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Tom Cruise' Mission Impossible - Nit-Picked
© Copyright 1998, Jim Loy
Before I start finding fault, let me say that this is a very enjoyable
movie. It's very exciting with some very memorable action scenes. Zooming in on
the high-speed train, until you can see the person in the window is very
smooth. And making the helicopter fly into the tunnel is a thrill.
There are a lot of little things that seem improbable. An example is this:
The beginning takes place in an American Embassy. And the high-tech
wizard programs the girl's fingerprints into the embassy's database at the last
minute. This is the American's who are setting this whole thing up. Why not
have her fingerprints already in the computer?
It makes the story typically suspenseful, so I'll accept this and many other
improbabilities. I do object to the identities of the moles, however. They
would never betray America. I won't tell you who they are, see the movie.
Anyway, here are some nits that I pick from the story.
- The high-tech expert of the MI team is killed (crunched) at the top of the
embassy elevator. There ought to be room on top of any elevator, even at the
top floor. And how does the mole cause this? He sure fooled the high-tech
expert, who probably should know if he has complete control of an elevator or
not.
- The man who is their target is stabbed through a fence. One of the MI girls
sees that he is in trouble, and goes to him, and is also stabbed through the
fence. That's pretty incompetant for an MI member.
- Hunt (Tom Cruise) has been set up to take the blame. Kitridge (the
director) gives Hunt a huge amount of information before he tries to arrest
him. This is a shaky movie cliche, but I suppose the villains tell everything
to James Bond, why not to Tom Cruise.
- Hunt spreads broken glass outside the door to the safe house, to warn him
of visitors. Phelps' wife seems totally unaware that she has warned him by
walking on the glass.
- If the moles are trying to frame Hunt, why do they show up again when
everyone thinks they are dead?
- What does the code "Job 3:14" have to do with anything? Hunt uses
it to contact Max, but she says that her contact (Job) never quotes Scriptures.
Max' email address is Max@Job 3:14, an illegal email address. And why is that
her address, when her contact is called Job? Hunt's email address, which he
somehow creates, is Job@Book of Job, another illegal email address.
- Hunt warns Max that the NOC list diskette, if used in a computer, emits a
radio signal that brings the CIA breaking down their door. And to test this
out, they use the diskette and just avoid capture. There are less exciting ways
to test such a claim. And you should be able to disable the radio, or use it
under water or somewhere else where the radio can't be detected.
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