We first see Tom Cruise on the side of a steep, rugged cliff. He's mountain climbing, and he's very good at it. He's so good, in fact, that he can do the physically impossible: falling from a height to grab the side of cliff with one hand, spinning 180 degrees while hanging on with one hand, then grabbing with another, etc. Can human beings can do these things?

Cruise (his character has a name, but you'll never forget that it's Cruise you are watching) gets his new mission from a cool pair of dark shades. He has to seduce the world's yummiest light chocolate skinned babe (Thandie Newton). It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. Then he has to get her to double cross her ex-boyfriend, ruthlessly evil Dougray Scott. (Having to do this breaks poor Tom's heart, as he has known her for a whole day by then.) Scott plans to infect the world with a plague that will kill millions of people, and/or make a fortune in stock options. I don't which plan is more fiendish, although the latter is certainly more topical.

After receiving his mission, Cruise manages to remove and fling his sunglasses about one second before they spectacularly explode. The Bond-like thrills and stunts continue throughout. See Cruise drive a car recklessly! See Cruise drive a motorcycle recklessly! See 5' 7" Cruise beat people up! See him make flying, off balance drop kicks on villains who just stand there waiting to get hit! See him scoop up a gun with his foot, whirl around, drop to the ground while firing a shot, while the villain continues to just point a gun and grin! Oh, in case you haven't been told a dozen times already, Cruise did all his own stunts. That makes them all the more impressive.

This isn't so much "Mission Impossible" as it is a typical action film directed by John Woo. Woo has flair, there's no doubt about it. And he is clever about dropping little hints along the way, to make the viewer feel so intelligent when he or she is able to guess all the plot twists before they are made explicit. You won't be bored, but you might feel that you are seeing the sequel to Face/Off instead.

Ving Rhames is the only supporting actor from Mission: Impossible to return in the sequel. But he doesn't have many scenes, and is mostly wasted. Anthony Hopkins chews the scenery as Cruise's unsympathetic boss.

Mission: Impossible 2 is a change of pace for Cruise, who has spent recent years in search of an Academy Award statuette. They didn't arrive for Eyes Wide Shut and Magnolia, but Cruise can always fall back on delivering a summer blockbuster. By the way, I hear that John Woo's latest project is about a ballerina and her accountant boyfriend. Just kidding. (51/100)




Recommended: No