Mission:Impossible II (2000)

Twenty-five years ago, director John Woo (Hard Boiled, Face/Off) joined this franchise to helm this long-awaited sequel to the first cinematic adaptation from '96.  And whereas the first film was a paranoid espionage thriller, he and star/producer/mastermind Tom Cruise decided to shift THIS entry in the direction of ramped up operatic action mixed with forbidden romance.  Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back for his next mission where he must prevent a now disavowwed former IMF-rival Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) from doing something nefarious with a mysterious bio-weapon/virus nicknamed "Chimera."  And to get closer to this new villain's burgeoning operation, Ethan must enlist a beautiful jewel thief named Nyah (Thandiwe Newton) who has a past with Ambrose but....the ONE thing he didn't count on was falling in love. :o And what results is a rip-roaring, mostly-set-in-Australia action EPIC filled with rock climbing, fast cars, roundhouse kicks, and.....DOVES.  This was a major smash upon release and remains one of the more successful films in this long-running franchise....however a backlash has developed since then with many now calling it the WORST of the Mission: Impossible saga.  Our mission - should we choose to accept it - is to determine as to whether it lives up OR down to the hype!See below for a link where you can hear the rare instrumental version of this movie's theme song, cited within this review:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfBiktIrDnQHost & Editor: Geoff GershonProducer: Marlene GershonSend us Fan MailSupport the showhttps://livingforthecinema.com/Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/Letterboxd:https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/