Hey everybody, the A-Team is back!

Rating: 6/10 (31 May 2000)

That's right! Cruise as Face, Hopkins as Hannibal Lec... umm , King, and Rhames as B.A. Barracus ("I need work!"). There was a fourth guy, i'm sure. That's so sad that I remember that.
How can this movie be so cool and disappointing at the same time? Let me break it down for you kittens. John Woo fans (I count myself as one) should not be anything but thrilled by this movie. But here's the catch-- it's also a Mission: Impossible movie, and the two don't mix quite as well as you might think.
I loved the first M:I film. Have no idea if it followed the TV show faithfully, nor do I care. DePalma and Cruise kick so much booty in that one. This is why I have problems with the sequel. This stuff has been eating away at me since seeing the movie, so it's good to get it off my chest. When, between the two films, did Ethan Hunt become James Bond? I wouldn't have blinked if Newton's name in the film was Youwanna Humpme. I was so bored by the relationship between Cruise and Newton in the film. When did they fall in love? I must have missed that part, I only remember the shagging. I didn't care for the new, self confident Ethan Hunt. I enjoyed his awkward moments in the first movie.
Other things that didn't sit well with me-- when did Ethan learn to fight? Didn't old man Voight take him down with one punch in the first film? He's gotta be, what? 60? Since when does Luthor (Rhames) know anything except computers? I remember him hiding in the bathroom from the Swedish-looking guy in the first film, this one he's blowing up cars with a grenade launcher from a helicopter. Are these the same characters? Don't get me started on the Aussie...
Dougray Scott is dull as the bad guy. A Bond villain, really. Everything about this movie smells like James Bond, I swear, I wonder if they had this 007 script lying around and decided to switch the names around. He pokes fun at Cruise and that big stupid grin of his. Yeah, what about that smile? A little of smiling Tommy boy never hurt a movie. Cruise is so serious in this film. I like Tom. Smile more, buddy!
The action scenes were magnificent, except.... and I hate myself for thinking this, but.... I started wondering, "What is the point of this, besides the fact that it looks cool?". And I hate myself! I never question Woo's over the top action scenes, I just sit back and enjoy. Why did I question it this time? Because it's Mission: Impossible, and I don't know where the Mission: Impossible part came in. The first movie, you could break it down into three main scenes-- the embassy party mission, the CIA in Langley mission, and the train mission. This one has lots of shooting and kicking. I love shooting and kicking! But not in M:I. This movie really needs more brains.
I had heard rumors that there was some conflict between Cruise the producer and Woo on set. This originally outraged me. How dare the big pretty boy star throw his weight around with one of my favorite directors? After seeing this i'm wondering, "Maybe Cruise gave him too much room to play with". The action sequences (especaily the last act) would have made more sense if the whole movie was a virtual reality game Ethan was playing. If he Wachowski's don't have the time to direct the Matrix sequel, Woo could do wonderful things with that movie, I think.
Gotta wrap this up, did I write all this? If you're a Woo fan, you should love this movie. It probably tops all his other films for stunt work and action sequences. I expect his next movie will be even bigger. If you're a Mission: Impossible fan, you might be very disappointed. If you're a fan of both, then you are like me- stuck somewhere in the middle. 6/10 stars. G'night!