Mission: Impossible II (2000)

reviewed by
Christian Pyle


Mission: Impossible 2
Reviewed by Christian Pyle
Directed by John Woo  
Written by Robert Towne
Starring Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, and Ving Rhames
Grade:  A-

No sooner do I lament the failure of imported Hong Kong superstars to match their earlier work than I have to retract it. (You can find the tirade in my review of "Shanghai Noon"). Just when I least expected it, director John Woo has given us a feast for the eyes in "Mission: Impossible 2." It's been a long wait, watching his American movies for hints of the action-master who directed "The Killer" and "Hard Boiled." Woo came to Hollywood to make 1993's "Hard Target" and followed it with "Broken Arrow," "Face/Off," and a few made-for-TV projects. All of these movies show at least the fingerprints of Woo in trademark moments like the hero leaping with two .45 automatics blazing, but none of the movies reflected the Woo we knew from his Hong Kong works. I did not expect this situation to change with "M:I-2," the most-hyped movie of the summer, because the studio pressure would likely be intense. But I was wrong


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