Little Improvement from the First

Rating: 6/10 (19 July 2018)

"Mission: Impossible II" follows tried to come up with something totally different from the first, but it failed to impress.
-Analysis of Notable Work- *Writing/Directing: The plot feels forced with twists once again, and they are not that clever. The story feels rather uninteresting. John Woo directs seemed to not be sure what he was doing with this film. It feels messy all the way through. *Cinematography/Editing: Jeffrey L. Kimball does some disappointing work in this film. Much like the previous film, it feels like a home video throughout most of it. The editing is also poor. It was not as exciting as it should have been. It was hard to get drawn into the film. *Dialogue/Acting: The dialogue is a minor improvement from the first film, but is still corny at times. The acting improves. Tom Cruise does his job again. Thandie Newton does well, but the direction makes her seem less impressive than she really is. The minor role of Anthony Hopkins is well performed. The villains are a bit more frightening than in the first film. *Music/Sound Design: The music makes this film seem a lot better than it really is. It does not match well, because the music is more intense than the events on camera, but it does make the whole production seem a bit more professional. The sound design is about the same as the first film, which means it is slightly disappointing. *Production Design/Special Effects: The sets feel too much like studio sets. They are not immersive or real feeling. The wardrobe choices are still strange, but better than the first film. The special effects improve on what the first film began, but they have a long way to go.
*Conclusion: "Mission: Impossible II" makes some improvements from the first film, but it is still a disappointment and feels too unprofessional in a lot of ways.