Mission: Impossible II (2000) User Reviews

Totally different style.

[theshadow908 · 6/10 · 3 May 2006]

Mission: Impossible was a fast paced espionage thriller that actually made you think, which is what I like in a movie. Since John Woo, who is one of the kings of the action genre, took over for Brian De Palma, you can expect Mission: Impossible II to be an intense action movie with a majorly dumbed down plot. Everything to do with the plot is laid out for us basically right away. Now, all there is to do is sit back and watch those classic John Woo action sequences. In this movie, Ethan Hunt is once again a secret agent, and he is sent on a mission to stop a crooked agent from stealing a deadly virus for his own use.

I liked the first Mission: Impossible better because it had a more advanced plot. This Mission: Impossible is just a bland shoot 'em up action film. Now there's nothing wrong with that. The movie was still immensely entertaining. It just didn't fit in with the first film. Even the character of Ethan Hunt, though still played by Tom Cruise, is different. In this movie he doesn't seem as serious about his job. He's more cocky. However, I do like that the character now has absolutely amazing skills in hand to hand combat.

Overall, if you're looking for a smart spy thriller like the first film, this ain't it. If you're looking for a fun action film with amazing action sequences, this is it.

6.5/10

Tom Cruise's The Matrix (1999) with the soundtrack of Gladiator (2000)

[mieriks · 7/10 · 20 June 2023]

This movie, about IMF agent Ethan Hunt who is sent to Sydney to find and destroy a genetically modified disease called "Chimera", is a good sequel to Mission: Impossible (1996)!

While it didn't take itself way too seriously, it had a lot of ups and downs. The action was both good and ridiculous - sometimes cool, and sometimes too long, but still entertaining overall because I had some laughs. The action also reminded me of The Matrix Quadrilogy (1999-2021), and surprisingly enough, it seemed like composer Hans Zimmer still was mentally composing the soundtrack for Gladiator, but I personally think that soundtrack style suited Mission: Impossible II, too. In addition, some shots and edits were weird, but they were just minor flaws that didn't matter, speaking of the whole experience.

In conclusion, despite its ups and downs, this movie delivers an entertaining experience with its mix of action and indirect humor. Drawing possible inspiration from iconic movies like Gladiator, and featuring a compelling soundtrack reminiscent of Gladiator, it is a worthy experience.

Good action, but bad plot

[Rockford_6 · 6/10 · 4 September 2008]

I knew going into this movie that it was going to be easy viewing, but I thought it would have more of a plot. Sure, the action scenes are great in that classic John Woo, ultra-choreographed way, but the plot isn't original or have much to it. Dougray Scott tries as the villain, but he's not scary at all, just sort of mildly irritable. After all, this is a villain who demands stock options as part of his bounty. (Truly, a sign of the times, and the audience laughed at that one.) Thandie Newton, who I had never seen before, is certainly beautiful, but she carries two expressions on her face through the entire movie, and resembles Ally McBeal in a tighter T-shirt. And then there's Tom. His character is more of a James Bond clone than the character is the original movie; I admire his guts and fearlessness for doing several scenes (especially the opening one), and the truth is, he's not bad. This just could have been much more. I did like Anthony Hopkins, though. He brings class to whatever he appears in.

Nice slow-mo action shots doesn't make great film!

[the amorphousmachine · 25 August 2000]

I was really looking forward to this film coming out! When I saw it a while back I was pretty disappointed! John Woo proves once again that action is forte, but MI2 really needed some espionage spy suspense and plot rather than Tom Cruise looking good in front of the camera!

The action sequences were very impressive but that doesn't hold a film together! There just didn't seem to be any conflict going on to really get my blood pumping! Dougray Scott played merely an average villain, although I believe that is due the script and his screen-time! It was very predictable, and Ving Rhames was wasted by being merely just this charity character who had no influence on the story what-so-ever! One reviewer described this film as patronising which is my sentiments exactly, sure I don't expect any action flick to have believability and can be patronising to some degree! But MI2 over-steps the mark by forgetting the original concept of the series and totally relying on slow-mo action shots rather than suspense and plot! A typical average action flick, **1/2 out of *****!

Not the best in the series but still a decent spy/action movie.

