series, but the third film has certainly received the royal treatment.
The first feature, Mission: Remarkable – 40 Years of Creating the Impossible (11:25) takes a look at how Cruise and his fellow filmmakers brought the film from television to the big screen. The second, Mission: Explosive Exploits (5:08) is about the stunts and how Tom Cruise performed them himself Mission: Spies Among Us (8:38)
discusses some of the background on the IMF and the technology displayed in the film and how it relates to real life CIA technology. Mission: Catching the Train (2:38) is about the train sequence comprising the film´s finale. Peter Earnest takes us through the Mission: International Spy Museum (6:30) and the real tools used by spies. Mission: Agent Dossiers (14:40) is an interactive feature that gives background info on the film´s spies. Excellence in Film (9:14) features the presentation for an award given to Tom Cruise. This supplement is on all three discs. Generation: Cruise (3:36) is a similar supplement, but from the MTV Movie Awards. The Photo Gallery is a lengthy interactive photo gallery that is nicely presented in high definition and Mission: Marketing (6:59) is composed of two trailers and nine TV spots. The two trailers are presented in high definition.
Closing Comments:
The "Mission: Impossible" franchise has found three theatrical releases over the past decade. The loud and aggressive films brought about some strong stunts and fierce action sequences that gave "Mission: Impossible" its own brand of high-octane spy/action cinema. The franchise features gadgets that are more closely related to real-life technology, but after this initial film, the action and stunts became more over-the-top than those seen in most James Bond films. I have always enjoyed this first chapter in the Ethan Hunt saga far more than the second two films. It was grounded when compared to what eventually followed. Tom Cruise is great as Ethan Hunt and Ving Rhames is an important part of the franchise. There are many trademarks of the series. Its theme song is well known and sounds simply amazing on this Blu-ray release. With it strong ensemble cast, "Mission: Impossible" is an action packed event film that showed promise as a series to supplant the winded James Bond franchise. The Blu-ray release features strong visuals and strong sound. The supplements are good, but cannot quite compete with the third film´s 2-disc offerings. Paramount made the right move in making these films available individually, and this first film is the one most worth owning.
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[release]20816[/release]