Throwback Thursday Review: 'Mission: Impossible II'

Sorry for the delay on this review, but I had my wisdom teeth removed last Wednesday and wound up rewatching Mission: Impossible II a little later than I anticipated. Since we've passed the midway point of 2018, I'l be recapping my favorite and least favorite films of the year fairly soon in addition to providing an updated ranking of the Marvel films once I've seen Ant-Man and the Wasp. I also recently posted something very different from my usual content called Jurassic World vs. Westworld: Escaping The Park if you're interested in checking that out. In the meantime, you can look forward to Throwback Thursday Reviews of Mission: Impossible III, and Mamma Mia!, Triple-R Reviews for Sicario, Ant-Man, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, and reviews of new releases Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Skyscraper, The Equalizer 2, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, and Teen Titans Go! To The Movies.

'Mission: Impossible II' Review

In Mission: Impossible II, Ethan Hunt must recruit a team to help him find and destroy a genetically modified virus called "Chimera" before its unleashed on the populous city of Sydney, Australia by a former IMF agent-turned-terrorist.

Mission: Impossible II is the second installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise and set the precedent of bringing in a new director for each successive entry (a tradition which will be broken by Mission: Impossible - Fallout later this month). John Woo, a Chinese director best known for his elaborate action sequences, filled in for Brian De Palma while Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga wrote the spy sequel's story and Robert Towne stuck around as the sole screenwriter from the original. The changes behind the scenes apparently were quite noticeable though, since M:I 2 had a very mixed critical reception. However, in spite of being the lowest rated film in the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and IMDB, it's still the highest grossing Mission: Impossible domestically.

Mission: Impossible II is often looked down upon as the worst in the series, but I feel it only holds title by default. It's not "bad" so much as it's simply not as good as the rest. The beauty of Mission: Impossible as an action franchise though is that new directors are continually brought in so each film has its own flair while conforming to the franchise's formula. This keeps things feeling fresh, and Woo's stylistic tenancies make for an exciting addition to the franchise. M:I 2 is actually the epitome of an early 2000's action film, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing...

The plot is simple and the action is packed full of slo-mo, explosions, Limp Biszit's music, and Tom Cruise's luscious, flowing locks. Woo definitely overdoes it in regards to employing these elements, but it doesn't make the whole affair any less enjoyable. In fact, M:I 2 actually has plenty of the series' most iconic moments such as the infamous knife in the eye scene or Cruise dangling off a cliff 2,000 feet off the ground. This film is pretty much the point where Tom Cruise decided he'd attempt as many death-defying stunts as he possibly could for our amusement. Sick and twisted? I know it is, but I can't help but respect and admire the man's willingness to go to these extremes...

In all seriousness, someone should probably check on Cruise because this knife was actually a quarter of an inch away from his eyeball thanks to a precisely measured cable... The fact Cruise agreed to this stunt at Woo's dismay and then requested the stuntman to apply as much force as possible when thrusting the knife to make it look legitimate is deeply concerning. The craziest thing is that this stunt looks fairly tame in comparison to many of the things he's done in the time since. Let's just hope he doesn't takes it too far and kill himself for the sake of a stunt in Mission: Impossible 39.

The action across the board is actually quite exhilarating though with high-speed chases galore, numerous instances of hand-to-hand combat, and a stealthy infiltration sequence well worth mentioning. Woo's knack for capturing frenetic action keeps things moving at a breakneck-pace and the simple plot ensures everything's easy to keep track of. Compared to Mission: Impossible, Woo's grip on the tension is short-lived but the sheer audacity of the set-pieces make up for it. It also probably doesn't hurt that it's all accompanied by a Hans Zimmer score. 

At the center of this star vehicle, Tom Cruise's demonstrates that he's committed to more than just the insane stunt work as his charming demeanor dominates the screen. Everything he does just oozes coolness and Cruise pulls it all off effortlessly. Opposite Cruise, Thandie Newton makes for a fitting femme fatale, has palpable chemistry with Cruise and Scott, and is quite convincing as the center of such an intricate love triangle. I wish Newton was more than simply a damsel-in-distress, but I suppose it's just indicative of the time in which this film was made.

Unfortunately, since this franchise started on Cruise-control, the ensemble's scarcely given an opportunity to shine. Even though another IMF team is assembled to pull off a second impossible mission, Ving Rhames' hacker Luther Stickell and John Polson's helicopter pilot Billy Baird don't have much to do aside from help Ethan in their respective team roles. Anthony Hopkins and Brendan Gleeson also each have brief appearances worth mentioning. Their roles aren't very substantive, but they both leave an impression thanks to their experienced screen presence. 