[Beard_Of_Serpico · 6/10 · 13 April 2020]

I love the Mission Impossible series and MI2 is probably the weakest one but i don't think that makes it a bad movie. it's directed by John Woo who is a master of action cinema. Watch Hard Boiled, The Killer, Bullet in the head and Face Off to see his over the top, balls to the wall action movies. I just don't think his style really works in an American spy thriller as the slower more dialogue heavy moments are full of exposition and cartoonish moments. John Woo's movies are more theatrical in tone and it doesn't really work here, it comes off as a bit silly. There had to be some kind of studio meddling because you can tell the violence was toned down in editing as well. It's rated a 15 in the UK but i reckon it's more like a 12A. Even so i still enjoy this movie for what it is, there's strong performances by everyone, lots of cool high tech spy gadgets, decent action with some awesome stunts and you can see the start of Tom Cruise taking risks to make these movies as he performs a lot of the bike stunts and kung fu himself(As far as i can tell). There's also a pretty breathtaking rock climbing scene at the beginning of the movie.

The series really took off from Mission Impossible 3 onwards but this is still a fun action thriller, not brilliant but i have seen MUCH worse movies which other people claim to love and praise.

M:I 2 definitely delivers as far as hard-core action, but some elements were excessive to the point of being cartoonish.

[Anonymous_Maxine · 7/10 · 29 May 2000]

Ethan Hunt is back with another theoretically impossible mission. Tom Cruise once again delivered at least a satisfactory performance, along with all other actors involved, but John Woo's direction was a little bit excessive at some points. I fail to see what made it necessary for Hunt to be riding his motorcycle on the front wheel while firing at an oncoming car. Or how about that gun that was lying in the sand toward the end of the film? Was that a little too unrealistic, or was it just me?

The story was good, the acting was convincing enough, and the action sequences were well put together, but they were just too much. One of the other things that really saved this film from action-packed obscurity was some very clever and well placed dialogue, particularly on the part of Ving Rhames, back once again as Luther Stickell ("Ethan! Nyah is in the building! Do you copy!")

Despite M:I 2's shortcoming's, it will undoubtedly be very satisfying to the true action fan. It has explosions, gun fights, car chases, lethal viruses, Jackie Chan style fight scenes, and even a hint of a few WWF moves in those fights. Mission: Impossible 2 is a good action film. I was not tremendously impressed, but I also didn't feel like I had just wasted two hours. Go watch the movie, just don't expect it to be the phenomenal gift from the action movie gods that it was made out to be.

60 Percent Good, But Last 40 Ruined It

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 29 October 2006]

The first 60 percent of this movie was pretty good; the last 40 percent was mostly action and mostly so hokey, so stupid, it was an insult for any viewer with a brain. Too bad, the first Mission Impossible was excellent and I hear the third film was good. However, this second one was a stinker by comparison.

I except most films to have that "Rambo mentality," as I call it, where hundreds of bullets are fired - and missed- at the hero, while he or she hits everything in sight. That was here but so overly done that is was absurd and downright annoying after awhile.

Tom Cruise, our hero, should have been shot so many times I lost count. This is director John Woo, for you, who always overdoes action and sometimes makes it ridiculous.

The good points are slick photography, interesting characters, good surround sound, low profanity and a very good soundtrack. Thandie Newton is attractive heroine and Dougray Scott is satisfactory as the main villain.

The movie plays more like a James Bond film, although it still has MI touches such as the fake rubber masks we saw in the first film. More realism in that 40 minutes would have made this a far better film than it turned out to be. Oveall, a bit disappointing.

Tries hard but doesn't live up to MI1.

[=G= · 7/10 · 8 November 2000]

"MI2" gets off to a good start, lags in the middle with weak story and character development, and turns into a muddled mess of gratuitous action in the end. With big budget, big names, and John Woo going for it, "MI2" delivers solid entertainment but falls short of expectations. The film fails to make the emotional connection between audience and characters and apparently tries to compensate with an overdose of action. The result is a numbing experience and a yawn provoking ending as good triumphs over evil.

