Sit back, relax and put your brain on cruise control

Rating: 7/10 (28 May 2000)

Mission Impossible II: When you're Ethan Hunt, superspy extraordinaire, nothing ruins your day quicker than a madman peddling a stolen killer virus that could spell global genocide. But, then again, it's not that unusual either The main complaint about the first theatrical version of Mission Impossible was that the story was too convoluted and consequently most people couldn't follow what was going on. Personally, I disliked the movie because of the weak characters, lack of tension, and the horribly choreographed action sequences were (the helicopter-in-the-Chunnel scene was the final straw for me).
Not wanting to repeat the past, the producers mercilessly dumbed down the plot for this one. Unfortunately, they did it a little too well: the story bogs down whenever the guns aren't blazing, the dialogue sounds like they pulled it from a dime-store novel, the love scenes are tepid, and the villain embodies apathy at best. Thank god for John Woo!
Woo achieved virtual demi-god status as a director of Hong Kong action films and it was only a matter of time before he was wooed (no pun intended) by Hollywood. Although his first North American features - "Broken Arrow" and "Hard Target" - enjoyed only a modicum of success, the public took notice with the release of "Face Off". MI 2 proves that he just keeps getting better.
Anyone familiar with his work would instantly recognize the trademark Woosims in this film: fluttering doves, slow motion action sequences, beautifully choreographed bullet ballets, adrenaline pumping car chases and impossible stunts (amazingly Cruise did most of his own stuntwork, much to the chagrin of Woo and the studio). Although several of the action sequences border on the ridiculous (how many bullets can you fire at a fleeing hero without hitting him? A whole lot), yet they are fun to watch - the last ten minutes of the movie are worth the price of admission alone.

Grab some popcorn, take a deep breath, and prepare to be blown out of your seat.