Mission: Impossible II (2000)

A secret agent is sent to Sydney, to find and destroy a genetically modified disease called "Chimera"

Director:

John Woo

Writers:

Bruce Geller, Ronald D. Moore (story),

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton

10 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Cruise	...	Ethan Hunt
Dougray Scott	...	Sean Ambrose
Thandie Newton	...	Nyah Nordoff-Hall
Ving Rhames	...	Luther Stickell
Richard Roxburgh	...	Hugh Stamp
John Polson	...	Billy Baird
Brendan Gleeson	...	John C. McCloy
Rade Serbedzija	...	Dr. Nekhorvich (as Radé Sherbedgia)
William Mapother	...	Wallis
Dominic Purcell	...	Ulrich
Mathew Wilkinson	...	Michael (as Matthew Wilkinson)
Nicholas Bell	...	Accountant
Cristina Brogeras	...	Flamenco Dancer
Kee Chan	...	Chemist
Kim Fleming	...	Larrabee

Storyline

IMF agent Ethan Hunt has been sent on a mission to retrieve and destroy the supply of a genetically created disease called 'Chimera'. His mission is made impossible due to the fact that he is not the only person after samples of the disease. He must also contest with a gang of international terrorists headed by a turned bad former IMF agent who has already managed to steal the cure called 'Bellerophon' and now need 'Chimera' to complete their grand plan of infecting the whole world. In order to infiltrate and locate the terrorist group he relies on the help of an international thief Nyah of whom he quickly develops a love interest. Time is not only running out for Agent Hunt to find and destroy 'Chimera' before the terrorists get their hands on it, but he must also find 'Bellerophon' so as to save his love interest who has already become infected by the disease from a terrible and rapid death.

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Plot Keywords:

mission | terrorist | virus | scientist | thief | 

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Taglines:

Expect the impossible again

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action and some sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

film.ru (Russian) Paramount Pictures

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 May 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

M:I-2

Filming Locations:

Argyle Place, The Rocks, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$125,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£4,621,948 (UK) (7 July 2000)

Gross:

ESP 2,173,814,826 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Cruise/Wagner Productions, Munich Film Partners & Company (MFP) MI2 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both Tom Cruise and John Woo attended a test screening of this movie in Warrenville, IL.

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Goofs

In the bike chase scene during the end of the movie. Both bikes have street tires during the street chase but when they hit the dirt the tread is thicker and deeper, essentially dirt tires.

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Quotes

Sean Ambrose: This is what's known as getting your gun off.

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Connections

Featured in Behind the Mission: The Making of 'M:I-2' (2000)

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Soundtracks

"DANZA DE IBIO"
Arranged by Alan Lomax
Performed by The Dancers of Cabezon de la Fuente
Courtesy of Rounder Records & Alan Lomax
by arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group

User Reviews

Less brains and more bangs but still far from greatness - 70%

Whoops! This appears to have been something of an oversight on my reviews list, despite me having seen it the other day on ITV2. The problem with this film is that it's one of those I assumed I'd already written about, thanks to heavy TV syndication. After viewing the third film the other day, I was reminded how little this had to do with the original source material but was still an entertaining, if extremely shallow, action blast with the old John Woo trademarks all present and correct.

Tom Cruise returns as super-spy Ethan Hunt, who's rock-climbing holiday is interrupted by his superiors at the IMF. Ethan is asked to recruit beautiful thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton) to accompany him on his latest assignment: to recover a deadly virus called "Chimera" stolen by former IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) in Australia. As Ethan fights his growing attraction to Nyah, he in unable to prevent her falling into harm's way and before long, Ethan is caught in a deadly race against time to prevent the virus being unleashed and to find the antidote to save Nyah's life.

After so much criticism of the first movie's overly-complicated plot, it's no real surprise that "Mission: Impossible 2" is dumber than lighting a match in a room full of dynamite. This has Woo's stamp all over it, feeling like a wish-list of action scenes and death-defying stunts crammed between slow-mo shots of doves and needlessly stylish shots devoid of dialogue. It has nothing at all to do with the "Mission: Impossible" series, something which parts one and three at least attempt. Acting is adequate but no more - Newton feels the most out-of-place - but it's the action scenes that rightly dominate and for which Woo is known for the world over. But for Woo veterans, there isn't really anything there you haven't already seen before.

So basically, it's a disappointing action thriller that doesn't do anything new. So why do I prefer this to the others? Maybe it's because I'm a shallow kinda guy but I suspect the real reason I prefer this is because it's a film aimed squarely at the audience and not at the critics. Woo knows what the majority of pop-corn munchers look for in an action movie and here, he delivers such a huge amount that there is something for every action fan. The problem with that approach, especially with this film, is that it couldn't be any more different from what went before it. Imagine if one of the "Godfather" sequels had been a romantic comedy instead of a mob flick - this is that movie. And because it's such a wild change from the first, it effectively killed off the franchise by stripping away its identity. Even J.J. Abrams struggles to get the series back on track, despite mixing the action and the intelligence into one film. "Mission: Impossible 2" isn't as bad as some have claimed but it is proper movie Marmite - you'll either love it or hate it with every fibre of your being.