Two Mind-Numbing Hours of Slow Motion and Explosions

[brando647 · 4/10 · 23 January 2016]

I hadn't seen this movie in years and, with all the ROGUE NATION excitement last year, I sat down and revisited MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2. I'd seen it in theaters back in the summer of 2000 and I vaguely remember enjoying it, but not as much as the first film. Watching it again more than a decade later, I see just how lame it really is. As a fan of the series who's excited to see it doing so well now that we're five movies in, I was disappointed to go back to MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2 and find myself bored out of my mind. It's a prime example of throwaway entertainment. The action is dull, the characters are bland, and the stakes never feel important. Directed by action maestro John Woo, the focus is on style while plot and characters take a distant backseat. In his second big screen mission, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is assigned to retrieve a genetically modified form of influenza that kills its victim within 24 hours. It (and the matching antivirus) was stolen by fellow IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) who's gone rogue and plans to use it to embezzle money from the corrupt owner of the company that created it. Part of that plan is, of course, to release it on the unsuspecting public and reap profits while innocents die. To get the inside scoop on Ambrose's plans, Hunt recruits the man's former lover, Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton) to reignite their relationship and report her findings to Hunt and the IMF.

I honestly can't believe Roger Ebert gave this movie a positive review…

Geez, where to begin…? I guess the action and John Woo's "style". From the little bit of his work I've seen (i.e. a few of his American projects), I'm just not a fan. He can certainly craft an intense action scene but he's also got a lot of trademark visuals that he uses to nauseating extremes here. No, not his doves. The dove doesn't appear to the very end of the film. The slow motion. So much slow motion. It's used everywhere in this movie and all the time. Eyes meeting across a room? Slow motion. Eyes meeting between drivers in a high-speed chase? Slow motion. Walking? Slow motion. Jumping? Slow motion. Slow motion? Slow motion. Run this film at normal speed and you could probably fit it as a one-hour M:I television special with commercials. And then there's the gratuitous use of explosions. I love a good movie explosion as long as it's motivated. In MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2, if a car so much as hits a speed bump too fast it's liable to explode in a blaze of glory. Personally, vehicle crashes are more interesting without the explosion because you get a better view of the impact, rather than another identical (improbable) fireball. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: 2 is first and foremost an action film, but when the bullet wounds are bloodless and vehicles explode for seemingly no reason it feels cheap and pandering like toilet humor in non- funny comedies.

It all made sense when I was watching a promotional puff-piece for the film and writer Robert Towne explained that he was approached with a series of action set-pieces designed by Woo and Cruise. He was asked to write the script around the action. As a result, we wind up with a weak story of Ethan Hunt and his team chasing a vaguely-threatening MacGuffin and a forgettable villain. I don't know much about IMF operations and hiring practices but you'd think someone would've noticed Ambrose was getting ready to go full-blown villain. As much as an IMF agent is expected to endure in the course of their job, you'd think they'd have team psychologist to check in on them and maybe realize that they had a psychopath in the field. Ambrose falls far short of being an awesome antagonist on the level of Jon Voight in the first film or Philip Seymour Hoffman in the third. We know nothing of his motivations other than he wants to be rich and he has zero qualms about killing entire populations to do so. To get at Ambrose, Hunt is forced to recruit Nyah and use her as bait. Which…OK…but once Ambrose's location was discovered, why not pull Nyah out and go all IMF on his base of operations? Isn't that their job? Instead, she gets to play spy, putting her civilian life in danger to report information that Hunt could've obtained with one of his crazy awesome IMF infiltration missions.

So many complaints…what can I say positively about MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2? Tom Cruise continues to be awesome as Ethan Hunt. I love the work he's done in this franchise and the fact that he insists on doing his own stunts is impressive. The opening with Hunt free-climbing is that much more intense because we can see it's Cruise on the side of that rocky cliff-face. Ving Rhames is always a cool presence, even if his character is one-note in his fashion obsession this time around. And the M:I theme got a nice rock upgrade for this film. Still, you're better off skipping this one and moving on to MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3.

Postcards from Australia

[swordsnare · 6/10 · 17 November 2019]

Felt like this was for the benefit of his then wife's (Nicole Kidman) home country. Utilizing many an Australian actor and the cinematography was like a tourism advert. Watchable just lacked the same style and momentum of other films in the franchise.

Incredibly over-dramatic

[melwinbauer · 4/10 · 26 December 2021]

Mission: Impossible II had a promising start, but got out of hand as time went on. In the beginning we have plenty of great scenes, like the rock-climbing in the intro or the car chase in the mountains. The plot is interesting and fun, but it all comes crashing down after some time when the action begins.

