Okay; Nothing to rush out and see

Rating: Null/10 (17 June 2000)

When word of this film and the people involved reached me about a year and a half ago, I was genuinely excited. I enjoyed John Woo's Face Off and was one of the few who enjoyed the original Mission: Impossible. I thought the "it was confusing" gripe about the original was bogus; people can comprehend plots, can't they??!!!
Well, MI:2 was average; nothing to rush out and see, but not horrible either. I was very much reminded of James Bond throughout. There are one-liners, a lover/aid, evil villain and his one main henchman, a good amount of cool gadgets, exotic locales; I could go on. I have only seen bits and pieces of the original TV series, but it seems that this film pays very little homage to it. I wonder if John Woo has ever seen Peter Graves and Leonard Nimoy in action.
The "slowdown" during several scenes (esp. the action ones) is a Woo trademark, but seems a bit overdone (and what is up with the bird obsession?). I thought the classical music/choir voices music used during one scene was a bit over-dramatic. The plot is nothing new.
And two "light" comments: is it me or was Hawke's hairdo in the first movie better suited to a secret agent than the long shag in MI:2? And although I enjoy Limp Bizkit's version, where, oh where, is the ORIGINAL Lalo Schifrin MI music???