Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
reviewed by
Steven Bailey
Paramount Pictures seems quite intent on turning Mission: Impossible
into a franchise along the lines of James Bond or Lethal Weapon. Judging
from the vast improvement in the plot of Mission: Impossible 2 (as
opposed to the incomprehensible original), they might be well on their
way.
The movie begins with an ominous dose of testosterone, as we see
superspy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) spending his "vacation" hanging from a
cliff by his fingertips. Then Hunt's bosses find his vacation spot and
shoot a missile at him from an overhead helicopter. The missile contains
special eyeglasses that display his secret mission and then
self-destruct at the end of the message. Doesn't anyone do anything
low-key in the spy business?
The new mission involves Hunt linking up with, natch, a sultry brunette
(Thandie Norton) who used to be the villain's lover. The plot is far
clear than in the first M:I, but never mind it anyway--the plot's
catalyst is a MacGuffin that Hitchcock wouldn't have been ashamed of.
The story's main conflict is between Hunt and himself, for he ends up
bedding and falling in love with his partner (who is improbably named
Nyah Norduff-Hall) and then feeling guilty for sending her back to the
ruthless villain as a ruse to get his secrets.
This is the movie's most poorly established plot element. Hunt and Hall
do a spy version of Meet Cute and then fall quickly into bed. And though
their mutual attraction is never established as anything more than
physical, Hunt feels terrible that he must send his new love back into
the lion's den. Didn't Hunt read the James Bond Handbook's chapter about
not getting emotionally involved with your cohorts?
Then there's the movie's much-ballyhooed director, action master James
Woo. His stock in trade seems to be (a) slow-motion shots and (b) high
kicking. At first, the slo-mo shots are meant to show lurking danger,
but then they proliferate so much, it starts looking as though everyone
in the movie has his own slo-mo camera. Then there's this kicking
business. Not even Billy Jack used his feet for fighting as much as Hunt
does. And every kick that lands is played like a moment of ecstasy for
Hunt. Cruise seems ready to quit making movies and try out for a road
show of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers .
But I know I'm quibbling. The Bond movies aren't exactly
hyper-realistic, and at that popcorn level, M:I 2 certainly works. The
stunts are eye-popping, and there's a plot twist near the end that had
the audience gasping in delight. Original twists don't happen often in
any movie, so give famed screenwriter Robert Towne his props for
revving up a familiar genre in a unique way.
Dougray Scott makes for the juiciest screen villain in a long time. The
rest of the cast is merely serviceable. Thandie Norton is on-screen
mainly to look good on-screen; any decent acting she can do is just
extra gravy. And as Hunt's boss, Anthony Hopkins does the old "I've won
an Oscar, so I give class to anything I do just by showing up" routine.
Tom Cruise is good, but he takes a while to get going here. At the
movie's start, he relies far too much on his familiar smirk, which isn't
quite as fetching as it was 15 years ago. Even when he's in a popcorn
flick like this one, he's capable of more than just playing to the
audience, and he seems to discover that later in the movie. One hopes
that Cruise's continued success doesn't turn him into a Robin Williams,
playing to the audience with old tricks that don't work quite as well
once age starts creeping in.
Mission: Impossible 2 is rated PG-13 for adult language, graphic
violence, and explosions.
Submitted by: Steven Bailey
http://pages.hotbot.com/movies/skad13
Steven Bailey, a movie reviewer for The Beaches Leader newspaper in
Jacksonville Beach, Fla., has movie reviews posted in The Internet Movie
Database at:
http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Steven+Bailey
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Have I seen this movie: Yes
And what did I think: Mission: Impossible 2 is a great summer action film that lives up to its predecesor and actually surpasses it in many ways. The first film was a more tense, suspenseful and often tedious film, but Number two is definately more action orientated. There are lots of great action scenes, although a few of them will leave you shaking your head saying.... yeah.. right. One great scene was the motorcycle chase scene near the end. I thought this film could have used one real great tense scene like the one in the first movie that had Tom Cruise infiltrate CIA headquarters using the harness from the ceiling in the computer room. There were a little too many uses of the rubber mask, but it looked good and real when they would pull it off. John Woo, the director of the film uses slow motion just a bit too much. Also, one of the other small problems of the film is that the television series of Mission: Impossible was that it was supposed to be a group of spies, but this film centers mainly on Than Hunt played nicely by Tom Cruise. Ving Rhames is a nice supporting character as Ethan Hunt's friend, Luther Stickell, but his part was too small. Other good supporting characters are Nya, a thief that Ethan gets the hots for and Ambrose, the main villian which is a former IMF agent and former boyfriend of Nya. I think Tom Cruise can become a new action hero from this series, because I'm sure there will be a third movie. Some people loved this film while others hated it. I thought it was pretty good, better the the first, but could have used work in some areas.
I give Mission: Impossible 2 3.5 out of 5 stars
Review written June 12, 2000
