Overall Rating
  Awesome: 11.99%
Worth A Look: 22.6%
Average: 20.55%
Pretty Bad: 15.41%
Total Crap: 29.45%
13 reviews, 214 user ratings
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| Mission: Impossible 2 |
by MP Bartley
"Still impossible. Still stinks."
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With the third of Ethan Hunt's adventures hitting us this summer, it seems a good time to look back at the film that nearly killed the franchise just as it began. My apologies to those who have done their best to forget it.Hunt (Tom Cruise) is this time despatched by Admiral Swanbeck (Anthony Hopkins) to track down an ex-colleague, Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) who has gone rogue. It's not the only thing that has gone rogue - the plot from 'Goldeneye' has too. But instead of a giant laser in space, Ambrose has in his hands a lethal virus. To aid his cause, Hunt also has to enlist the aid of a thief, Nyah (Thandie Newton).
Now, the thing that made the first 'Mission: Impossible' so great was the fact that it told a complex story in an intriguing fashion. It was a rare example of a film that had a brain and fully engaged it too. Unfortunately, the sequel with its "Look out, a VIRUS!" storyline, simply takes a plot that a thousand Wesley Snipes, Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris films have. It's a macguffin, nothing more, but it's a disappointingly dull one.
But then, if you would believe the pre-release hype, this is a blockbuster that isn't about explosions, it's about characters and a love story. At least that's what John Woo and Tom Cruise amongst others believe. Personally, I find one of the most annoying things about summer blockbusters is when the cast and crew try to patronisingly convince you that it's actually an enthralling character piece, instead of a big, dumb piece of fun - because that's something to be ashamed of apparently. Yes, sometimes blockbusters are about the characters - 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', say - but this isn't 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'.
Instead, Hunt is as dull a character as he was in the first film - he's no James Bond, and not even a Jason Bourne. There's also a huge problem with the love story between Hunt and Nyah, in that it's not remotely believeable. Firstly, Newton is a simpering mess here, and Nyah is underwritten to the point that in the first ten minutes she's nothing more than a stupid tramp, going weak at the knees for anyone making goo-goo eyes at her - and that's as good as she gets. Scott snarls away in a vain attempt to generate some interest in the film, but is mostly wasted while Hopkins wafts in for a 5 minute cameo and a nice pay cheque, but at least has the grace to look utterly embarassed by the horribly sexist dialogue Robert Towne (!) has him speak. He really does look like he can't wait to crawl away from the whole thing as soon as possible.
Cruise and Newton generate as much chemistry as water and sand, and Woo stealing a key scene from 'The Last of the Mohicans' doesn't paint over the cracks at all. And make no mistake, this is a John Woo film, typically over-burdened with pigeons, two-handed gunplay and slow motion (scientists have actually calculated if Woo let his slo-mo scenes play at the normal length, this film would be 40 minutes long, there's that many of them). Unfortunately, this is not the Woo that made 'Hard Boiled', this is the Woo that only has one decent sequence in the film. The climatic motorbike chase is brilliantly done and just reward for those who have managed to stay awake until the end. Otherwise, Woo is too reliant by the most stupid of plot conveniences - the "One size fits all!" masks that get Hunt in and out of every situation.
But this, without a doubt, is Cruise's film and Woo just won't let you forget it. The camera practically drools over his biceps, caresses his face and just can't get enough of his long, tousled hair blowing in the wind, like some exceedingly expensive shampoo advert. It may well be the longest love-letter between two men since, well, ever. Truly the most homoerotic experience between director and star since 'Rambo 3'. Could Woo be any more obsessed with Cruise here?
And Cruise goes for his 'intense stare' type of acting here. You know the type, the kind where to suggest he is like, totally FOCUSED, and EVERYTHING, he just stares off into the middle distance really, really intensely. Like in 'The Last Samurai' where he presents Katsumoto's sword to the emperor, and the vein is practically bursting in his forehead, because damn it, he's EMOTING! It also tends to look like he's holding in a really greasy shit. And it's also the way he probably looks at Katie Holmes when he's brainwashi - er, convincing her of the benefits of Scientology. And I'm saying this as someone who likes probably 90% of Cruise's work, but he's on a total vanity trip here.Time will tell whether the third film is enough of a success to warrant a developing franchise, but as long as it doesn't fall into the bad habits of the second, it'll be fine. Instead, let's just leave John Woo and Tom Cruise to pleat each others hair, or whatever it is they did on their days off. Hey, there's nothing wrong with it - I'm just saying.
link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=1643&reviewer=293
originally posted: 05/09/06 20:08:36
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USA
24-May-2000 (PG-13)
DVD: 11-Apr-2006
UK
N/A
Australia
01-Jun-2000 (M)
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