Mission Impossible II

I'd seen the first Mission Impossible, and I'd seen the third one, but for some reason I missed the second, released in 2000 and directed by John Woo. It delivers exactly what you'd expect, and kept my interest for its two-hour running time. The script is by old pro Robert Towne.

For a spy thriller, the plot is remarkably simple. A pharmaceutical company has, in the interest of drumming up business, created a virus and its antidote. An IMF agent (IMF being roughly equivalent to the CIA, I guess) has stolen antidote, but needs the virus for it to be worth anything. IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is to get the antidote back. He's asked to recruit a sexy thief (Thandie Newton), whom he immediately falls for.

Anthony Hopkins has a brief turn as Cruise's boss, and informs him that Newton was not recruited for her thieving skills, but because she is an ex-girlfriend of the bad guy (played by Dougray Scott). This torments Cruise, which means he doesn't smile as often.

There are several elaborate set pieces: a break-in at the fortress-like pharmaceutical headquarters (Scott is completely aware of what Cruise will do, and in a nod to the first film, mentions that he likes to "come in from above"); a playful car chase between Cruise and Newton on a winding cliff road; and a motorcycle chase complete with a helicopter. As usual with Woo, much of it is in slow motion and overly stylized, but one doesn't expect subtlety in these things.

A few things stretch the bounds of reason--Cruise is interrupted rock climbing on vacation, and hangs from his fingertips. Nobody's fingers are that strong. And there's an over-reliance on life-like masks.

But overall Mission Impossible II provides exactly what one expects. It's a bit mind-numbing, and could have had a bit more of a humorous touch. I did like Newton. She's been an under-utilized actress, as far as I'm concerned, and it's easy to see why both men fell for her like a ton of bricks.