Predictable plot twists and over-stylised directing

Rating: 3/10 (7 January 2001)

One expects films like M:I-2 to be cut from the same cloth as the James Bond series - with some justification. The film has suspense, exotic locales, gorgeous women (well, woman), lots of gunfire and assorted pyrotechnics and other gadgets. This one even has a semblance of a believable storyline and the opening rockclimbing sequence was pretty cool.
Where M:I-2 lost it for me was in the overstylized directing by John Woo which at times took on almost campy tones. His use of slow motion shots (particularly of pigeon wings flapping) irritated me and the overlong fight scenes with an obvious martial arts twist did little for me either. Any of these devices used sparingly might have been interesting but Woo's overuse of them made me pay attention to the devices at the expense of letting myself go with the suspense that I should have been feeling.
The acting was okay and the character development consistent with movies of this genre (you are told their backgrounds and hot buttons from "mission briefings"). The script was alright but its plot twists were way too predictable and none of these twists really took the storyline where it didn't appear to be going anyway.
If you like this genre of film, go ahead and see it - there are far worse out there. If you're lukewarm or not crazy about this genre, then you should probably stay away - of course, you're probably not apt to read this review anyway.