This time around, high-tech Boy Scout Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) must track down a deadly supervirus, save the world from dastardly rogue agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) and steal the heart of a damsel in distress (Thandie Newton). From the first outlandish scene, it's obvious that this film should be called "Mission: Improbable" as Cruise dangles from rocks at incredible heights, flinging himself around like a well-groomed monkey and coming away scrape-free as he slides down the craggy mountainside. Where the Bond films have a sense of humor about themselves, "M:I-2" takes itself far too seriously.
Acting
This movie is more about explosions than emotions. Rather than acting, Newton (as the obligatory international jewel thief) spends much of the film posing like a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. Her romance with Cruise seems unlikely since none of the characters engage in conversations, sacrificing dialogue for "clever" quips. Cruise runs, jumps and kicks but never demonstrates a fraction of the acting muscles flexed in "Magnolia." Scott is convincingly devious as Cruise's doppelganger and turncoat (Note to IMF: You're training more crooks than cops!), but it's Ving Rhames who shows the most cool ("That punk put a hole in my Versace!"). Don't blink or you'll miss the bookend performance by Anthony Hopkins.
Direction
Action director John Woo ("Face/Off") veers far from the first film (directed by Brian De Palma), choosing to stamp "M:I-2" with his own trademarks, among them slo-mo action and a hand-to-hand, foot-to-foot final showdown. (Scott deserves to be kickboxed in the face for the hideous denim suit he's wearing.) Throughout the violent, cartoonish action, Woo places his characters in a seemingly unpopulated (but beautiful) Australia, free of bystanders or police, allowing the spy vs. spy games to play out undisturbed.
Bottom Line
Not only will "M:I-2" satisfy previously insatiable action fans, it'll provide endless fodder for the next "Austin Powers" sequel.