The Mission

This is a great classic. I would consider this one of Steven Spielberg's best short ever. The pace is typically slow for a 80's production compared to nowadays. If you watch this for the first time you should keep this in mind. If you are familiar to the movie Poltergeist you can expect much the same screen writing pace. What stands out is the excellent performance of all actors (including some nice morse coding skills from Sutherland). A very young Casey Siemaszko lays down an astonishing performance too. His expressiveness brilliantly captures the despair and emotion of the strong scenario and everything after the line "I'm not gonna die father..." simply's outstanding and also mixes very well with the score.

I think this episode is by far one of the best of the whole "Amazing Stories" series and captures the American spirit beautifully; from the different attempts to rescue a comrade, to acrobatic landing maneuvering of an airplane, to the miracle itself. The contained message's that everything is made possible if you believe in it. It goes to portray the ever important aspect of American culture that individualism mixed with strong beliefs are the very embodiment of the American dream. The heavy usage of symbolism is leaving its distinct marks allover - from Airforce to IIWW freedom, from superstition in numbers to the supernatural ending with the burned drawing at the closing scene - a real masterpiece.

Do you believe in miracles?

This is my first time ever writing a review for anything here on IMDb. Though I adore the site, I've just never been much of a reviewer. However, I still couldn't resist when I realized that there was a separate page for the pilot episode of Steven Spielberg's 80s series, Amazing Stories. Since this series (and particularly this episode) is so unknown and overlooked, I just had to stop and pay my respects to one of the most magical movie experiences ever.

Written and directed by Spielberg himself, "The Mission" is an hour-long debut episode of the series. It's the tragic story of a team of World War II soldiers in a fighter plane and the turret gunner who, after a nasty collision with an enemy fighter jet, gets trapped underneath the belly of the plane. The landing gear is damaged and since the plane is also low on fuel and engine power, a horrific fate awaits the belly-gunner just as soon as the plane lands. Kevin Costner stars as the captain of the crew, while Kiefer Sutherland also plays one of soldiers. Rather than give you a more thorough synopsis of the episode (I don't want to give any hints or spoil anything), I'll just be informing you that its themes deal with belief, determination, never giving up, and the power of imagination. There are a few others, but I don't want to give anything away. To this day, this pilot episode of "Amazing Stories" remains the most magical, emotional experience I've ever endured in my short 22 years of movie viewing (and I've seen PLENTY).

Stevie has made it apparent throughout his legendary career that he believes in miracles. Films like E.T., The Color Purple, and plenty of other Spielberg classics have always been among my favorites. But "The Mission" is without-a-doubt the epitome of Spielberg's style and artistry. That's why it's my favorite, and the most enthralling of all his works. Watch this one with an open mind and you'll enjoy it too. But first, you have to believe!!

THE MISSION is one of the better known episodes of the AMAZING STORIES TV show, which is down to the fact that it was directed by no less than Steven Spielberg. I saw it as part of the anthology film AMAZING STORIES: THE MOVIE, where it was paired with the one featuring Christopher Lloyd as a wacky teacher. THE MISSION is a WW2 adventure set entirely within a bomber plane as an American crew find themselves caught up in a life or death situation with seemingly no solution.

I have to say that this episode looks quite good on a low budget. There are a lot of effects, a lot of smoke and explosives, and a decent cast to boot. Both Kevin Costner and Kiefer Sutherland are present here before they hit the big time in their careers. I liked the plot, which is simple and allows the viewer plenty of thinking time to try and work out a solution - a bit like a detective story. What a pity, then, that Spielberg absolutely ruins things by including one of his mawkish, sentimental endings which turns the whole thing on its head and comes off as completely laughable. It was so ridiculous that I was frankly repulsed by the whole thing.

I remembered a good job and a great day for me. It was this day. I am pleased to announce that this day a man who made ET made this show. It was cool. Fake. Cartoonish. But cool. Like ice cream cool. Meaning cold. Like ice. Like how ice and ice cream is cold. That type of metaphor anology cold type weather. You know like awesome without being cool. But rad without being so chill.

I saw this for the first (and last) time back in the late 1980s, when you could rent Amazing Stories in sets of 3 episodes. I was probably about 14 years-old at the time and absolutely loved this episode. 30 years, I was surprised at how well it's aged. My 13 and 10 year-old daughters really enjoyed it too.

The cast is fantastic, the tension palpable and Spielberg deftly moves his camera through the tight confines of the plane.

Is the pay-off a little schmaltzy? Well I guess that depends on how how you feel about Spielberg. Personally, I love the charm and innocence of this episode, as well as the boyish hope that Spielberg uniquely delivers.

The only change I'd make is the title. 'The Mission' is a little bland - 'Lucky 24' would have been much more fitting.