Review of Mission: Impossible II (2000) by Logan M — 26 Jul 2018

Comparing this film to the first "M:I" is like comparing night and day. Both the first and second films are so different from one another that I feel that this is just a generic and brainless summer action flick that just happens to have the name "Mission:Impossible" attached to it. I used to like this film when I was younger but over the years I have seen far more and far better made films.

Any respectable movie fan would see right from the get go that a chunk of plot borrows heavily from the classic Alfred Hitchcock spy thriller "Notorious" and shamelessly so if I might add. The main lead actress even gets poisoned just like Ingrid Bergman in "Notorious" except it involves a deadly virus. The film also rehashes the "IMF agent as the bad guy" twist from the first film and it's done poorly.

This film is directed by famous Hong Kong action director John Woo and he trades in Brian De Palma's smart and suspenseful intrigue for overly stylish, over the top and flashy with very little in terms of substance. The action scenes are good to an extent but suffer from an over usage of slow motion and a lack of tension making some shots look absolutely silly and not something to take seriously like the movie wants you to.

Tom Cruise returns in this one with a new haircut and feels less like the spy from the first film and more like a James Bond wannabe. His chemistry with Thandie Newton isn't very convincing and Newton just acts like she's disinterested most of the time. Dougray Scott as the main villain is a complete and total joke and he never feels all that memorable or even threatening. He just feels generic and typical. Ving Rhames returns from the first film but is given little to do.

Out of all the "Mission:Impossibles", this one is the weakest . I wouldn't say that this is is a terrible action film, since some of the action sequences are enjoyable but it just doesn't work as a "M:I" film. The plot has very little resemblance to it's source material and rips off it's plot from a much better film.