and starring Tom Cruise
. Following on from the television series of the same name
, the plot follows a new agent, Ethan Hunt
and his mission to uncover the mole within the CIA who has framed him for the murders of his entire IMF team. Work on the script had begun early with filmmaker Sydney Pollack
on board, before De Palma, Steven Zaillian
, David Koepp
, and Robert Towne
were brought in. In fact, the film went into pre-production without a shooting script.
Relax Luther, it's much worse than you think.
You're worried about me. Why?
[referring to CIA headquarters] This is the Mount Everest of hacks.
[just before entering the vault] Krieger, from this point on... absolute silence!
[to Claire] Wake up, Claire! Jim's dead! He's dead! They're all dead!
If a man has crushed, shot, stabbed, and detonated five members of his own IMF team, how upset do you really think you're gonna make him by hauling Mom and Uncle Donald down to the county courthouse?
[Holding the wad of explosive chewing gum before jumping off chopper in the Chunnel] Red Light! Green Light!
I want him manning a radar tower in Alaska by the end of the day. Just mail him his clothes.
Everyone has pressure points, Barnes. You find something that's personally important to someone and... you squeeze.
These guys are trained to be ghosts. We taught them to do it for Christ's sake.