Customer Rating:  
Summary: Tom and John Get It On (does that sound wrong?)
Comment: I just got this disc after watching it years ago in its worldwide premiere. I wanted to see what I liked about it and the film holds up remarkably well.
MI-2 features the creative and extravagant pairing of Tom Cruise and John Woo (more explosions! more cars!). Their signature presence is evident in every shot. Robert Towne's script, though no doubt rewritten, is actually tight with strong dialogue and a solid plot. In short, the film works well on all fronts. It doesn't force viewers to think or understand what the problem is - it just gets on with it, unlike many movies that try too hard to be cerebral and clever. People clamouring for the original Brian DePalma Mission Impossible film (which I found convoluted) will never like the subsequent MI-2 and 3 efforts which veered more into James Bond action popcorn territory.
Considering Woo's mixed experiences in Hollywood, MI-2 is actually one of his most polished efforts. In spite of a couple of schticky moments which many people find justifiably hokey (I just had to watch the Audi-Porsche car spinning sequence again) - the film doesn't try to take itself too seriously WHICH IS THE POINT. Critics of Tom Cruise and John Woo will never fully enjoy the film, because of Cruise's cheeseball grin, and Woo's stylistic quirks. But put away those issues, and excuse the signature doves flying around, and you have a thrill-a-minute film.
The casting of Thandie Newton and Dougray Scott makes the film even more intriguing, and puts MI-2 above many other films of this genre that almost reach for this but never make it. As an action film, this has some amazing shots that deserve kudos.
The DVD extras are extensive and a good primer for anyone interested in how to do an action film. There are good interviews with the director and stunt supervisors. There's also a hilarious mockumentary with Ben Stiller from the MTV Movie Awards spoofing Tom Cruise as "Tom Crooze."
MI-2 is underrated. Watch it and enjoy it. If you need a heavy down-to-earth thriller - heck, Mission Impossible was never about that if you recall the premise of "this message will self-destruct in 5 seconds..." It's meant to be fun.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A letdown after the hype
Comment: Let me say, the trailer was good. Wetted my appetite for the real deal... Sorry to say that the film was cliche, the fight scenes could have been improved (should have hired Woo Ping Yuen as the martial arts director), the editing was not sharp enough to backup the action. Some of the scenes like on the bike was so unrealistic that the Hong Kong audience found it unrealistic (after being brought up on unrealistic martial arts film in HK, I would have thought we could have accepted this)... The MI team is supposed to be a hi-tech team with lots of gadgetry like in MI part 1, but in MI2, we don't see much of this. This is another run of the mill action film. John Woo's direction was disappointing, laboured over some of his trademarks such as the slow motion cam, plus the doves. The damn dove and the damn pigeons! There are some good new tricks (like shooting backwards on the bike by looking at the rear view mirror), but the emphasis was not there. It didn't look as cool as it should have. I can't put my finger on the thing that ruined the film... but it definitely could have been much much better. Gladiator is a better bet for the summer's action...
Customer Rating:
Summary: A walk in a very pretty park
Comment: John Woo's MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2 is a sight for the eyes and a joy for the ears. Unfortunately, that's really about it. Easily the weakest of Tom Cruise's M:I series, M:I2 is also the most non-canon of the three in terms of character writing and design. While the first and third films in the series featured a gritty style with just enough action to get the pulse running, M:I2 is all action. Outrageous action. Slow-motion gun battles, dueling motorcycles, and explosions are the name of the game this time around, with Woo lending his signature doves and run, gun and dive gunplay to the franchise. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of anything resembling a story. You see, Mr Robert Townsend, who co-wrote the first film, was told that the first's plot was too complicated for audiences, and was basically asked to write in filler to take place between the elaborate explosions. Still, Townsend writes some great filler, with Anthony Hopkins coming on board in an uncredited role and delivering the film's best lines. Hans Zimmer provides the film's score, which while hardly original, fits the mood of the picture perfectly, conveying the larger-than-life summer action feel brilliantly. Acting is about what you'd expect from a film of this kind, and while the visual style is slick and the action pieces breathtaking, both feel out of place. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE worked because it wasn't James Bond, but stood on its own two feet. That's sadly not the case with M:I2, as other than the music and visuals, the film is too busy chasing after 007 to amount to anything. Finally, the character of Ethan Hunt spends the entire film acting atypically when compared with the first and third films. Here, he comes across as a thrillseeker while in the others he's more pragmatic. My advice: Watch the first, skip the second, and move right to the third.
Customer Rating:
Summary: It's just an action movie
Comment: I think this movie was rated bad by people because it was so different from the first one. I went to watch this movie thinking it was going to be long, kinda drab but still in its own way interesting like the first. But instead it added a few things that the first one could have used like ACTION. I think this movie was a good combination of a modern action movie well balanced with
technical expertise and suspense. This movie had a sexy feel that flowed smoothly throughout the movie that just kept you hook until the end. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt. Anthony hopkin and Ving Rhames where also good elements added for this movie.
Customer Rating:
Summary: MI2: Revisited
Comment: Yeah, I know. It's so easy to 'dis this flick. And hey, the first time I saw it, I was not a huge fan either. However, I happened to catch this movie again the other day.
Now, I am of the opinion that a movie's first and foremost job is to entertain -- not to enlighten, not to inform, not to make us feel more intellectual because we have plowed the shadowy depths of a film's varied and multi-layered philisophical underpinnings. If a movie fails to entertain, then it has failed utterly. I don't care how successful it is on any other front.
MI2 is a very entertaining movie. You can't take your eyes off of it. The action is completely engaging and there's just enough plot and dialogue in between. I know, I know; you guys all want to look cool and agree with the rest of the sheeple, er, filmgoers by dismissing this flick as mere fluff, but if you're looking for any sort of depth from this sort of fare, what in tarnation were you thinking???
This movie is entertaining, therefore it succeeds.
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