M:I 2 definitely delivers as far as hard-core action, but some elements were excessive to the point of being cartoonish.

Rating: 7/10 (29 May 2000)

Ethan Hunt is back with another theoretically impossible mission. Tom Cruise once again delivered at least a satisfactory performance, along with all other actors involved, but John Woo's direction was a little bit excessive at some points. I fail to see what made it necessary for Hunt to be riding his motorcycle on the front wheel while firing at an oncoming car. Or how about that gun that was lying in the sand toward the end of the film? Was that a little too unrealistic, or was it just me?
The story was good, the acting was convincing enough, and the action sequences were well put together, but they were just too much. One of the other things that really saved this film from action-packed obscurity was some very clever and well placed dialogue, particularly on the part of Ving Rhames, back once again as Luther Stickell ("Ethan! Nyah is in the building! Do you copy!")
Despite M:I 2's shortcoming's, it will undoubtedly be very satisfying to the true action fan. It has explosions, gun fights, car chases, lethal viruses, Jackie Chan style fight scenes, and even a hint of a few WWF moves in those fights. Mission: Impossible 2 is a good action film. I was not tremendously impressed, but I also didn't feel like I had just wasted two hours. Go watch the movie, just don't expect it to be the phenomenal gift from the action movie gods that it was made out to be.