Mission: Impossible 2
Directed by: John Woo
Written by: Bruce Geller (TV Series), Ronald D. Moore, Brannon Braga, Robert Towne
Starring: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton

The first thing that struck me about Mission Impossible 2 is that it is NOT a Mission Impossible movie. MI:2 is nothing like the first Mission Impossible movie; there is no complicated conspiracy plot, there is very little cool spy gadgetry, and there are no original characters are in it (they were all killed off in the last one). The only clues that remind you that this is still a Mission Impossible movie are Tom Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, and the face mask disguise technology, which is used quite a bit in this movie.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Mission Impossible 2 isn’t a lot of fun. In fact, I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard at a movie in a long time!

First of all, MI:2 is directed by Hong Kong action movie director John Woo (who has worked with the “face mask” thing before in Face/Off), and I can assure you that if you love Woo you will love MI:2. All his trademarks are here… doves, flames reflected in the eyes, slow motion action sequences with ridiculous amounts of bullets being fired… A lot of people complain that John Woo is cheesy and melodramatic, but I don’t see why this is such a bad thing! Sure, he may not be corny on purpose, but that doesn’t mean you can’t laugh at it.

Secondly, the whole plot is really laughable. Basically Tom Cruise has to recruit this sexy female thief for the mission (which he does in total James Bond fashion) and then she must infiltrate the enemy base by hooking up with an ex-boyfriend and find out what they are up to. It’s something about biological viruses and stuff, I didn’t quite catch it all. Anyways, the plot is complicated by the fact that somehow Cruise falls in love with her after spending one night with her.. yeah right.

Then there is the matter of the soundtrack. There is no trace of cool spy music here, only loud metal bands playing bad ass headbanging riffs. You can only imagine how amusing it is to watch Tom Cruise’s character trying to sneak around while Limp Bizkit’s version of the Mission Impossible theme is blaring in the background.

The first half of the movie was actually kind of boring. I guess it was only there to establish the paper thin plot (as if it really needs setting up). After this however, the action gets pretty intense. If you are hoping for character development somewhere in there, you are watching the wrong movie. MI:2 is a big budget James Bond influenced action movie. Nothing more, and nothing less. And there is nothing wrong with that, especially when John Woo is at the helm.

Overall, I have to say that Mission:Impossible 2 kicks ass.As long as you don’t take this movie too seriously, you will definitely be entertained. — Sean