Mission: Implausible
"Mission: Impossible 2"
Overall Rating: ***
I admit it, I find action movies exciting. I do, however, regard the script as more than a mere formality. "Mission: Impossible 2" has some fine stunts, but the script isn't quite all I could hope for. On the plus side, it makes nice use of foreshadowing--the rock-climbing scene at the beginning (used in every preview) won't be the only time IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) climbs a cliff. The movie even has a correct and appropriate classical allusion--Chimera, a Greek mythical monster with a lion's head and serpent's tail, is also the name of a genetically engineered virus made by splicing other viruses together. The best touch is having the scientist who invented the genetically engineered virus run into a group of kids playing "Ring around the Rosie"--a nursery rhyme about the Black Death.
While a talented writer(s) got his/her/their hands on the script at some point, it wasn't enough to save the film completely. We never do get an answer to why one character (Dr. Nekhorvich, played by Rade Sherbedgia) always calls Ethan "Demitri." Nor do we know how only a couple of main characters get sick, despite the fact that the Chimera virus, supposedly as contagious as the flu, was released in downtown Sydney. Aside from the holes, there is also a lack of originality in "Mission: Impossible 2." For instance, as with the previous movie, this movie deals with a rogue IMF agent. The film also has a businessman who lacks a conscience--Hollywood likes to show executives prepared to kill millions for profit, and they work another one in here.
The worst example of "Mission: Impossible 2"'s unoriginality is that it brings the stock action film plot of the '90s into this decade: "Mission: Impossible 2" is yet another "terrorists have a weapon of mass destruction" film. In this case, Dr. Nekhorvich, feels remorse for having created Chimera, decides to meet with IMF agent Ethan Hunt, and takes the virus and its antidote to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. Unfortunately Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott)--the rogue IMF agent--intercepts Dr. Nekhorvich on his way from Australia to the U.S.. Ambrose and his cronies plan to extort millions using the virus, and only Ethan and the IMF force can stop them,
Fortunately, while the story is trite, I doubt anyone will go to "Mission: Impossible 2" for the plot. This is a special effects movie. They bash expensive cars into each other at high speed in exotic locations, and they do it well. When Ethan breaks into the lab where Chimera was created, don't expect him to use the front door. (Getting back onto the subject of allusions, that break in will look very familiar to anyone who saw the first "Mission: Impossible" movie or its numerous parodies.) There is an impressive assortment of well-done martial arts in many of the fight scenes--a credit to Cruise, who reportedly did many of his own stunts.
Unfortunately while Cruise deserves credit as a stuntman, his acting is a notch below what it was in "Eyes Wide Shut." He comes across as having a little too much fun for a man who is trying to prevent a plague. Frequent references to Ethan Hunt's "silly grin" just aren't enough to compensate for this, nor is a generally good supporting cast.
"Mission: Impossible 2" is fairly safe for teens. For a PG-13 movie, there is a little less than the typical amount of strong language. There are some hints at sex--suggestive comments and a couple waking up together--but nothing beyond kissing is seen in terms of sex or nudity. Some young children may be scared by the talk about the pathogen, which is described as being related to the flu. The real concern is the violence. There is a lot of it, and it is sometimes bloody.
If you like action movies, then "Mission: Impossible 2" probably won't disappoint you. The movie takes the tried and true action movie formula, and sticks to it perfectly, though perhaps too perfectly.
Title: "Mission: Impossible 2"
Release date: May 24, 2000
Overall Rating: ***
I admit it, I find action movies exciting. I do, however, regard the script as more than a mere formality. "Mission: Impossible 2" has some fine stunts, but the script isn't quite all I could hope for. On the plus side, it makes nice use of foreshadowing--the rock-climbing scene at the beginning (used in every preview) won't be the only time IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) climbs a cliff. The movie even has a correct and appropriate classical allusion--Chimera, a Greek mythical monster with a lion's head and serpent's tail, is also the name of a genetically engineered virus made by splicing other viruses together. The best touch is having the scientist who invented the genetically engineered virus run into a group of kids playing "Ring around the Rosie"--a nursery rhyme about the Black Death.
While a talented writer(s) got his/her/their hands on the script at some point, it wasn't enough to save the film completely. We never do get an answer to why one character (Dr. Nekhorvich, played by Rade Sherbedgia) always calls Ethan "Demitri." Nor do we know how only a couple of main characters get sick, despite the fact that the Chimera virus, supposedly as contagious as the flu, was released in downtown Sydney. Aside from the holes, there is also a lack of originality in "Mission: Impossible 2." For instance, as with the previous movie, this movie deals with a rogue IMF agent. The film also has a businessman who lacks a conscience--Hollywood likes to show executives prepared to kill millions for profit, and they work another one in here.
The worst example of "Mission: Impossible 2"'s unoriginality is that it brings the stock action film plot of the '90s into this decade: "Mission: Impossible 2" is yet another "terrorists have a weapon of mass destruction" film. In this case, Dr. Nekhorvich, feels remorse for having created Chimera, decides to meet with IMF agent Ethan Hunt, and takes the virus and its antidote to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. Unfortunately Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott)--the rogue IMF agent--intercepts Dr. Nekhorvich on his way from Australia to the U.S.. Ambrose and his cronies plan to extort millions using the virus, and only Ethan and the IMF force can stop them,
Fortunately, while the story is trite, I doubt anyone will go to "Mission: Impossible 2" for the plot. This is a special effects movie. They bash expensive cars into each other at high speed in exotic locations, and they do it well. When Ethan breaks into the lab where Chimera was created, don't expect him to use the front door. (Getting back onto the subject of allusions, that break in will look very familiar to anyone who saw the first "Mission: Impossible" movie or its numerous parodies.) There is an impressive assortment of well-done martial arts in many of the fight scenes--a credit to Cruise, who reportedly did many of his own stunts.
Unfortunately while Cruise deserves credit as a stuntman, his acting is a notch below what it was in "Eyes Wide Shut." He comes across as having a little too much fun for a man who is trying to prevent a plague. Frequent references to Ethan Hunt's "silly grin" just aren't enough to compensate for this, nor is a generally good supporting cast.
"Mission: Impossible 2" is fairly safe for teens. For a PG-13 movie, there is a little less than the typical amount of strong language. There are some hints at sex--suggestive comments and a couple waking up together--but nothing beyond kissing is seen in terms of sex or nudity. Some young children may be scared by the talk about the pathogen, which is described as being related to the flu. The real concern is the violence. There is a lot of it, and it is sometimes bloody.
If you like action movies, then "Mission: Impossible 2" probably won't disappoint you. The movie takes the tried and true action movie formula, and sticks to it perfectly, though perhaps too perfectly.
Title: "Mission: Impossible 2"
Release date: May 24, 2000
MPAA rating: PG-13
Overall rating: ***
Overall rating: ***
Aprox. run time: 125 min.
Director: John Woo
Writers: Robert Towne (screenplay), Ronald D. Moore, Brannon Braga (story); based on the television program "Mission: Impossible"
Stars: Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton (as Nyah)
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/MI2.htm
Added to blog site: 7/28/09
Director: John Woo
Writers: Robert Towne (screenplay), Ronald D. Moore, Brannon Braga (story); based on the television program "Mission: Impossible"
Stars: Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton (as Nyah)
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/MI2.htm
Added to blog site: 7/28/09
Labels: Movie review, ReviewsbyJohn
posted by John at 5/28/2000 05:18:00 PM
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