While the first "Mission: Impossible" film was an unexpected success for both Paramount and Tom Cruise, there was a bit of criticism at the time that the story was overly-complicated and that there was hardly any action. When it finally came time for a sequel, the studio decided to give fans what they wanted, which was more action and a simplified plot. Although this did ensure the sequel to be the highest-grossing film in that year, it has earned the reputation for being the worst out of the franchise for its departures from the previous film. Is the criticism really deserving though? The story does at least have a more easier narrative to follow than the twisty and the almost chess-game nature the first film carried. Years after the first film, Ethan Hunt accepts a mission to find and destroy Chimera, a deadly virus that will ensure death to victims twenty hours after infection. While falling in love with a new recruit, a thief named Nyah, Ethan is disheartened to learn that he needs to use Nyah as bait in order to learn the whereabouts of Chimera from Sean Ambrose, a former IMF agent who has studied underneath Ethan and is always two steps ahead. While the first film has the better story in terms of originality and creativity, there's a charm in watching a movie that is centred on stopping a deadly virus in a pandemic landscape. Even though the story can be somewhat engaging on the main spy narrative, the love story between Ethan and Nyah does drag the story down a bit as their chemistry isn't exactly the most realistic. Maybe a lot of their scenes are cut for time, but it doesn't excuse the first half of the film being about the dramas of Ethan being madly in love. The tone is what makes the film the most divisive of the franchise. While the story takes itself seriously for the most part, the action, villain and direction enters over-the-top cheese. This can be pretty distracting, especially if compared to the rest of the franchise, but man, it feels kind of refreshing in how early 2000's it feels. I will get more into the other elements in a bit, but as long as they are done in an entertaining matter, I don't mind this odd shift in tone.
Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt once again graces audiences with his charismatic smile, death-defining stunts and 3D Chess-level intelligence that fans are familiar with in other films. What's not familiar though is his characterization as Ethan doesn't feel as serious or unnerved in this film compared to others and feels far too chill and swab. Many feel that he feels like James Bond and while that's not a bad thing in general, his portrayal is simply the opposite approach to the serious nature of the character and how he puts the mission first above everything. Dougray Scott as Sean Ambrose is both silly yet effective as the cunning and emotionally unstable villain. Scott can make the viewer believe on how threatening Ambrose is in his fear tactics and intelligence, but also make them smile on how he goes all in on the performance, even when it goes over-the-top for the character such as his one-liners and emotional outbursts of defeat or betrayal. Thandiwe Newton as Nyah looks gorgeous and plays the playful thief pretty well, but her romantic chemistry with Cruise doesn't really work the best in terms of her character and ultimately undermines the performance of Newton as a result. The side cast is actually not that bad, especially for characters who only appear in this single film. Ving Rhames as Luther is always a pleasant face to see, regardless if he's far more serious than in other films, Richard Roxburgh as Hugh Stamp is a fantastic right-hand man to Ambrose that almost mirrors a similar duality akin to Black Mask and Zsasz from "Birds of Prey", and Anthony Hopkins as Swanbeck does a great job in the few scenes he's in, offering a sense of authority and comedy to the situation. Not every character is a banger though. Brendan Gleeson as John C. McCloy is a pretty generic CEO figure with some awkward dialogue and John Polson as Billy Baird may be the most forgettable ally in the franchise for just being a weak comic relief and helicopter pilot. Overall, the cast is on the mixed end as the actors themselves are good and characters such as Ambrose, Luther, Stamp and Swanbeck are frankly really good, but Hunt's characterization along with Nyah and a few pointless side characters makes it probably the weakest cast in the franchise, despite some engaging villains.
If you are aware of John Woo as a director, you will know that he has the need to be overly-stylized with the common motifs of slow-motion, cross-dissolves to random symbolic imagery, doves, fire, and close-ups of people's faces. His directing is a make-it-or-break-it for many, but if you fully accept that the film is going to contain some over-the-top filmmaking, it makes the experience pretty fun. I also give props that Woo set the sequel in Australia, which is not a country that's seen much in film, especially for an action movie. The cinematography by Jeffery L. Kimball is mainly following the motifs Woo is known for, which can weaken the camerawork as a whole, despite Kimball showing off breath-taking framing of action and stunt performances by Cruise. The score by Hans Zimmer may honestly be the best of the franchise by far. While the rock version of the main theme is grunge 2000's cheese at its max, the original music is actually really good with the use of a gothic choir and Spanish-sounding cues that adds as an audio reminder of the almost, soap-opera romance the film features. The licensed songs are also memorable additions such as "Iko Iko" and various rock songs from Metallica, Limp Bizkit and Rob Zombie. It may be the complete opposite approach to a "Mission: Impossible" soundtrack, but the uniqueness is almost of legendary quality. The action really shows up by the half-way point of the film, but by then, it fully delivers on the over-the-top shootouts and kung-fu combat you'd come to expect from Woo's filmography. I never expected Hunt to be someone who kicks a lot, but the choreography is amazing in how both silly and badass it gets. The motorcycle chase is the highlight as the stunts and crashes feel so life-like while including some of the most absurd images ever seen in the genre. A bonus to Cruse showcasing his one of his most dangerous stunts in his career by having a real knife be stopped a millimeter from his eye. Overall, the quality of the filmmaking is geared towards you opinion of Woo as a director and the identity he brings to the sequel, which is marvelous in my book.
"Mission: Impossible II" may be the strangest or goofiest of the beloved franchise, but it's about as entertaining as its respective competition. Yes, the tone is uneven for some, Ethan's characterization is widely different from the rest of the series, the romance between Ethan and Nyah is underdeveloped, some of the side cast is unmemorable, and Woo's direction and flair is clearly not for everyone by how zany it can be. With that said, there's actually a lot the film does well. The story about the virus is pretty engaging in a pandemic environment, Cruse and Newton do their best in injecting life and energy to their roles, Scott and Stamp's performances as Ambrose and Stamp are just the perfect blend of serious and over-the-top, characters such as Luther and Swanbeck are just too enjoyable thanks to the talents of Rhames and Hopkins, Kimball's cinematography is fairly adequate in capturing the scenery and action, Zimmer's unique score is the best the franchise has to offer aside from Danny Elfman's classic rendition of the theme, the licensed soundtrack is memorable in being a perfect time capsule of the early 2000's, the action sequences are as over-the-top and exhilarating as ever, and Woo's direction can be enjoyable on its own wacky merits. Honestly, this is not even the worst film from the franchise as the third film has aged kind of poorly in terms of memorability or ambition. This sequel is clearly wild in its identity, but that's not a bad thing in retrospect.
Verdict: 6.5/10. Decent action joyride from that decade that still provides some fun and enjoyment to this day. Just don't go in thinking it's on par as the best from the franchise.
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