Review:
Whatever negative attributes he has, John Woo really does know action. In my opinion, his best work was done in Hong Kong, culminating in Hard Boiled, but he has crossed the Pacific and become something of a Hollywood mainstay. Mission: Impossible 2 has been the pinnacle of his American success, with a gross of more than $200 million.
With the actors and action, it’s easy to see why. As with the prior movie (and a lot of Woo’s Hollywood output), the story takes a back seat to the action. What plot there is revolves around a stolen virus and the Impossible Mission team’s quest to snatch it away from the baddies. To do this, they enlist the help of Nyah Nordoff-Hall (played by Thandie Newton), the ex of the lead thief, a rogue IMF agent named Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott).
The action set pieces are plentiful and enjoyable. The last half hour consists of a thrilling motorcycle chase and a (mostly) hand-to-hand throwdown on a beach. There are a lot of explosions and a few genuine tense moments.
Woo has a tendency to let things run long, and that negatively impacts the picture. At just longer than two hours, the film could have been much better with about 15 minutes removed. A lot of that has to do with Woo’s trademark style, though, which includes a lot of slow-motion effects and operatic-action moments. If you are a Woo fan, you won’t be bothered as much as I was by them.
Overall, the film is enjoyable summertime fluff, as it was intended to be. You will enjoy the action, ignore the story, and have a mostly good time.
The version viewed was Paramount’s HD DVD released as part of a Mission: Impossible three-pack. The transfer was generally outstanding, although there are a few technical issues with the film crew and their inability to keep people in proper focus. In the era of high definition, this is becoming an issue, as I am noticing it more and more. Hopefully, Hollywood will adapt.