Where do I start? There were a couple of problems. The action is incredibly over-dramatic and unrealistic. Some stunts were impressive, but in the context of the movie it just didn't work. I like my spy movies grounded, and when I see movements that defy physics, like a man being thrown over a meter into the air by a karate kick to the chin, it takes me out of the movie. There were a lot of moments like that where you can't help but question what you are seeing, and that is never a good thing. There were so many scenes that were unrealistic and over-dramatic to the point where it just got ridiculous. It was the same when it came to usage of slowmotion. The slowmotion was very overused and it sometimes destroyed the immersion. The cinematography in general was a bit weird sometimes. Sometimes, it would zoom in on characters faces way too often and often during weird moments. The sound design on the guns was a bit off as well.

As listed above, there where a lot of negatives about this film, but it wasn't all bad. There were some good moments and the story had some interesting aspects to it, but when you question something, you begin to question everything and thats when you see a lot of flaws with this film.

I have zero memory of this one

[UniqueParticle · 7/10 · 4 July 2023]

The first couple scenes are epic the plane sequence is brilliant to me and the rock climbing is one of the most impressive things ever! John Woo is a great action director this does seem be the weakest of the entire Mission Impossible yet still good fun entertainment. The directing in II is really only the cheesy aspect some of it definitely could've been different but whatever it's canon to everything Ethan Hunt related. It's been a long time since I've seen these films except Rogue Nation pretty sure I saw in 2016 at a friends house in a poor quality laptop so I've been behind awhile I imagine they get better than this. Pretty good overall 7.4 at best!

Really dumb and lazy film – barely manages to be fun at all

[bob the moo · 18 August 2002]

IMF Agent Ethan Hunt is sent on a seemingly impossible mission to capture a destroy the only existing supply of a deadly disease known as Chimera. However a group of terrorists, led by ex-IMF agent Ambrose also want the disease so that they can us it to infect the world as they have already got the only cure. Hunt turns to jewel thief Nyah to help him by infiltrating her ex-lover's (Ambrose) group to spy on them.

John Woo must have thought of the elements he needed to follow up the solid thrills of the original movie. Big action scenes? Yes. Slow-motion? Yes. Plot? Characters? Good theme music? Logic of any kind? Nope – won't be needing those! Or at least that's how it felt. The plot of the first film was clever despite being open to holes – the plot here makes the first one look like a watertight piece of genius! The story only really serves to set up action scenes and the like – I can barely remember the disease and can only recall rubbish action scenes!

For a director like John Woo I knew to expect slow-mo and OTT action, but I didn't know that it would all be so very superficial and weak. For example the car chase where Hunt and Nyah meet is just ridiculous and very annoying. The robbery of the disease is a pale shadow of the original film's robbery scene and the final motorbike chase is good but only a hint of what Woo has done before. The plot overuses the whole `face mask' thing – it must do it about 8 or 9 times – many of those time's there's no way Hunt could have made a mask of the people involved! It's another example of how silly it is.

While Cruise was cool in the first film, here he is slick and tough – an image that doesn't work. He was much better in the first film. Scott is non-existent as a villain and is pretty dull. Newton is sexy but no more than that. Rhames is good and Hopkins has an enjoyable minor role.

Overall this film is an OTT mess. The plot is a shambles and the action scenes are silly and often have no logical reason behind them! The overuse of the face masks just points to the total lack of a good script and Woo's slow motion just feels tired and unimaginative. Only the final action scene is enjoyable, but by then you're ony interesting in turning this off and watching De Palma's much better film instead.

Sets a New High for Stunts

[Bob-45 · 7/10 · 5 September 2000]

If you sometimes go to the movies to be entertained by unbelievably daring stunts, this is the movie to see. From Cruise's incredible rock climb to nail-biting motorcycle "joist" this movie impresses with the stunts. The plot could be written on the back of a postage stamp. However, that's rarely what audiences go to see films like this for. The performances are above average, particularly Dougray Scott and Thadie Newton. A pity Newton's character is underused during the second half of the film. Besides being beautiful, this woman can ACT! It is also refreshing to see a demonstrably romantic and affectionate interracial relationship portrayed on screen in such a positive manner. Newton's race never comes up in the film. Credit producer Tom Cruise for this one. This is one of those movies I'd rent to give my home theatre system a workout. This movie succeeds on its own level; however, I can understand how others could be disappointed. I gave this one a "7" on the IMDB scale.

By the way, it was a clever touch to have Cruise receive his mission briefing via wrap-around sunglasses. Kind of nice to be reminded of RISKY BUSINESS.

Style Over Substance

[slightlymad22 · 6/10 · 8 October 2017]

Mission Impossible 2 (2000)

Plot In A Paragraph: Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is sent to Sydney, to find and destroy a genetically modified disease called "Chimera".

