MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II
Rated PG-13 - Running Time: 2:07 - Released 5/24/00
There is no doubt that Brian De Palma at least tried to pattern
his 1996 film Mission: Impossible after the '60s TV spy
show from which it took its name. Although the duties of main
character switched from Jim Phelps to Ethan Hunt (played by co-producer
Tom Cruise), it emphasized many of the show's especially strong
points, like the teamwork of several agents using disguises and
role-playing to defeat the bad guys. However, it seems that in
the case of Mission: Impossible II, director John Woo (Face/Off)
and writers Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore, and Robert Towne,
aim to copy the style of the James Bond genre more than Bruce
Geller's incredibly intelligent TV show. Although Woo resurrects
(and ocasionally overuses) some plot traditions of the show, like
the self-destructing message and the use of rubber masks to disguise
one character as another, M:I-2, as it is known, is mostly
explosions and gunfire, sprinkled liberally with some pro wrestling
moves that defy description, and, occasionally, gravity. The film's
trailers proclaim the addition of Anthony Hopkins as a notable
upgrade, but in reality he only occupies about 5 minutes of screen
time. The film's final showdown is especially insipid, not to
mention interminable. Fans of straight action/adventure may enjoy
this film; fans of TV's Mission: Impossible may not recognize
it.
While attempting to take a vacation, Ethan (Cruise) is tracked
down by his new supervisor, Swanbeck (Hopkins), and invited to
accept a new impossible mission: a nasty virus which kills in
20 hours has been developed by some mad scientists at a Sydney,
Australia, pharmaceutical firm called Biocyte. A voiceover from
one of the scientists explains: "Every search for a hero
begins with a monster." You see, the whole point of developing
the deadly strain, called "Chimera," after a character
from ancient mythology, is to unleash it on the public and then
offer the antidote, which they have named "Belerophon,"
after the character who defeated Chimera. Biocyte's revenues will
soar, their stock will increase, and all the mad scientists will
become rich, rich, rich. But only after hundreds, or thousands,
have died from the disease, which apparently attacks red blood
cells.
Swanbeck's request is that Ethan locate a professional thief
named Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton, Beloved)
and get her to hook up with her old boyfriend, Sean Ambrose (Dougray
Scott), who currently has control over the virus. She will then
do whatever it takes (ahem) to find out about Chimera and its
whereabouts, then Ethan, his old pal Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames,
the only other cast member returning from M:I-1), and an
Aussie named Billy Bard (John Polson), will apprehend the virus,
destroy it, and foil Ambrose's evil plans. The trouble is, Ethan
kind of has a thing for Nyah, and he doesn't care to see her making
it with his nemesis.
This film starts out credibly enough, with a promising concept and the suggestion of the kind of agency teamwork shown in the fascinating opening sequence of M:I-1. But soon it quickly devolves into merely another fireball action flick and another star vehicle for Cruise, who, again, co-produced the film. Although Ethan does count on his partners' assistance to help him out of a few tight spots, their role is reduced to simply that: helpers. Cruise is in almost every scene of the film, shooting, bombing, and fisticuffing his way to his objective, with ever-increasing outrageousness of circumstance. Newton looks good but is seldom called on to do more than that, and Rhames spends all his time in a van, ticking away at computer keys. Scott does his best as Ambrose, but his character is so evil he's less believable, like all those Bond villains (or even Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers movies). In an effort to capture the action-hungry teen male market, Woo has taken Geller's concept totally over the top, and consequently drained it of the credibility that made the show so engaging. ***