MI2 - John Woo, Thandie Newton, Tom Cruise pull it off!

Rating: 8/10 (25 May 2000)

Without a doubt, John Woo saved this movie from being another "Tom Cruise" scenery chewing vehicle like the first MI.
For the record, I couldn't stand the first Mission Impossible movie. As a longtime fan of the original series, it was extremely disappointing in that it had no "style" - simply a hacked-together mess of action sequences.
With the new movie, you have to understand and acknowledge that Woo has a trademark action style that you either love, or hate. I think it worked very well in MI2.
I'll say right out that I'm not a Tom Cruise fan, however he WAS good in this movie - this is the movie that the last Bond movie should've been.
Who could end a MI-2 review without a note about the remarkable Thandie Newton, who I havn't seen before this feature. This girl is talented! Besides being absolutely, stunningly beautiful, she IS a very talented actress who I'm sure is now well on her way to super-stardom. (I love her British accent as well - certainly adds an elegant, playful style to her character)!