Mission: Impossible 2 (Wide Screen) > Reviews > Mission Impossible 2 - the film

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Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Satisfactory
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Outstanding
Soundtrack	Outstanding

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Full review

tremendous fan of the Mission: Impossible
TV series which ran on CBS Television in the
late 1960s and early 1970s, Tom Cruise
came up with the idea of translating the show
onto the big screen.

In 1996, his dream came to life with the
release of "Mission: Impossible," a worldwide
box-office success. Torn loved the cleverness
of this group of people who would solve
problems by abandoning the traditional
methodology," says Paula Wagner, Cruise's producing partner. The series was very intelligent
and it had all the elements loved by audiences: romance, drama, with adventure and action
built in. "This movie is different from the first Mission: Impossible" Wagner says. "This is a
more personal story. We get to see a romantic side to Ethan Hunt within the framework of an
exciting action drama."

JOHN WOO JOINS PRODUCTION

When it came to choosing a director, Cruise and
Wagner had no doubt who they wanted to helm
the project.
"We are both huge fans of John Woo," says
Wagner. "John has incredible passion for his work.
He happens to be the greatest action director in
the world, but he is also enormously concerned
with the human struggle, vulnerabilities, conflicts
and romance. He is also very much a humorist.
John and Tom are a dynamite combination."

Cruise says: "John Woo is unbelievable. He's taken the concept of 'Mission: Impossible' and
turned it into mythology. His action has a combination of reality and surrealism that makes the
emotion in his pictures very real."

"I always like to do something new," Woo says, "something I've never touched before, and
this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do that. One of the most important aspects of the
story for me was the human element. I wanted to make it full of drama, emotional and
charming. I loved the idea of the two men being in love with the same woman. It gave the
story much more emotional depth."

Bringing the story into the new millennium was another exciting challenge for John Woo.

"In order to make the concept contemporary, we had to bring the technology into the 21st
century," he explains. "We used a lot of computer specialists to help us find a high-tech
design that would give the film an exciting new look. We also wanted to create a new image
for Tom. The new look was totally Tom's idea, with the longer hair and the clothes. In this
movie he looks very elegant, charming and sexy."

Woo's films are known for their stylistic action sequences, and "M:I-2 is no exception.

"I like to shoot the action i
n a very emotional way," says Woo, "using slow motion and
creating a lot of romance in the sequence. I see action almost as a ballet and sometimes as a
cartoon."

AN INTERNATIONAL CAST

"M:I-2" is very much an international project, and
the filmmakers wanted to show that in the cast.
"We have a cross-section of actors from around
the world. The production truly embraces different
cultures and nationalities," Paula Wagner says.
Dougray Scott ("The Proposal," "Deep Impact"),
one of Scotland's most beloved actors, plays Sean
Ambrose, Hunt's former fellow agent and now
adversary in love and in war.

"We liked the idea of using actors who were breaking through," says Wagner. "Dougray is a
wonderful actor with a terrific range. You can look at him and see eyes of steel and yet with
the next glance see a romantic man who is very much in love. That duality was something that
the character really needed."

English actress Thandie Newton ("Beloved,""Gridlock'd") plays Nyah Hall, an international
thief who has won the hearts of two rivals, Hunt and Ambrose.

"The role of Nyah was an extremely difficult one to cast," says Wagner. "She had to have a
certain vulnerability but at the same time this real independence. We were looking for
someone who defined the women of the new millennium. She's feminine, sexy, smart as a
tack and can be very physical if she needs to be. Thandie is an extraordinarily gifted actress
with an incredible range that enabled her to show all those elements."

Ving Rhames is the only character other than Cruise to
return from the first "Mission: Impossible" feature.

"The interesting thing about Ving is the dichotomy
between who you think he is going to be and who he
really is," says Wagner. "His character is the computer
genius, the guy with the heart of gold. But h he also has a
very dominant and imposing physical presence. The
audience loves him."