Polygon marks the 30th anniversary of Brian De Palma's 1996 spy-thriller "Mission: Impossible," noting that the first three films in the franchise recently became free to stream on Tubi. The article argues the original film is notable for showing Tom Cruise still in his early "jerk" star persona, playing Ethan Hunt as a cocky, self-assured operative quite unlike the more selfless hero he later became across the series, and credits the film with quietly reshaping both the character's and Cruise's on-screen mythology.

The piece focuses on the film's opening 30 minutes, in which Hunt's Impossible Mission Force team, including Jon Voight, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emilio Estevez and Emmanuelle Béart, is wiped out and Hunt is framed as the traitor responsible, leaving him largely isolated bar Ving Rhames' hacker Luther Stickell. The writer praises De Palma's direction and the script's efficient setup of the twist, and highlights a tense restaurant confrontation between Hunt and IMF director Eugene Kittridge, played by Henry Czerny, as a standout scene.