The Mission

If you want action that respects the story underneath it, The Mission is available in Australia on Amazon Prime Video right now. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Robert De Niro is the obvious draw, but the supporting cast gives the action its context. Available now on Amazon Prime Video — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

There is a reason The Mission keeps coming up in conversation. The choreography in The Mission serves the story instead of interrupting it. When a Spanish Jesuit goes into the South American wilderness to build a mission in the hope of converting the Indians of the region, a slave hunter is converted and joins his mission. When Spain sells the colony to Portugal, they are forced to defend all they have built against the Portuguese aggressors. Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1986. The geography of every set piece in The Mission is legible, which is rarer in the genre than it should be. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Action fans who want craft and story alongside the spectacle will find exactly that in The Mission. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Robert De Niro is the obvious draw, but the supporting cast gives the action the context it needs to land. The action holds up because the character work underneath it never lets up.