Mission Accomplished, Too!

Rating: 9/10 (25 May 2000)

Worth every penny and then some.
I was incredibly impressed with relative newcomer Thandie Newton. A very good performance in what might be her breakout picture.
Also, although I am not a big fan of Tom Cruise, I have enjoyed both of his MI performances. This one perhaps more than the first, solely due to the obvious influence of director John Woo. In the first movie, Ethan Hunt was played as more intellectual and planning. This movie, Ethan Hunt shows a purely physical side, displaying a fighting style somewhat reminiscent of the late Brandon Lee.
Directed by action master John Woo, this movie is naturally studded with eye-popping stunts. From the free-form mountain climbing in the opening credits to the astonishing motorcycle acrobatics in the climatic chase scenes, one hardly has a moment to draw a decent breath, much less get more popcorn. A real roller coaster of a movie that, somehow, still manages a good plot line and oddly believable characters.
The only possible complaint I could muster was an overuse of slow motion and stop-time photography ... but this is a very slim complaint at best.
Spend the money to see this one first run, then go back when it hits the dollar theaters in a few months and enjoy it again.