Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)

Movie Info

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 before it is unleashed on the world.  Hunt seeks 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 of the deathly virus.

Directed by John Woo, Mission: Impossible 2 (sometimes called M:I-2) is an action-adventure spy thriller.  Following Mission:  Impossible in 1996, the film was met with less favorable reviews but was a box office success.  was directed by Hong Kong action director John Woo and was a box-office success.

Mission:  Impossible was a surprising and fun movie.  I did not watch Mission:  Impossible in any iteration before the film but enjoyed it.  Mission:  Impossible 2 has some of the right ideas and some great moments, but it is caught up in its own spectacle.

No chemistry…at all

The movie is 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 (which has no spark or chemistry).  The movie begins to almost parody itself by rehashing some of the tech from the first film combined with action scenes that go past being realistic in any sense and become comical.

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 feels like ego stroking with his big smile and long hair, when the first movie seemed more about the mission.  Thandie Newton is an odd choice for the romantic lead here (and has picked much better roles since).  Ving Rhames is back in the movie, but I wish that the movie had remained more of a team affair since that is a big aspect of Mission:  Impossible.

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.  Yes, it does have some cool stuff, but it is hard to suspend reality as long as the film asks you to.

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 (1996)

Mission:  Impossible III (2006)

Mission:  Impossible—Ghost Protocol (2011)

Mission:  Impossible—Rogue Nation (2015)

Mission:  Impossible—Fallout (2018)