Mission: Impossible II

A fantastically directed action movie by the master of masters John Woo. The plot is not essential and the storyline itself is practically pulled out of thin air, with all the lapses in logic and screenplay flaws that come with it. However, the action is filmed so perfectly that one cannot help but forgive all the downsides. Woo has an unbelievable sense for visuals and colors (Seville, the scenes in the desert, the shootout in BioCyte), he doesn't miss any detail and puts an unprecedented effort into it. One example of his precise craftsmanship is the shootout in the multi-story building, which is simply breathtaking, not only because of its dynamics, but also the overall visual concept (sparks, lighting, camera). This is where Woo is truly the best, and it is the film’s main attraction. As the second and third thing that make me give it a full score, there is the brilliant atmospheric music and possibly one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. (05/08/2005)

From a negative attitude, to good-natured tolerance, to surprised admiration. The way John Woo reimagined the series is unparalleled, but we can thank him for the number of spent bullets hiding in each adventure. Lots of action, style, and slow-motion scenes, excessively emotional dialogue bordering on B-movie romance, and Ethan Hunt in the role of an unstoppable Mohican. Everything slightly beyond the acceptable cheesy factor – and yet this installment is the one I have seen the most. (05/13/2006)

In my opinion, the creators missed the mark a bit with the second installment. It wasn’t terrible; I laughed a few times, and some of the action scenes were good, but I expected more from a brand named Mission: Impossible. John Woo approached the film with a more comedic tone, which didn’t do it any favors. The villain was also underwhelming, not really fitting or delivering much. And the story offered no surprises. The only person who kept the bar relatively high was Tom Cruise. Otherwise, I’d place the second film in the gray average of 21st-century American action movies. I give it 60%. EDIT 08/2023 - I would give my younger self a few slaps. Yes, the story does struggle, and I was right about that. On the other hand, the eye-candy adrenaline action blew me away after all these years. It might seem cheesy and cheap to some, but I totally get it. I had a blast (Woo is always a guarantee of quality in this regard). Add to that the legendary soundtrack by Zimmer and the charming Thandiwe Newton, and you’ve got a recipe for success. It’s not a tragedy by any means. I give it 7.5/10. (08/08/2023)

John Woo knows how to make a scene impressive, but somehow he seems to have forgotten how to make the whole film interesting. Some scenes are surprisingly long and slow, which also affects the jokes that lack the right punch. Tom Cruise is well-suited for this role, but the face-swapping was really overdone in this case. The film is too long to really entertain the whole time. (05/07/2014)

Ethan Hunt's fundamental problem is the fact that he is unable to find his identity. Neither his personal, nor the genre identity. Whilst De Palma took the path of an action spy film, John Woo walked down a path ever so familiar to him: the path of an action movie. But the script is so broken, so covered with stones and rubble, that roughly the first half of the film is a complete mess. The level of dialogues is at the level of an unintentional absurd drama, the plot is horribly schematic, and there is no tension. Where in the first film the viewer struggled a little with the plot, Woo offers a dismal compilation of slow-motion and pseudo-spy scenes filmed with a lack of interest, which will not convince even a five-year-old child of their credibility. The expected break into the action finale does not bring relief. Again, one cannot identify with Hunt in any way - the character contains nothing interesting at all except a million-dollar face and nice clothes. The love storyline is annoying and naive, so there is no compassion for melodramatic tones. The truth is that as soon as the pigeons appear on the scene, Woo finds himself on his favorite steamer again and cuts out a pretty nice action sequence, which, as a result, sounds like an absolute cry into the dark. This did not work for everyone involved (except perhaps Hans Zimmer). (01/15/2007)