A good film, but nothing more

Rating: 8/10 (20 August 2002)

Mission: Impossible II is sometimes unfairly criticized, for being a sequel to Mission: Impossible, instead of a compliment to it such as the first two parts of the Godfather trilogy. But it is a sequel to Mission: Impossible, so that alone is unfair, and in its own way it does compliment the original.
The real problem with the film is that the plot, although quite well developed and effective, is too similar to the first Mission: Impossible and too predictable. I saw Mission: Impossible and Mission: Impossible II in reverse order, so for me the plot was new, and when I saw the first installment later, I was a little disappointed. To me, that says that the film itself is not that flawed, but its downfall is in the fact that it is a sequel, and everyone had seen it already.
However, its a fun film to watch, although its not very relaxing as you have to keep watching carefully right from the beginning so as not to miss the plot. The stunts arent bad, and Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott and Ving Rhames are all on top form. Thandie Newton doesnt convince me.
The verdict is dont go out of your way to avoid this film, but dont go too far out of your way to see it. If you didnt like the first one, you arent going to like this. 7/10.