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MISSION:
IMPOSSIBLE 2
AKA:
Mission: Impossible II ||
M:I-2
Year:
2000 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
John
Woo directing the second 'Mission: Impossible' movie must have
seemed like a dream come true for Woo fans. A huge
franchise like this could introduce the multi-talented
director to the world and perhaps even allow him to produce
the American equivalent of 'The
Killer'. Unfortunately though, only one of these
predictions is accurate (and it certainly isn't 'The Killer'
one!).
Agent
Ethan Hunt (Cruise) has his vacation interrupted when a deadly
virus known as Chimera is stolen by rogue IMF member Sean
Ambrose (Scott). Seeing as all of the IMF members are
known to Ambrose, Hunt's only way to infiltrate his gang is by
using an old girlfriend (Newton) as bait. However,
coincidentally enough, she is also Hunt's newly found main
squeeze so he is torn between putting one innocent's life on
the line or saving the lives of millions by re-capturing the
virus. Bullets fly, pulses race and doves fly in a race
to the finish in this all out action blockbuster.
Rarely
has there been a more accurate case for a film to be labelled
as "style over substance" than for 'Mission:
Impossible 2'. Where the first film offered us a good
suspense filled story that was backed up with a few large
stunts, 'M:I-2' offers large stunts linked together by a dull
and inaccessible story. Certainly for the opening thirty
minutes in particular you are exposed to a multitude of
bizarre imagery as Woo attempts to craft out a love story with
the use of dancing cars and irritating shots of Flamenco
dancers that are interspersed with countless shots of Tom
Cruise's hair flowing in the wind. It's visuals like
these that plague the entire film and only serve to harm Woo's
credentials as a director which is especially irritating when
we all know he is capable of so much more. However, my
main complaint has to be Woo's insistence on over-using
techniques that have since become synonymous with his American
productions (i.e. - slow motion and doves). This strikes
me as an attempt to borrow from his back catalogue in order to
give himself a distinct directorial style but he needs to
realise that he doesn't need to overanalyse his previous films
to see what made him successful, he just needs to concentrate
on making a film with more meaningful characters and a plot.
Although
it's often difficult to stomach the poor excuse for a plot, if
you persevere with this film then you will at least be
rewarded with some impressive action. Admittedly, a few
of Woo's ideas for 'M:I-2' are a little more "out-there"
than usual (even to the point where they occasionally become
laughable), but you have to commend the man for his seemingly
endless ideas. I mean, who else would dare to show their
hero riding side-saddle on a motorcycle or diving out of a
building doing acrobatic flips all the way? It's crazy
and highly unrealistic but in Woo's world of larger than life
heroes who act out their battles in slow motion, it all
somehow seems to work. Cruise is also worthy of a
mention as you have to commend any star that attempts to do
his own stunts and Cruise does so here with some aplomb.
Perhaps you could argue that his attempts at martial arts for
the finale do spoil this pretty picture but I think the
accomplished editing techniques do enough to make him
look plausible.
'Mission:
Impossible 2' certainly offers the world a clear glimpse of
what Woo is capable of when it comes to action but
unfortunately it also highlights some of his more memorable
trademarks to the extent where they become tiresome. My
advice would be to watch it for the action and just try to
ignore the less than satisfying storyline along with Cruise's
damn hair (which is easier said that done, I know).
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