Lasers in Spy Movies – Top 12 uses

Lasers have been used in lots of spy movies. They can enhance a scene and are often used as cutting or security devices.  For instance, the first use of a laser in a spy movie is in the third James Bond movie, Goldfinger. Who developed the first laser?   We’ll cover that to understand the timeline…

Mission: Impossible Vault Scene

Do you remember the famous Mission: Impossible vault scene?  Ethan Hunt is lowered into the vault from the ceiling.  He must deal with alarms and sensors.  Where did they get that idea? SpyMovieNavigator.com examines this famous vault scene. The scene obviously pays homage to the 1955 movie Rififi and the 1964 movie Topkapi.  Therefore, we…

Spy Movies & Real-World Connections – Part 2

Have you ever thought about how events in the real world and other movies could affect and work their way into some of our favorite spy movies? Well, think about it a minute because that’s what we are going to explore today on Spy Movie Navigator.

This is part 2 of the series.

Mission Impossible Opening

Most spy and action movies today include pre-title sequences, including James Bond, Mission: Impossible, and some Bourne films.

Mission: Impossible (1996)

In 1996, Paramount Pictures and Cruise/Wagner Productions released the first movie of the Mission: Impossible series.  So, the first of the series is called Mission: Impossible and did not have a number.   We will call it here Mission: Impossible (1996)  since we now have multiple great additions to the Mission: Impossible series. In this curation…

Opening Title Sequence

This mask scene spills into the title sequence. The title appears to be designed to further hook the tv show fans.

First Mission

The first mission, as explained by the briefing is to get the NOC (Non-Official Cover) list from Golitsyn.

Restaurant Scene

In the television series, it was common for IMF agents to turn to the other side and go bad.

Meeting with Max

Ethan tells Max that he is going to steal the NOC list and wants to be paid for it.

Into the Vault Scene

This scene is obviously modelled after the work of Jules Dassin. Dassin was the director of the 1964 heist film, “Topkapi”.

Ethan meets Jim again

Jim Phelps tracks down Ethan and has a discussion explaining that Kittridge was really the mole. While he talks through how Kittridge did it, clips are shown with what really happened.

On the train

The next scene is where it gets really fun. Claire walks into the luggage room in the train and sees Jim.

The final train scene

The final scene is actually done on the outside of the train. This is a fantastic use of CGI and real footage.

Ending Scene

The film wraps with Kittridge talking with Max and letting her know that she isn’t going to be arrested.

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