I have no personal agenda against action movies in general. If they are entertaining, even in a remotely campy manner, then I will not complain. God only knows that we should not expect much more in this digital, impersonal age. So "Mission: Impossible 2" hardly has much going for it except straightforward action scenes to dazzle and numb the brain. Incredibly, the film is no fun at all - a never-ending trailer for what might look like a cool, sleek action picture that never comes to fruition. It is vapid and joyless - two words that should not be associated with thrill rides.
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), the htoshot superspy from the original, is back, this time trying to prevent a bland villain, Ambrose (Dougray Scott) from buying the antidotes to a deadly virus. From what I gather from the plot, this ambitious nut hopes to gain billions by unleashing this virus upon the world, and since there will be millions of dying, infected people, he will have access to the antidote which he can sell in multitudes. Just sounds like another business proposition that Bill Gates should pursue. The only way to stop this madman is for Hunt to hire a beautiful jewel thief, Nyah Hall (Thandie Newton), to charm the pants off of her former love, Ambrose, so that the IMF team can trace his every move. Sounds like an update of Hitchcock's classic "Notorious" eh? And I assure you that is where the similarities end, since this "M:I 2" possesses not one syllable of greatness from its far superior inspiration.
In fact, this movie is one of the worst sequels in years, embodying absolutely nothing that made the first "Mission: Impossible" a passable success. It is not witty, funny, exciting or engaging at any given moment. For pure excitement, we have an echo of Cruise's famous suspension from a ceiling from the original (which echoed the caper "Topkapi"), and a tense, believable opening plane crash followed by Cruise dangling 2000 feet up from a cliff. Outside of that, director John Woo overdoes the slow-motion technique in his action scenes...even using this technique when Cruise and Newton make goo-goo eyes at each other. I felt like I was watching a commercial for one of those cologne ads.
Cruise slums and preens with not a trace of his personality coming through - he sleepwalks through this movie. Thandie Newton just looks beautiful, a shame considering this is the same actress from "Beloved." Ving Rhames barely reprises his role from the original, and looks just as bored. The villains would barely threaten Adam Sandler. The whole film feels like a bland souffle - it is sour and mechanical. Woo does nothing to enliven the proceedings - he is on automatic air pilot with dozens of shots of motorcycles, kicks, flips in the air, gunfire, oh, and a dove (another Woo trademark). None of this is remotely close to his purely visceral and intoxicating "Face/Off."
Apparently, Tom Cruise fans want him to do more action-oriented/romantic comedy fare, and less of his exalting turns in offbeat films such as "Magnolia." Perhaps this was just a ride to the bank for Cruise, and now he can pursue more challenging roles. My recommended mission, should you choose to accept it, is to avoid this movie at all costs.
For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at http://buffs.moviething.com/buffs/faust/
E-mail me with any questions, comments or complaints at jerry@movieluver.com or at Faust667@aol.com
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