The Citizen Kane of Action Films!

Rating: 10/10 (24 August 2006)

M:I 2 is the Citizen Kane of action films.
I've heard a lot of bad-mouthing this movie, so hear me out on why it is good. Why it's great, in fact.
CINEMATOGRAPHY Shots were beautifully colored in this film. Australia was bright and cheery. The Southwest's red land contrasts beautifully with the blue sky. The red-tainted Outback is that much better in the midst of a blood-red sunset. Biocyte's lab is a visual monotone of cool colors, which later pose a stark difference to sparks and explosions. M:I 2 had beautiful cinematography.
PLOT I really don't follow why so many claim the plot is bad. It's certainly not as convoluted as the first, but I think that that's for the better. People speak of plot holes, but I didn't see any (nothing major, anyway). The premise was certainly more intelligent than, say, Die Hard (yippy-kay-yay, let's go kill all the motherfu**ers). It's not Syriana, but hey.
ACTING There seems to be a rule in action movies that actors can't act. Now, performances weren't quite Oscar-worthy here, but this movie was really an exception to that rule. Dougray was menacing, a truly great villain. I don't think Cruise has ever let me down in the acting department. Thandie Newton was GREAT in that she wasn't the female just thrown in for the love story; she was a real person, darnit!, and she had emotions and facial expressions and wasn't just there to have sex! I mean, some have called the acting wooden, but I'll take this over Vin Diesel's monotone expression in xXx any day.
DIRECTION/EDITING Very well done. M:I 2 doesn't suffer from quick cuts like so many other modern action films do. It succeeds brilliantly in its camera-work, allowing us to always understand what's going on, and giving us some very eye-pleasing shots in the process. Scenes inter-cut with each other (Cruise going into Biocyte/Ambrose explaining what he'll do, Cruise in motorcycle chase/Newton on bluff, etc.) were done not only so they wouldn't subtract from each other, but so that they complement each other and give us the bigger picture in a very well-done way.
SCORE Yay for Hans Zimmer! Along with what many deem a genre change (btw, many seem to have a problem with this. I personally don't, and if you do, I'd simply ask you to go along with it. If you still disapprove, well, sorry.), Zimmer changed the theme from a more spyish tune to a much more actionesque theme that perfectly reflected the mood and genre of M:I 2. Also, "Injection," the song played at the end of Biocyte Infiltration when Cruise jumps out of the building, is my favorite action song. It's a beautiful song, with vocals, strings, a drum, and if I'm not mistaken, some synth, too. It's a very "deep" song, perfect for a stylistic action scene that ended up being Biocyte Infiltration. It's doesn't bang you over the head with "I'M HEAVY-METAL ACTION MUSIC!!!" but is a soothing, ear-pleasing piece of art (yes, ART!), that adds emotion when needed, suspense when needed, and complements what is being shown PERFECTLY. Yay for Hans Zimmer.
ACTION (ACTION!) Action is undoubtedly this film's biggest selling point. Some call it over-the-top, and it is, but it's nowhere near as bad as something like xXx. Also, everything shown is, though very improbable, at least possible (you've beaten out a lot of action movies, now, already). On top of that, it was AMAZING! Slo-mo when needed to add stylistic depth to Cruise running through a shot-up corridor towards an anonymous light source of hope as sparks soar through the air; a knife driving down atop Cruise's face, stopping abruptly mere MILLIMETERS from his eye (and, btw, this was done w/ Cruise for real; no special effects); Cruise lifting the rear end of his motorcycle up as a car hood passes underneath it, swinging his pistol around to shoot the gas tank of the previously mentioned car until it blows up and rolls very eye-pleasingly, etc, etc. (Actually, I think myth busters proved you can't blow up a car by shooting its gas tank, so I'll give you that; still, its a very minute detail and worth it for a very insane shot). This action is way up there, giving movies like The Matrix a run for their money.
CONCLUSION M:I 2 is done so well in so many aspects that I really don't feel it should be written off as a stupid, over-the-top action movie. I mean, how many action movies in the following six years can compare in action OR plot? I think you'd run out of films before you'd get to the end of your fingers. Even if you included every action movie before it, I'd think you'd be hard-pressed to find a large number. Certainly, M:I 2 deserves more than its current 5.7 rating.