The first movie, whilst criticised for being too confusing was a really good action/thriller. Sadly Mission Impossible 2 is all style over substance. It's just a lot of stunts, stunts and more stunts. Who cares about such things as plot and character development when the actors look cool doing cool stuff. According to Robert Towne, his script was written around action scenes that John Woo had already planned. And sadly it shows in the movie. It's full of plot holes. The mask thing became tiresome too!!

Doing this movie (his first sequel, not counting Colour Of Money) did gave Cruise the freedom to experiment with more offbeat choices like Eyes Wide Shut and Magnolia. So when they don't perform at the box office, the damage was minimal and it was not career threatening.

Mission Impossible 2 grossed $215 million at the domestic box office to end 2000 the 3rd highest grossing movie of the year. The highest grossing Tom Cruise movie at that point.

Genaric but fun

[camronbailey · 6/10 · 11 March 2023]

Mission Impossible 2 I feel is a byproduct of the era of movies it got released in. Genaric fast cuts bullets flying everywhere so much so that you cant tell whats going on odd slow motion flip shots. The way this movie was shot is just too distracting for me to really focus on this movie. The only real thing holding this film together is Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt the cocky but pure hearted spy and Dougray Scott as Sean Ambrose an spy gone rouge who is both menacing and charming on screen. The spy element of this film absolutley works as all the Mission Impossible films do,especially with face procthetics in this film specifically. But it doesnt change the fact that this film is hard to pay attention. The one Mission Impossible film you should skip.

Mission: Impossible 2 by John Woo

[lumieretrain · 7/10 · 6 August 2023]

After the huge success of Mission: Impossible by Brian De Palma, there will have been inevitably a demanding for a sequel of the movie. Usually, it will be expected to have the same director working on the sequel, in order to maintain the same style of the first film while expanding different themes and adding new characters, making the story interesting as well as thrilling. Instead, it has been decided to find a new director that will handle the new chapter of Mission: Impossible, using a different style and adding new elements while maintaining the basis established from the first movie. For that reason, the master of action movies John Woo has been called to be the director of the next chapter of Mission: Impossible, which will use his explosive style filled with unique slow motion moments and especially thrilling gun fights with a nonstop action rhythm, and a different approach of development of characters. After a long time of work with an amount of preparation through a unique cast and crew, in 2000 came out Mission: Impossible 2 by John Woo, with Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandiwe Newton, Richard Roxburgh and Ving Rhames. The movie's plot: The Impossible Mission Force (IMF) agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is sent to Sidney, in order to recover and destroy the deadly virus Chimera, while its antidote has been stolen by the disavowed IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) who also killed the creator of the virus Chimera, with the help of the beautiful thief Nyah Hall (Thandiwe Newton). The announcement of the sequel of Mission: Impossible has captured the attention of the audience and the critics, to see how the result will come out differently from the first one. The movie, like the previous one, has been immediately a huge success to have also become the highest grossing film of the year 2000, by capturing the attention of the audience as well as the critics, from the beginning to the end, through nonstop action sequences and a unique style making the movie unforgettable in every moment of the story. The production designer Tom Sander has created the settings to be more dynamic, letting the audience feel engaged while being in tension for the most explosive moments as well as thrilling ones to look bigger than ever. The costume designer Lizzy Gardiner and Timothy Everest have elaborated the costumes in order to be bonded with the dynamic rhythm of the movie, in their shape and their colors to show the personality of the main characters. The special make-up artist Kevin Yagher has elaborated the make-up to be as detailed as possible, needed for the story to get unexpected surprised in the specifically essential moments of the movie. The stunt team has created the action sequences to be as dynamic as possible while letting everything around exploded and jumped around with a nonstop rhythm, without letting the audience getting bored nor distracted while following the movie. The director of photography Jeffrey L. Kimball has captured the dynamic moments in every angle shots and in every camera movements to be uniquely unforgettable, with also the help of the specific lightings as well as with the unique slow motion moments, needed also for the most romantic as well as dramatic moments of the story to be emotional. The editors Christian Wagner and Steven Kemper have created the narration's rhythm of the movie to mix the action and the drama, without distorting the result of the story to be compatible with the final result. The visual effects have been elaborated to add further more elements to make the movie more engaging and spectacular, needed for some of the most specific moments to be told in the story. The score by Hans Zimmer has been elaborated to create a different musical notes than the first movie, to look more dynamic and stylish by using unique instruments and vocals to make it also poetic. Tom Cruise did an excellent performance as Ethan Hunt, the IMF agent who is more confident and has much more humor than in the first movie, while caring everyone involved with his next mission, without letting anyone hurt his team, especially not to Nyah Hall that develops with her a romantic relationship. Dougray Scott did a well done performance as Sean Ambrose, a disavowed IMF agent, who steals the antidote of the Chimera virus after killing its creator, and will do anything to accomplish his purpose by killing anyone that will become his obstacle. Thandiwe Newton did an excellent performance as Nyah Hall, a thief who gets recruited by Ethan Hunt to also develop a romantic relationship with him, while being asked to play a game with Sean Ambrose, who had a relationship with him long time ago. Richard Roxburgh did an excellent performance as Hugh Stamp, Sean Ambrose's right-hand man, who will do anything to protect Ambrose even if he might need to use brutal methods. Ving Rhames did an excellent performance as Luther Stickell, an IMF agent specialized in computer hacking, who works and knows much more closely to Ethan Hunt to also has been loyal to him since the first movie. Mission: Impossible 2 is an action-packed movie with dynamic moments, explosive action sequences and unique slow motion shots to be unforgettable.