In the antagonistic camp, Dougray Scott chews the scenery as Sean Ambrose and ultimately serves as a sufficient villain in the grand scheme of things. Meanwhile, his stooges played by Richard Roxburgh, Dominic Purcell, and William Mapother are reasonably threatening whenever they engage in combat. Roxburgh's Hugh Stamp is easily the most memorable one on account of a particularly noteworthy unmasking sequence though.

Stuffed full of show-stopping set pieces, Mission: Impossible II is literally the most explosive entry in the franchise. It's up to you whether that means you'll accept this mission or not, but I'll say it has my full endorsement as a good time. 

Film Assessment: B-

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Mission: Impossible'

Recently, I've taken a break from my Throwback Thursday Review series, but I'm returning to the format in order to review Mission: Impossible before the release of Mission: Impossible - Fallout next month. I realize it's not yet Thursday, but there are a lot of films I'd like to review this summer and not enough Thursdays to do so. For the time being, I plan to share Throwback Thursday Reviews of Ocean's Eleven (2001), The Incredibles, Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Mission: Impossible II along with new reviews for Upgrade, Hereditary, Ocean's Eight, Hotel Artemis, Incredibles 2, Tag (2018), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Sicario: Day of the Soldado this June.

'Mission: Impossible' Review

Mission: Impossible accompanies American IMF agent Ethan Hunt as he's disavowed when a mission goes awry and Hunt is framed for killing his team of fellow spies and selling government intel. Determined to prove his innocence, Hunt recruits fellow renegades to help him track down the traitor responsible and retrieve the missing intel.

Mission: Impossible was directed by Brian De Palma, featured a screenplay written collectively by David Koepp, Robert Town, and Steven Zaillian, and served as the first film adaptation of a television series from the late '60s (which was rebooted in the '80s). At the time, no other spy franchise was quite like it. The Mission: Impossible series' claim to fame has always been the elaborate, outrageous stunts performed by the star himself. Over the years, they've grown gradually in regards to ambition and scale as Tom Cruise has gone from simply being suspended in a room and blown back by a 140mph wind machine to scaling the Burj Khalifa and hanging outside an actual airplane during take off. 

As director, De Palma leans into the intensity of the stunts and ensures the audience is able to understand the stakes and consequences associated with failing the feat. Before the Langley computer disc heist, De Palma quickly demonstrates the vault's extreme security measures, so every drop of Ethan Hunt's sweat feels like it could potentially be the end of it all. Even with the foresight of the film's ending, I still find the sequence to be quite riveting. 

Another thing that De Palma did extraordinarily well was establishing the blueprints for the franchise going forward. Every Mission: Impossible film since the first has featured an intro with a fuse accompanied by the trademark theme, Hunt assembling a team of agents, and memorable set pieces intended to one-up the previous film's show stoppers. Suffice to say, the franchise's barebones formula has been fairly effective considering a sixth installment is coming just next month. On top of the aforementioned qualities, Mission: Impossible shines in regards to the inventive camera movement from cinematographer Stephen H. Burum and an exciting score composed by Danny Elfman. 

Now twenty two years old, Mission: Impossible can't help but feel dated in comparison to today's blockbusters. While the practical stunts are still stellar, the visual effects are hit and miss in regards to authenticity. Of course I'm not holding this against Mission: Impossible too much, but I felt it was worth mentioning nevertheless. Where the plot of Mission: Impossible is relatively straight-forward and easy to follow, the twists and turns along the way either don't add up or require a slight suspension of disbelief because of their inherent cheesiness. Either way, it all felt indicative of the '90s.

Beyond launching a film franchise that's still ongoing, Mission: Impossible helped Tom Cruise's career skyrocket into the movie star stratosphere (although you could make an argument that Top Gun played a big role in the initial takeoff). Pushing semantics aside, Cruise's crazy commitment to stunt-work started here, and Cruise's formidable, magnetic charisma shines through it all tremendously. It's really no wonder that Ethan Hunt is one of Cruise's most popular roles to date. However, seeing as the first Mission: Impossible was largely a star-vehicle for Cruise, the surrounding ensemble wasn't given nearly as much to work with. Jon Voight, Henry Czerny, Emmanuelle Bėart, Jean Reno, and Ving Rhames make the most of their screentime, but are ultimately impaired by lacking characterization and are unable to define themselves much beyond the simple genre stereotypes spelled out in the script.

In spite of its age, Mission: Impossible holds up exceptionally well as an action-thriller. Should you choose to watch it, you'll discover that Mission: Impossible is an exciting, occasionally over-the-top spy flick full of spirit and spectacle. 

Film Assessment: B