Mission Impossible 2

Rating:
Summary: Blown away... by sheer stupidity.
Review: I was shocked when I saw the first Mission: Impossible movie, because I had gotten a copy of M:I-2 as a present a couple years beforehand and was not at all impressed. Summary: Hunky guy is recruited with a pair of sunglasses in a rocket. Must recruit cute British-Oriental girl but he sleeps with her before even knowing what she's going to do, which is to get back with her ex so they can find out about a super-sinister virus created to make a market for an antidote. Ex-boyfriend has stolen it and is planning to auction it off, etc. Spy team's sloppy tradecraft gets Cute Girl caught and after an elaborate series of events (how is it that Hunky Guy is considered cool and original when Ex-boyfriend knows his infiltration plan down to the tiniest detail?) Cute Girl makes herself into the only specimen of the virus. Hunky guy shouts "I won't lose you!" and proceeds to kick and punch his way to victory (oh and did I mention there's lame motorcycle jousting?). Cure is administered. Happy reunion. Fadeout.
Listen for the cool Metallica song in the credits. It's the best part.

Rating:
Summary: fails the trade descriptions act..
Review: ..which is a statute we have in the U.K., no doubt you have something similar.

The main thing to say about MI2 is that, like the first one, it isn't a Mission Impossible story. Mission Impossible, to me, is a caper story, premised on impossible, or at least highly unfeasible missions, carried out by a team. This film, like the first one (which starts by wiping out the team almost as soon as they've been established with the viewer) has a couple of fairly bland henchmen with gadgets and that's all. A film almost entirely about Tom Cruise/Ethan Hunt's chiselled features, death-defying acrobatics and intrepid duelling with the chief villain, whatever its own merits, is simply not true to the premise of (or what was so good about) the show we remember from way back when. So don't call it Mission Impossible. Call it the Man With The Golden Grin.

Rating:
Summary: The secret code of Woo.
Review: Although I can sympathize with reviewers who rated this movie poorly, it is evident the majority of negative responses are from those unfamiliar with John Woo. Very few times will I dare say the story might be secondary to the "heart" of a movie. This rarity only occurs when the source of that enjoyment comes from something above and beyond what the average moviegoer can experience.

Here is a case when the director is the actual "star" of the film. There is truly a magic with nearly all of his movies (we'll forget about Broken Arrow or Windtalkers for the time being) that no matter how implausible or phony the plot may be, there is such a majestic quality to Woo's art that one can't help but be amazed at what is being shown on screen. Those familiar with some of his best ones (like his Chinese films Hardboiled & The Killer) are very aware of his trademarks. These trademarks are not subtle in the least, but unless you know exactly what you *should* be looking for, you may feel lost (Did you ever wonder why a few select people in the theater loudly cheered during odd moments- like when a white dove was flying away in elaborate slow motion?).

It is unfortunate that watching Woo's previous works is sort of a prerequisite. There literally isn't one second that goes by without Woo's fingerprints everywhere. A similar example of how powerful a fan base can boost popularity are those who like Jackie Chan. His films are notorious for bad writing, terrible dialogue, and questionable acting. Still, Jackie Chan became a popular icon across the world because of what his talent really is about. Fans of Jackie Chan would feel cheated if it didn't showcase his insane death-defying stunts or his comical drawn-out fight scenes no matter how good the writing, dialogue, and acting may be.

Likewise, I must also grant this movie is purely cheap popcorn entertainment and should not be compared to other well written masterpieces like Schindler's List, The Sixth Sense, Memento, or American Beauty. MI:2 can, and should be compared to other movies of the action/spy genre. I don't know about the rest of you, but I found the story of MI:2 to be more interesting than the last 3 James Bond films combined.