Mission:Impossible 2

Release Date: May 24th, 2000

Cast :

Director: John Woo

***Warning, Plot Spoilers Contained***

The mission that John Woo chose to accept when he took on MI2 was not an impossible one, but one that had little room for error.  The first movie was a visually stunning, oft confusing, but still entertaining thrill ride through the world of espionage and international terrorism.  It featured memorable break-ins and chase scenes, some twists that required a slight, but not totally preposterous leap of faith and performers that seemed to revel in campy mood that the movie conveyed.  So the second time around, the age-old sequel questions arose again.  Do they carbon copy the original, add in a few new twists and then sit back watch the money roll in as most do? Or do they take the familiarity with the first film build a new, original vision based upon it and take it newer levels like Aliens, The Godfather and Toy Story did?  This is the mission that Woo and Executive Producer Cruise chose to accept.  Unfortunately it comes nowhere close to being accomplished. 

The plot is a basic terrorism, make money, and control the world idea involving a deadly virus, its antidote, and yet another disavowed agent.  This agent, Ambrose, discovers the existence of a deadly virus, Chimera, and its antidote, Bellarophon.  Notice the mythological references in an attempt to be cool, hip or just show that they know how to read history books.  Ambrose deduces that by controlling the release of the virus, and then cornering the market on the cure, he can rule the world.  Yes, those devious visions of Snidely Whiplash rubbing his hands together with a devilish laugh would not be completely inappropriate.  We meet the bad guys during an aircraft hijacking that fails to generate much excitement.  Cut to Utah, a cliff face, where we meet our fearless hero (Insert breathless gasp here ladies), precariously dangling and climbing in the movies most powerful and stunning vision.  Those who came to drool over Cruise will get their fill here, long hair flowing, muscles rippling, and that heart-melting smile ever present.  We learn that it is the task of the IMF to stop the madmen since he was one of their own, and save the world all in a days work.  All seems fine at this point, but as fans of the original know, initial appearances can indeed be deceiving.  This is the case here as well, as the fuse of self-destruction is lit by one set of footsteps and two sets of eyes locking.  She appears amidst a Spanish flamenco dance, and from this point on, the movie ties itself in knots trying to balance between the initial idea mentioned above and a passionate love story between people, showing the power of love and how it shouldn’t mix with work. 

The original may have been hard to comprehend, and require several PhD level classes to understand, but at least in some alternate Hollywood world, it made sense.  Here, the twists don’t just come out of left field; they come from the stadium parking lot.  Two sequences, one involving amazing recognitive powers, and the other, incredible gadget generation procedures, require a stretch of reality that would have Ripley saying “Now that, I don’t believe”  Normally, these would have to be seen to be believed, but the energy required to make it to the theater would be more than this film deserves. 

It is difficult to fault any of the performers in the film, since they are just following the directors’ cues, but I have to wonder why Hopkins would take time off from Hannibal to show up in this movie.  Apparently, Woo wanted a cool sounding voice to deliver the movies tag line and James Earl Jones was tied up his CNN promos.  Cruise must shoulder some of the blame, being an executive producer, and making himself utter some of his most painfully corny lines since Days of Thunder.  Example: a scene during a fight sequence where Cruise utters lines akin to the waterfall scene in Last of the Mohicans.  The scene is really quite painful to watch.  Even a brogue-ish sounding Scott fails to elicit much fear or hatred, save a newly found aversion to cigar clippers, and spends most of the movie trading jibes with cruise, and playing cat, to his mouse.  The conclusive showdown does raise the adrenaline a bit, but the participants seem drained from the energy of having to survive this long in the movie, hence, the effect is definitely dulled. 

Ultimately, Mission Impossible 2 implodes upon a promising premise and idea.  Though both cinematic visionaries, DePalma in the first film seemed to get what to do, while Woo tries to do too much.  Apparently he and the other makers of this film were having just as much of an identity crisis as their characters in the movie are because they never quite make up their mind.  The plot idea initially sounds entertaining, if not entirely original. The action scenes involve lots of well-choreographed fight scenes, gun battles and explosions do keep the adrenaline level high.  However the identity crisis and attempted balancing between love and espionage creates confusion and inhibits the movies effectiveness.  The occasional visual brilliance flashes through, but it is much too little and way too late.  When the smoke clears, the shell casings land, the doves are all gone, and the masks all discarded, we are left with a laborious and confusing (in all the wrong ways) vision of what could have and should have been.   Cruise’s sunglasses destructed in 5 seconds, the movie should have gone with it. ($ out of $$$$)

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Official Website: Mission Impossible 2

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