dull, unoriginal - a series low point

Rating: 2/10 (29 May 2000)

First, let's get one thing on the table: I think the first "Mission:Impossible" was superbly crafted by Brian De Palma, who used his balletic camera style to heighten suspense and beautifully frame several stunning set pieces. The plot, unfairly maligned by many with limited attention spans, was intriguing, with surprising twists. I think it was one of the best films of its type.
"M:I 2," on the other hand, is a dull, plodding affair with little suspense. Everything seems recycled and unoriginal -- a bit of "Notorious," a bit of "To Catch a Thief," a bit of James Bond, all mixed in a base of Hong Kong kung fu movies. There is nothing you haven't seen before (and done better). It depresses me that some actually prefer this "dumbed down" version of "Mission:Impossible" to the much-superior first movie in the series.
The camera work is cliched, with John Woo repeating himself (in slow motion, of course). The script, what there is of it, is quite poor, and Woo (who did much better work in "Face/Off") gets performances from his actors to match. Cruise is Cruise, and the rest of actors are either ill-used or turn in hammy performances. Anthony Hopkins tries what he can with his few minutes of screen time, but unfortunately it's all made up of worthless speeches with no interaction to speak of. He's essentially a variation of M in the Bond series and little more.
Although I've never had any problem suspending disbelief at the movies, this one goes too far in having us check our brains at the door. The face mask trick is overdone and entirely unconvincing as used here. The bike chase at the end, which seems to be getting the most praise, is hard to enjoy because it is so wildly unrealistic and not much more than a series of stunts strung together.
All in all, I can only hope that this is a low point in the "Mission:Impossible" series and that the franchise will return to the level established by the first movie in the next one.