Movie Info
Movie Name: Mission: Impossible 2
Studio: Cruise/Wagner
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Release Date(s): May 22, 2000
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Tom Cruise…Super Spy
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back and this time he and his crew from the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) have to track down a stolen super-virus. Hunt has to seek out help in the form of a professional thief named Nyah Nordolf-Hall (Thandie Newton) due to her ties to the prime suspect, a former IMF agent named Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott). Now Nyah is undercover and in danger, and Hunt’s feelings for her could cost the mission and the release o the deathly virus.
Mission: Impossible 2 (sometimes called M:I-2) was directed by Hong Kong action director John Woo and was a box-office success. Problems with the production led to rumors of problems and rewrites. It was met with less favorable reviews than the first Mission: Impossible.
No chemistry…at all
I think this movie is kind of a mess. The best part of the first Mission: Impossible was the team aspect, and the team gets a bit sideline by the Cruise-Newton romance. Ving Rhames is back as Luther Stickell and John Poison plays their chopper pilot Billy Baird. The tech is still there, but the teamwork is not as Hunt goes more rogue to rescue Nyah.
Tom Cruise was more of the Ethan Hunt character in the first M:I-1 but he is more “Tom Cruise” in M:I-2. It almost feels like ego stroking with his big smile and long hair, when the first movie seemed more about the mission. Add to that there is absolutely no chemistry between Thandie Newton and Tom Cruise and the whole movie is supposed to be based on this passion.
Worst…motorcycle…scene…ever
Woo also needs to be criticized when it comes to this movie. Like most of his movies, random doves just start showing up, big explosions, and gunfights where no one is killed. It has possibly the most ridiculous motorcycle chase which represents every bad stereotype of action movies. Tom Cruise and Dougray Scott face off on motorcycles, go at each other about 100 miles per hour, jump off, collide, fall off a cliff, and still get up relatively unscathed. Not only does it look bad, but it makes you feel dumber when watching it.
M:I-2 is an unfortunate follow-up to a good movie. It is overblown, over acted, and pretty generic when it comes to its plot. Like every Mission: Impossible movie, the human masks are used way too often to get out of plot holes, and it seems like a bit of a copout. Check out M:I-2 if you are a fan of the series, but avoid it if not. Mission: Impossible 2 was followed-up by Mission: Impossible 3 in 2006.
Related Links:
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol (2011)
