Cheap and nasty rock and roll entry into the franchise.

Rating: 3/10 (12 February 2020)

It's loud and ugly, stupid, sexist, awkward and plotholed to buggery. But Tom Cruise has long hair and I kinda dig it. And his free soloing at the start is pretty rad.
I suppose each Mission film for better and worse is a product of its time, and none more-so than M:I:2. Remember when Dougray Scott was tipped to be as big as Hugh Jackman is now? Unfortunately here his Bond villain hammyness is rote and unappealing.
Did I love this film as a kid? Absolutely. I was a fan of Woo's work in Hard Boiled and Face/Off. I enjoyed this film's pseudo-Bond stylings and it's ludicrous bonkers en vogue virus plot. But it's so painfully dated in literally every way now that's it's only enjoyable in a nostalgic way.
The film is cheesy and nobody does cheesy with as much dedication as Cruise and I do like Anthony Hopkins' slimy IMF contact and the mask bait and switch at the end is particularly sadistic, despite making no sense.
But I suppose the best I can say about this film is that it has such a unique and cocksure voice in Woo that it stands alone and is enjoyable because it's awful.
Impossible Mission: Dropping into the vents of the Biocyte building is a rushed, slipshod shadow of the first film's mission. It's clearly comped in places and pretty slack and undramatic.