It's not Mission: Impossible, but for me, it was still lots of fun.

Rating: Null/10 (20 April 2003)

*** out of ****
Maybe it was because I was in the mood for a blockbuster action thriller or maybe it's because I was never a huge fan of the original film in the first place, but Mission: Impossible II satisfied my craving for an adrenaline rush, and on that basis alone, I highly recommend it. Put it this way, if you enjoyed the first M:I for its emphasis on teamwork and convoluted storytelling, then don't even bother with the sequel, as the credited director John Woo should give you a damn good idea of what to expect.
Tom Cruise returns as IMF agent Ethan Hunt, our intrepid spy who now appears to have a knack for rock climbing and martial arts. His assignment is to recruit thief Nyah Hall (Thandie Newton) to go undercover for the agency to spy on renegade agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) and his formidable army of henchmen. Ambrose has plans of becoming a billionaire, but in doing so, could cause great devastation to the population of Australia. Naturally, it's up to Hunt to rescue the girl, kill the bad guy, and save the day.

Through and through, M:I-II never feels like anything less than a Woo production. Almost all his signatures are here: balletic slow motion, two-fisted guns a'blazing, flying doves, and a sort-of gun standoff. The only thing missing here is the countless gallons of blood we've come to expect. M:I-II, as it turns out, is his first and only PG-13 production, and the lack of ultraviolence didn't bother me in the slightest.
What is less forgivable is the almost utter lack of action in the first seventy minutes. Well, that's not entirely true. There is that climbing sequence and the car chase not long thereafter, but Cruise doesn't even stand off against his first true nemesis until after an hour in. What's to hold our attention until then? Maybe the plot, if you're into typical Bond stuff, which is exactly what this story is, typical Bond material. We've got the almost megalomaniacal villain (he doesn't want the world, but he wouldn't mind devastating parts of it to get what he wants), the gorgeous love interests, and a few neat gadgets here and there.
When the action hits, M:I-II is almost a non-stop thrill ride, delivering tense gun battles, a fast-paced and simply awesome motorcycle chase (one of my favorite John Woo action scenes), and a fun mano-a-mano duel to the death. Cruise is completely convincing as a physical action star, he's got the style, the charisma, and the moves. He's the star of the show, which might disgust some, but he capably carries the production. Newton makes for a gorgeous love interest, and Ving Rhames is THE man as Luther Stickell, everyone's favorite computer hacker. Dougray Scott disappoints as the villain, though, he doesn't conjure enough spite and isn't menacing enough.
From beginning to end, if there is one consistency to M:I-II, it's how lovely the film looks. Shot on beautiful locations with a great eye, this is a movie that's always nice to look at. As such, the film should be enjoyed for what it is, an action blockbuster in the vein of James Bond. Sure, it probably could have used a tad more action in the first half and Woo does go overboard on the slow-mo by the finale, but M:I-II is purely fun stuff, and when the action's on-screen, it's exhilarating.