Great action, but the plot was weak.

Rating: Null/10 (28 May 2000)

There's a lot of action in this movie. Then again, what do you expect from a John Woo film? The man is the master of action films (Face/Off, The Killer, Hard Boiled). You can tell that Woo, Tom Cruise and the stuntmen worked hard to give the audience five great action sequences. The motorcycle scene at the end was spectacular. Yet, all of the action scenes are linked to a very poorly executed love story and another killer virus plot.
Cruise's Ethan Hunt falls in love with team member/thief Nyah (Thandie Newton), but not one person in the theater could believe that these two people had fallen madly in love with each other after just meeting 24 hours ago. This is crucial because the movie revolves around their relationship. The plot about the killer virus is simple, but it would have worked if the love story was stronger. Woo needed to make the love story more believable and he failed. Hey, if we were all able to look across the room at someone and fall madly in love, then maybe we could believe this so-called "love story."
Thandie Newton's performance was horrible; she looked dazed and confused at the camera half the time and I wasn't sold that she was this tough, international thief either. Dougray Scott was a formidable and evil villain. He gave a very good performance. Having Anthony Hopkins in the movie, though he is a great actor, was a waste of time and money. Don't go to see this movie just to see him. Actor Czerny Henry, who played IMF boss Eugene Kittridge in the first film, should have returned to play Hopkins' part and perhaps the filmmakers could have saved some money and hired a better lead actress.
The movie had the Woo effect: a slow-paced, moody feeling broken by fast-paced action sequences and special effects. Cruise's portrayal of Ethan Hunt was different in this sequel than the original. In the first film, Hunt was confident in his abilities but was scared of what was lurking behind the corner. In this film, Woo and Cruise make Hunt a force to be reckoned with and feared. So, if you're a fan of Woo's action films and you want to see Cruise act like Chow-Yun Fat, then go see this movie. But, if you are expecting anything else, like a great love story and a thought-provoking plot, then save your money and wait until Mission: Impossible 2 comes out on video.