¡¡IN SPAIN WE DON'T BURN SAINTS!!

[judas_figo · 4/10 · 23 August 2000]

How it's possible that a film of millions dollars make this mistakes. In Spain we don't burn saints, but that's not all, John Woo mixed two different festivals. For US people, imaging that in a Spanish film we see Boston local festivals, and you see that is a mix of St. Patrick's Day with Halloween.

Far too over the top, but in retrospect that might've been a good thing.

[metamikeg · 8/10 · 21 January 2023]

So this is the movie that definitely gets the hardest time out of the entire series. It's extremely over the top, and so drastically different from the first film.. I can see how it's polarizing to many, but mission impossible 3 is almost as over the top, it just had a far better personal story. However, in my opinion BECAUSE this movie was so far off into an entirely new insane genre, I believe in the long run this paved the way for future sequels to be so diverse and versatile in whatever they aimed to be. If the series continued to be as mellow as the first film was, I don't believe we would currently be at installment 7 as of writing, with a part 8 following soon after. So yes, I believe Mission:Impossible 2 definitely laid the groundwork for the following films to be as experimental as they wanted to be, and also further reinforced how much of an elite badass the character Ethan Hunt is. He is the perfect spy, and this is also further reinforced in M:I-3 which is great! I love this series, and I think part 2 here has earned its spot in it, even if it's at the bottom of the list.

Watch Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious and tell me what you think...

[SarahMae · 16 November 2000]

I just watched this movie for the first time, and I kept having this vague feeling that I'd heard the story before. Then it came to me: Notorious! It's an Aflred Hitchcock film starring Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant from 1946.

The basic plotline goes: girl comes from questionable background. guy is sent to get girl for top-secret mission. guy falls in love with girl. guy discovers that girl must seduce the enemy. guy is not happy. girl goes. girl seduces the enemy. girl discovers enemy secrets. girl gets sick. guy rescues girl.

Can we say deja vu? The scene that really clinched it for me was the horse racing scene. Ingrid and Cary do the same scene! It's scary. All they did was update the plotline a little (ie, virus instead of gunpowder for the Nazis), throw in some action (well, a lot of action), and bogus technology, and you're set.

Watch Notorious for yourself and see what I mean...

Not a bad film, a bit under rated.

[glasgow1873 · 6/10 · 13 January 2008]

I first watched this not long after it came out around about 2000. Back then my taste in films had yet to develop into what I now pride myself on. I enjoyed it back then. Great stunts, straightforward pop corn action story, good closure. I watched it again a few years back too and noticed a few more flaws that had gone past me before. From that point on I decided that this film was not a good film at all.

My wife had asked me several times to buy the mission impossible trilogy as she had never saw them and was a Tom Cruise fan. I finally done this last week. We watched MI and throughly enjoyed it. I mentioned to her I was looking forward to MI3 but did not fancy sitting through MI2 again as I had saw it before and it appeared to be the weakest of the trilogy. Well...we watched it last night and I must say my opinion has changed again! This story is stupid. The script is wooden and Dougray Scott makes me cringe when I hear his Scottish accent on screen (not unusual for a Scotsman to cringe at his own accent!). BUT - the action is superb. John Woo makes for a completely different feel to the first film. This is a pop corn movie. Don't expect witty dialogue or the European feel to the first film. This is brain dead shoot em up material and its actually quite good.

