tedious action film

Rating: Null/10 (23 December 2000)

John Woo's `Mission: Impossible 2' represents much that is wrong with commercial moviemaking today. Though proficient on the levels of technical expertise, visual design and state-of-the-art special effects, the film emerges as little more than a multimillion dollar exercise in cold efficiency, devoid of humor, suspense and, above all, heart. Thus, while countless superior films - films that attempt to make some connection with the reality of the human condition - languish at the box office, `Mission: Impossible 2' and other films if its ilk play to packed movie houses. Do people really enjoy this film, or are they just suckered into believing that any film that is sold as an `event' picture - particularly one that stars the ubiquitous Tom Cruise - must by its nature be worth the price of admission?
`Mission: Impossible 2' features an opening credit sequence that proves that just because something `can' be done doesn't necessarily mean that it `should' be done - a warning filmmakers should heed now that, with computer graphics, virtually every situation imaginable has become possible to visualize convincingly. We are reintroduced to Cruise's spy character as he is climbing up the face of a sheer cliff sans ropes or cables. Although the shot looks absolutely convincing from a technical standpoint, we simply cannot believe that anyone in his right mind would be doing what he is doing - or even if those actions are themselves within the realm of physical possibility. From its opening note then, `MI 2' informs us that it is not concerned in any way with making everything we see believable and involving. As a result, we tune out, detaching ourselves from the events on the screen, becoming disinterested bystanders of a trite espionage scenario that, for all its visual finesse, is strangely lacking in creativity and passion.
The first `Mission: Impossible' film, made in 1996, may have been a monument to incoherence, but at least it half redeemed itself by offering two spectacular and unforgettable action set pieces - Cruise's dangling marionette act and a mano-a-mano fight atop a roaring, supersonic train. The sequel offers no such action scene equivalents. The car chase early in the film between Cruise and the sexy thief he is pursuing is a yawn-inducing bore compared to the ones in the exciting `Ronin' from a few years back. The shootouts are equally undistinguished, far below par for a Woo film.

Like many films that rely so heavily on special effects and action sequences, `MI 2' never exerts the slightest effort to flesh out its many characters. One would expect that a writer with the talent and track record of Robert Towne (he wrote `Chinatown' for heavens sake) would at least be able to provide some character dimension even within the tight confines of the action genre. Unfortunately, all the characters emerge as cardboard cutout figures, substituting coolness and slickness for personality and depth. Cruise and Thandie Newton generate zero chemistry in the romance department, and John Polson seems woefully inadequate as the film's main villain.
If you must check `MI2' out, by all means do. Just know that there are a lot more interesting, much less heralded films out there more worthy of your time and attention.