A great film for "action junkies", with very active surround sound.

Rating: Null/10 (24 November 2000)

How you "rate" M:i-2 depends totally on your expectations. If you are expecting a film fairly true to the original TV series, it is probably a "3". If all you want is some of the finest action and special effects with an aggressive sound track, it is probably a "10". In reality, the film is somewhere between those two extremes, plays more like a James Bond movie, pretty girl caught between the good and the bad guys, a simple story, of a deadly mutant virus designed to sell the "cure", and the bad guys always lose in the end. I found it totally enjoyable, laughed often at the intended absurdity of much of it.
Tom Cruise and Dougray Scott are fine as the rivals. With all the masks and identity-switching, it is hard to tell sometimes who is who. The DVD picture and sound are first-rate, the rear surround channels are used a lot, with a great impact. As is the subwoofer for the various explosions, and there are lots of them, typical of a John Woo film.
The DVD "extras" are mandatory. Avoid seeing "M:i-2" on videotape if you can. There are "making-of" sequences for 11 of the major stunt scenes, describing how they came about, how they were engineered, and how they were shot. In fact, I found that watching the "making-of" before actually watching the movie added to my enjoyment on first viewing.
Some of the more interesting "extras" commentary describes how Tom Cruise ended up doing almost all of his stunt work, even though they had employed stunt men. Apparently Cruise loves the danger, and seems to be a natural stunt man, learning novel moves very quickly and well. The rock-climbing at Dead Horse Point, the motorcycle "asphalt skiing", the dive from the helicopter into the office building, the hand-to-hand combat on the beach, the motorcycle jousting scene, and others.
Another is a 6-minute MTV spoof, where Ben Stiller plays "Tom Crooze", the long-time stand-in for Tom Cruise. It is cute and entertaining.
I rate it a solid "8" of 10 for overall enjoyment.