If your going to watch the trilogy then give this a try. Its not supposed to be real, after all its a suspension of reality (like most action films). Take it for that, ignore the poor script and you might just have a nice time watching it. Also, maybe its top flaw is the running time. 90 mins would have been spot on here. Instead we have close to 120 mins. I haven't saw MI3 yet - thats for tonight's viewing, but after watching this I am actually looking forward to it now.

6/10

Now it's time for explosions and gunfire!

[wsg31987 · 7/10 · 1 February 2016]

"Mission: Impossible 2" is to "Mission: Impossible" what "Aliens" is to "Alien". Which is to say, it's almost nothing like it.

The first film was a mystery. This film's plot is mostly known before the opening credits. In the first film, Ethan Hunt subverted the enemy with masks, floppy disks, and laptops. Here, he does it with Berrettas, Glocks, and grenades. In the first film, Ethan is an all American overachiever. Here, he's a wannabe James Bond.

In short, the first film was directed by Brian De Palma, and has his style all over it. This film is directed by John Woo, master of guns and doves, and it's one of his most creatively un stifled American films. How much you enjoy this movie is pretty much dependent upon whether you find Woo's signature blend of slow-motion gun play, campy melodrama, and unlikely bird nests enjoyable or not.

It's certainly fair to say Hollywood wasn't kind to Woo, and this was his second to last American release. Indeed, this film seemed to make Woo a household name, and it's filled with all his hallmarks, which were largely ridiculed afterwards.

Worthy of ridicule? Probably, but hardly unenjoyable. Displaying even more debt to Alfred Hitchcock than the original film, this one "borrows" entire scenes and dialogue bits from Hitchcock's Notorious. Ripoff doesn't do it justice. This is an unlicensed remake.

Now, there are worse films you could rip off than Notorious. Unfortunately, both films premise of a woman going undercover at the request of her government agent lover to spy on an ex-boyfriend with nefarious plans isn't helped here by the ludicrous relationship between Tom Cruise's Hunt and Thandie Newton's character. James Bond-ish sexual innuendos and "fooling around" is somewhere along the line confused with romance. They exchange bad sexually-charged puns, get in a car chase, get laid, and five minutes later they're having lover's quarrels like an old married couple. It also doesn't help that the two have no chemistry whatsoever.

The only thing holding the film's central premise together is Dougray Scott as the film's villain, and Newton's ex-lover. While Cruise and Newton flatline, Scott looks like he's having way too much fun playing his renegade IMF agent as one part Bond villain, one part Hannibal Lectre, and one part abusive boyfriend. He's a butt-hurt psycho with a snarly grin and slightly unfocused, dead eyes. He sells the entire love triangle even though he's only one third of it.

Whereas the first film subverted the structure and characters of the TV series, this film seems to be content to just ignore it, and be an adaptation in name and rubber mask only. Like the first film, this is not an ensemble, but a star vehicle for Cruise.

Back to the story... Hunt is climbing a cliff in Utah without a rope for fun when a helicopter flies by and shoots a pair of Oakley's at him. He puts them on and receives his mission: help uncover the truth behind the theft of samples of a deadly virus with the help of a professional cat burglar who looks like a supermodel. Later he learns from Anthony Hopkins the thief is in fact the ex-lover of a rogue IMF agent who's stolen the virus for unknown reasons. She is to seduce her still obsessed ex, while uncovering why he would want this zombie apocalypse inducing virus in his possession.

The first 80 minutes of this movie are dedicated to character development and plot. Perhaps not terribly faithful to the old TV series, it at least switches things up from the first movie by at least attempting to develop it's characters. Sure, Cruise and Newton fail, but Cruise isn't any worse here than he was the first time out. And again, Scott is excellent.

Luther Stickell is back, similarly likable as he was in the first film.

It's when you hit that 80 minute mark that the film takes a turn, and the rest of the movie sees John Woo cutting loose with nonstop car chases, gun fights, and a bizarre motorcycle jousting match which turns into a kung-fu fight.

Not that any of this is unenjoyable. Whether you are invested in the love story or are laughing at it, whether you are thrilled by the action sequences or slapping your knees because it's all just so ridiculous, the film is undoubtedly entertaining.

