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Mission:
Impossible 2
The
second instalment of the Mission: Impossible franchise was so
different from the first that it reeled in a whole new audience and
went on to become the highest grossing film of 2000. As the first
entry left people feeling a little short changed, having experienced
a movie that hinted at great things but didn’t fully pay off,
“Mission: Impossible 2” would set about to rectify all of that.
Tom
Cruise was at the peak of his powers in the late 90’s. Coming off
the controversial and widely spoken about “Eye’s Wide Shut” in
1999, he would move from drama to action in style, and had plans to
launch a franchise. The Cruise was back as IMF spy Ethan Hunt, with a
new director in John Woo, and a whole new visual style. John Woo had
scored some hits that decade with “Broken Arrow” and the
brilliant “Face/Off” making him the most in-demand action movie
guy in the business. He was secured for M:I 2 and would realise the
story with his trademark style of filmmaking; scenes that were
brilliantly choreographed with superior shoot-outs, sophisticated use
of slow motion, ground-breaking stunt work and the insertion of birds
a common theme. M:I 2 would also set itself in the city the whole
world would be watching later that year – Sydney. Hosting the
upcoming 2000 Olympics, Australia’s biggest city was already
drawing the world’s attention for it’s beautiful location on the
pristine Darling Harbour, and now it would be the stage for this
film.
The
story this time centres around Ethan Hunt having to find out who
posed as him to steal a man-made virus (and it’s antidote), killing
the scientist who made it by crashing his plane. In a little
throwback to the first film, this poser wore a mask to appear as
Hunt, then pulls it off to reveal himself as rogue IMF agent Sean
Ambrose (Dougray Scott).
When
Hunt gets the call informing him this has happened, he’s actually
on vacation. Which brings me to the “The Tom Cruise Dangling from
Mid Air Action Scene” of this entry.
In
the remote desert of Utah, we the audience are taken on a sweeping
view of the rugged, desert landscape. Arriving at a tall mountain, we
see a short guy climbing it, alone and apparently, with no ropes.
Behind the scenes, Cruise climbed this mountain himself, without the
aid of any safety nets if he were to fall. Just a rope and his wits
to keep him alive. Originally, the film studio didn’t want the
actor performing this elaborate stunt, but Cruise was adamant it had
to be him, and it had to remain in the film. In fact, the impressive
footage of him climbing this rock, with nothing but his bare hands,
then slipping and just grabbing on with one hand, dangling thousands
of feet above the ground, became one of the many drawing cards of
this film. People were surprised to see the actor doing this on
screen himself. All of a sudden, Tom Cruise could pull off crazy
stunts. Whereas in the first films climatic train scene, he hung on
for dear life and could only pull out a stick of bubble-gum from his
pocket, he was now a daring daredevil. Opening up the film, this
scene set the vibe for the rest of its running time, and convinced
audiences that an actor more known for his dramatic roles was now an
action star, becoming the focus of his career for almost every film
he has made since.
Once
he’s pulled early out of his vacation, Hunt springs into action,
teaming up with his old buddy Luther (Ving Rhames) returning as the
communications/reconnaissance/gadgets man to Hunt’s point man, and
the ex-girlfriend of the villain, Nyah (Thandie Newton). Intending to
use her
to get to bad guy Ambrose, Hunt ends up falling head over heels for
Nyah, which becomes a main staple of the film. This can slow down
proceedings in M:I 2, as this love story of sorts drags out a bit
longer than it should, but becomes a catalyst for the turning point
in the story. As Hunt pursues his villain, only one dose of the
powerful virus remains, which Nyah then self-injects to keep herself
alive and essentially hold Ambrose for ransom. With only a 20 hour
window to save her with the anti-virus, Hunt pulls out all the stops,
and this is where the second half of the movie kicks in, driven by
some stylish and exciting action scenes.
M:I
2 leaps off the screen in the hands of John Woo’s effective
handling of its key action scenes, and a very suave looking Cruise
handling every jump, dive, roll, kick, punch and flick of his hair
with impressive capability; proving he was now a legitimate action
star, Cruise carries the film well, showing he was still a decent
actor in the films more dramatic scenes, and simultaneously handling
it’s complex action sequences in the coolest way he knew how.
As
you’d expect, Hunt beats the bad guy, gets the girl and saves the
world. The film ends with Ethan and Nyah reunited, to continue their
romance and disappear into the world, where we assume he goes back on
vacation and lives happily ever after. It’s a sweet ending, with no
obvious signs that a third film was being considered, but as
trilogies were now kicking into high gear with the Star Wars prequels
and Lord of the Rings about to dominant the movies, it would be six
years later we’d get another entry in the adventures of Ethan Hunt.
But it almost didn’t happen…
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