MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2
Review by John Beachem
* * * *
Directed by: John Woo Written by: Robert Towne, Brannon Braga
Impossible mission agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back. His IMF contact, Swanbeck (Anthony Hopkins), tracks him down while Hunt is rock climbing on vacation and tells him to track down former IMF agent, Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott). Ambrose has stolen the cure to a lethal virus from a German scientist; he is now hunting for the virus itself so he can infect most of the world and sell the cure to the highest bidder. In order to catch Ambrose, Hunt enlists the aid of a jewel thief named Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton). Nyah had a relationship with Ambrose years earlier, and it is believed that he still has feelings for her. The problem is that Hunt finds himself falling for Nyah and isn't sure if he can let her go to Ambrose. Hunt also employs the services of Luther Stickwell (Ving Rhames), the computer geek who assissted him in his last mission, and a wisecracking Australian named Billy (John Polson). The three find their way to the outback, where Ambrose has holed up while searching for the virus which is lethal if not given the antidote after 24 hours.
Think back to 1996, when the first "Mission: Impossible" film hit theaters. That movie, despite good performances from both Cruise and Rhames and an interesting (if somewhat convoluted) plot, was mired down by a lack of any action and Brian DePalma's direction. "Mission: Impossible 2" has solved both these problems with one simple solution - John Woo. Woo is the kind of director who can make a flock of pigeons look interesting and exciting. Whatever your opinion might be of his two previous endeavors, "Face/Off" and "Broken Arrow", it's hard to deny that the man has the ability to film a fantastic looking action sequence. In "M:I-2" (as it has been advertised) he has created a few scenes which will no doubt be rememberd by audiences for a long time. One is a motorcycle chase sequence near the film's end; and the other is a scene, that audiences will probably remember from the previews, where Cruise scales a mountain without climbing gear. Both scenes feature some of the most spectacular stuntwork I've seen this side of a Jackie Chan movie.
If John Woo has one weakness, it's his inability to pull great performances out of his actors. Tom Cruise is certainly adequate in "M:I-2", and at times even a little above that; but he has delivered much better performances in the past, even in movies like the otherwise awful and pretentious "Magnolia". Ving Rhames ("Bringing Out the Dead"), who is a very talented actor, is sadly underused once again as the amusing computer geek. John Polson ("The Boys") is relatively unknown to American audiences, having appeared mostly in Australian films; and he will no doubt remain unkown after being in this movie for a total of ten minutes or so. Thandie Newton ("Besieged") appears, at first glance, to be present entirely to look good (and she does so admirably). However, the romantic elements in "M:I-2" are actually used quite often and effectively. The only problem is they take a back seat to the action scenes about half way through the film, and poor Newton more or less vanishes. Last we have Dougray Scott ("Ever After"), using a very poor imitation Scottish accent. Oh wait, that really is his accent. Scott looks suitably evil I suppose, but Woo used much better villains in his last two films: Travolta and, uh, Travolta. Scott also gets the cheesiest lines, like "You should have killed me when you had the chance."
Let's face it, you're not going to see "M:I-2" for romance or great acting. You want to see this movie for great action scenes and nifty gadgets, and on both counts it delivers in spades. In fact, "M:I-2" is the kind of movie that the James Bond films are trying to be, but are failing at miserably. I've got an idea: The entire Bond franchise should be dropped, and we should get an "M:I-3" (I can't believe I'm asking for a sequel). The action scenes are all excellent in one way or another, and unlike in DePalma's rather sorry film, they come along quite often. Woo also adds nice touches to the movie, like fire reflecting in someone's eyes and dramatic music playing while Ethan Hunt walks past a flaming doorway in slow motion. The movie's score is another one of its strong points, being very dramatic and loud during all the dramatic and loud scenes (which would actually ecompass most of the film). I'd certainly recommend "M:I-2" to any action fans out there, though I think there is enough gushy romance to satisfy the non action fans as well (I could be wrong). The movie runs a touch too long at 122 minutes. I give it four out of five stars.
Any past movies you want me to review? Send to: johnbeachem@dependentfilms.net Past reviews can be found at either: http://www.dependentfilms.net or http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?John+Beachem
* * * * * - One of the best movies of the year. * * * * - Great flick, try and catch this one. * * * - Okay movie, hits and misses. * * - Pretty bad, see it at your own risk. * - See this one only if you enjoy pain.
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