Mission: Impossible 2, directed by John Woo (Face/Off) explores the action genre by exploiting the stylization of violence.

Rating: 8/10 (25 October 2001)

Characterized by a hyper realistic aesthetic, Mission: Impossible 2 displays carefully choreographed chase scenes and sophisticated acrobatics Ã -la-Matrix (often shot in slow-motion ((ugh!)), although not by freezing and rotating the image), between villain and hero.
In Mission: Impossible 2 (or M:I2), the lead spy is Ethan Hunt played once again by Tom Cruise, thank god they didn't do the whole James Bond thing by having someone new play him, and his team includes the beautiful thief Nyah (Thandie Newton) and the computer systems expert Luther (Ving Rhames). The mission involves capturing "Chimera", a deadly virus engineered by a Russian scientist in search for the cure for influenza. However, in transit to the U.S., the priceless Chimera falls into the wrong hands and Ethan and his team must stop the villainous Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) from exploiting the dangerous chemical weapon. In spite of the film's introductory sequence (where the chosen spy listens to the recognizable recording of the mission's description that "will self-destruct in 5 seconds"), Woo's Mission: Impossible 2 distances itself significantly from the trademark characteristics which made the television show quite unique. Rather, M:I2 seems to be defined by the director's fascination with the notion of the interchangeability of the face/mask/identity, as more successfully explored in his earlier film Face/Off. In M:I2, Tom Cruise's character is portrayed as superhuman, and his ways of resolving conflict and surviving death-threatening situations depend more on his superhuman physical strength and ability than on genius or wit. This choice reflects an emphasis on the mechanics of action (enhanced by stunt work and special effects) over the intellectual and emotional conflict and suspense that ensue from good, dramatic writing.
All in all, Mission: Impossible 2 suffers from the imbalance produced by excessive action and little drama, and by the predictability of a plot that exists merely to exhibit the magnificence of its hero. Not even close to the spectacularness ( I know, that's not a word!) of the 1995 original.