Where does Mission Impossible go wrong? It isn’t with Tom Cruise… He does a decent job here, brooding and bitching like all Hollywood stars do in their personal lives. John Voight is OK in his part as the IMF leader, but part of the time it seems like he’s in it for the paycheck. The problem is pacing, my friends. Heaps of dialogue are lobbed on the viewer, forcing him to reel in pain after the action-packed opening sequence. A decent ending saves the middle’s snail-like pace, but not enough to redeem it.

On the other hand, the music is really good. The sets are decent and I admire some of the wacky camera angles. The screenwriter deserved a slap in the face for this incomprehensible script, even if he did write Chinatown! Rent Mission Impossible if you like to be confused. I would recommend renting it in Spanish so you can hear lines like, “JACK, quiera un perrito? JACK, dulce de leche?”

I give Mission Impossible **1/2 out of ****.