Pretty good, but...

Rating: 8/10 (30 May 2000)

... it could have been a bit more believable. In the first film, adrenaline and action was sacrificed upon the altar of (dubious and semi-comprehensible) plot and (Brian DePalma's lackluster definition of) "style". Unlike many others whose posts I've read, I didn't care for M:I-1. It was slow and unstylish, despite the director's desires... and whoever did the research for the Internet sequences fubar'd them with cheesy, low-tech AOL-looking images.
M:I-2 had the style that the first film was missing. Settings and technology in this film actually appeared to be slick-tech, and portions of THIS film where certain characters were breaking into high-security areas weren't handled in as poor a fashion as the first. (Poisoned coffee? Sensors which don't register the sound of keyboard typing, which is certainly louder than a whisper? And above all, being able to hack into CIA's security systems? Has no one heard of a firewall?) Where M:I-2 lost my suspension of disbelief was the numerous car explosions (those not caused by plastique, anyways), proof that all film terrorists must be buying their automobiles from Yugo. =)
For the most part, M:I-2 was more coherent in style and comprehensibility, even if (or perhaps because?) it was possessed of a simpler and more linear plot than the first. The action sequences were better conceived and filmed (it amazes me that people can be impressed by the poor-effects, yawnable "hook the helicopter to the train" schtick). Overall, Woo is a far more capable director than DePalma seems to have become (with his last three directorial efforts, M:I-1, Snake Eyes, and Mission to Mars being particularly unentertaining).
As for performances -- Tom Cruise turns in a decent performance, for an action movie. =) Dougray Scott is fairly solid as the villain. Thandie Newton is, well, passable as a "master thief", although I wish she'd had more opportunity to show off her skills instead of simply being a face on screen. That complaint also applies to most of the remaining support cast, but then, they ARE supporting cast. M:I-2 is definitely a star vehicle for Tom Cruise, but in my opinion it's a fairly fun one.
My rating: 8/10. But be sure to see it in a theater with good sound; it'll lose something on video or in a venue where the speakers aren't high-quality.