Much as I wrote about the first film, this one was under appreciated. As the 2000s would wear on, M:I-2 is commendable for it's old-fashioned stunt-work in lieu of CGI. It's particularly noticeable when compared to the next installment, which opts for the digital over the practical. This movie was in many ways representative of the end of the old way of action filmmaking. And it's a thrill to watch, however ludicrous.

This movie is a campy, goofy action adventure. Blatantly a movie from the early 2000's

[DanSchneiderLovesKids · 6/10 · 31 May 2020]

Like, literally, watching the whole chase scene and the last battle... it felt like a little kid playing with his action figures. I laughed my head off the entire time this scene happened.

Involving and exciting, very different from the original film. *** out of ****.

[Movie-12 · 7/10 · 9 June 2000]

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2 / (2000) ***

"Mission: Impossible 2" has as much in common with the original movie as hot has with cold. Beyond some of the starring roles, the two productions are as different as day and night. Brian DePalma directed "Mission: Impossible," a puzzling, disjointed action picture leaving little to no hope for a sequel. However, the action-orientated John Woo has taken the position in place of DePalma and captures the excitement, venture, and stylish sequences with more dexterity and structure. "Mission: Impossible 2" is relative, involving, and swank. The film takes all too familiar "James Bond" components and creates a movie more similar to the licensed to kill spy than the primary contents of the television series.

Tom Cruise once again stars as proselyte I.M.F. agent Ethan Hunt, recently assigned to track down a former representative who possesses a deadly biochemical substance obtained by the murdered scientist Dr. Vladimir Nekhorick (Rade Sherbedgia). The villain, Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott), once had an attractive girlfriend named Nyah Hall (Thandie Newton), whose occupation as a professional thief makes Ethan dissatisfied when he must recruit her as a member of a mission team.

After sleeping and falling in love with her, Ethan oppose the idea of sending Nyah back to Ambrose's luxurious resort to recover information of his criminal intentions. Equipped with a traceable implant, this young woman, Ethan, and his two accomplices Luther (Ving Rhymes), and Billy (John Polson), seek to discover and foil the plans of Ambrose and his accomplices.

The story is clear, involving, and comprehendible; it is not so complex the audience becomes lost and attentions wander. The plot contains enough tension, high stakes, twists, and intriguing characters to keep us on edge.

"Mission: Impossible 2" is not all story, however, much of the production has a condescending commercial appearance. The sophisticated actors, rock and roll music, intense action sequences, high tech car chase scenes, stylish camera angles, and audience pleasing one liners are more self gratifying rather than entertaining. I can almost see the producers now, discussing what battles scenes and explosions to deposit within the film's theatrical trailer; the filmmakers also need to know that external action itself does not make for a thought-provoking movie.

The production succeeds mainly due to an effective, solidly portrayed villain, keenly acted by Dougray Scott ("Ever After: A Cinderella Story"). He conquers his role with a sense of sly, fiendish wit and knowledge. Tom Cruise again proves he is more than capable of dramatizing Ethan Hunt with style and enticing persuasion. Supporting roles by Thandie Newton, Ving Rhames, Brendan Gleeson, and Anthony Hopkins are also impressive.

"Mission: Impossible 2" accomplishes that exceptional task of actually being better than its preceding original. The success of this picture is surely due to the direction by John Woo ("Face/Off"), who is one of the better action directors currently in work. His formulaic attitude presents itself in the end, however, as the movie turns from sharp and sneaky to running on sheer adrenaline through the final half hour. It really irritates me when the third act of a movie consists of loud gun shoot-outs, risky stunts, and physical combat in which men dressed in black suits fire seemingly endless rounds at the protagonist only to miss, yet he pulls out a small caliber pistol and shoots every one of them dead. "Mission: Impossible 2" may work as an action picture, but it is not at the level of resisting the temptations to throw intellect into the wind and conclude itself in auto pilot mode.

Mission Mediocre

[meeza · 7/10 · 21 August 2001]

I better hurry and write this review for `Mission Impossible 2' because I heard it will self-destruct in 1 minute. The good news is that there is not much to say about `M.I. 2'. So I guess I will make it. The plot: superspy Tom Cruise must save the world from destruction by catching the bad guy from seizing a deadly virus. It is not impossible to say that you have heard this story line before! However, Director John Woo's action sequences were pretty cool! I also love the catchy theme song! Oh no! Time is up! Mission accomplished! *** Average