Mission: Impossible 2

It’s not uncommon for a film sequel, created off the back of the original’s success, to try a more action-oriented different direction compared to the original. Such was the case with Mission: Impossible 2 (M:I-2), which even placed John Woo, best known by some for the movie Face/Off, in the director’s chair, which automatically made it a bit different from Brian De Palma’s suspense-driven Mission: Impossible (M:I). Although M:I-2 debuted to mixed reception, it’s hard to argue with the results, as it grossed $546.4 million against a ~$120 million budget, which notably made it the year 2000’s highest-grossing film. While M:I-2 certainly has its fans even now, and it’s honestly hard not to see why, the end result almost comes at the expense of what makes a good Mission: Impossible movie.

Sometime after the events of M:I, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is tasked with recruiting a thief named Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandiwe Newton) within 48 hours so he can fulfill his mission of retrieving Chimera, a deadly virus, and its cure, Bellerophon. Although her skills are handy, her true purpose is to help Ethan by getting close to Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott), a rogue IMF agent and Nyah’s ex-boyfriend, who had stolen Bellerophon from its creator, Doctor Vladimir Nekhorvich (Rade Šerbedžija), and seeks a sample of Chimera for his own gain.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise, right) makes a rocky first impression
with Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandiwe Newton, left).

Honestly, if you watch M:I-2 as an action film, there’s plenty to like. Chimera and the developments surrounding it are intriguing, Sean Ambrose is a rather ruthless villain you want to see Ethan take down (he even cuts someone’s finger with a cigar cutter) and, most importantly, the action is done really well. Although I didn’t have any experience with John Woo films going in, it’s clear that he has a distinct style and is good at what he does. There’s some great camerawork and the stunts are rather impressive, especially with Tom Cruise’s insistence on doing many of them himself, including the opening rock-climbing scene. Towards the end, John Woo adds a lot of visual flair that helps sell the climax and the final battle has some cool shots and tense moments of struggle. Easily the most impressive moment is the knife drop, where a real knife stops just shy of Cruise’s eye. Even the acting, while over the top at times, is still solid thanks to everyone’s commitment to their roles and you can still enjoy their dynamics, plus the soundtrack fits pretty well at times and features the main theme as a sort of leitmotif. Overall, you can still have a good enough time that you can easily overlook the film’s flaws.

Unfortunately, the numerous flaws still bring down M:I-2 as a Mission: Impossible movie. Although there is some action early on, including a plane crash and a car chase, the first half is surprisingly slow-paced. I don’t mind a slow pace in general, as sometimes the payoff is worth it, but other Mission: Impossible films, including the original, had done their buildup more effectively in that same amount of time. Thankfully, it does pick up in the second half, when Ethan infiltrates the lab with the remaining samples of Chimera, though I did find the tense cable drop in this film nowhere near the same intensity as in the original, which used silence to its full advantage.

This cable drop isn't as tense.

You’ll also find no shortage of plot holes if you’re really paying attention, from minor things you could easily brush off like “How did Nekhorvich get familiar with ‘Dimitri?’” to some head scratchers like “Wait, how did Ethan swap faces with that guy so quickly?” In fact, face masks are used a bit too much for drama, to the point that it feels like John Woo took another stab at Face/Off. All of this to say that some moments or developments feel placed in the film for the sake of looking cool (and they certainly can) rather than making any narrative sense and that M:I-2 is only a Mission: Impossible movie because it hits certain beats.

While doing research for this review, I found some noted similarities between M:I-2 and Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious and, after watching that film again, it’s not hard to spot them. Both films have a similar premise (asking a woman to rekindle their old relationship to gain crucial information), some very similar scenes (including some dangerous driving and a visit to the racetrack) and even some similar dialogue. However, Notorious was also more grounded, with stronger writing and far more subtlety in its execution.

Mission: Impossible 2 does feature 100% more doves and fire though.

The only other criticism I would have involves the credits music. Not necessarily the choices (even Limp Bizkit’s “Take a Look Around” makes interesting use of the Mission: Impossible theme), but more that Metallica’s “I Disappear” was mistimed. While I like the song, it would have had more of an impact if the film’s ending with Ethan and Nyah walk off (read: disappear) transitioned directly into the song instead of awkwardly after another few seconds of the Mission: Impossible theme, as with the ending of Spider-Man 2 and Dashboard Confessional’s “Vindicated”.

Speaking of “I Disappear”, it’s worth mentioning that, although tangentially related, the song has some historical significance. Before the song’s official debut, the band discovered that a demo version had leaked and already received radio play. They then traced the leaked audio back to P2P sharing service Napster, where they discovered that their entire catalog was available for free download, leading to an infamous lawsuit against the service, which the band ultimately won. While some of Metallica’s actions around the lawsuit are contentious, and you can argue forever about the eventual impact on digital copyrights around use of music online, history has proven the band right regarding copyright infringement and a lack of compensation (an issue artists still face today with legal streaming services like Spotify).

If nothing else, Mission: Impossible 2 is so unapologetically John Woo that it could make for a decent watch if you’re in the right mood. However, it’s still one of the weaker Mission: Impossible movies and, for that reason, I find it harder to recommend.