MovieChat Forums > Mission: Impossible II (2000) Discussion > Movie was worse than I remembered

Movie was worse than I remembered

posted 9 years ago by Tyler-A-Arse
13 replies | jump to latest

I can't believe this movie was titled as a M:I movie. Or maybe it was a M:I movie and the whole team consisted of Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise, and Tom Cruise.

For most of the movie, Cruise acted like a p-whipped teenager over some booty he only had once. They could run this movie on the Lifetime Movie Channel.

John Woo's action sequences were ridiculously over-the-top and non-realistic, which made them extremely cheesy and unenjoyable. The movie far exceeded the amount of "yeah, right" moments to be taken seriously.

All around, a bad movie.

[–] I_Guard_Tanelorn 9 years ago

It's so slow and over stylized.

[–] slyle 9 years ago

I had a lot of the same thoughts when I re watched it. I was ready to accept the over styled action scenes, but for some reason I don't remember the editing being that bad or it requiring that much suspension of disbelief. I remember it being a bit dated at the time, but I think the quality of action movies has gone up so much since then that it just looks that much comparatively worse.

I still don't think it's nearly as bad as people claim, but it definitely hasn't held up very well compared to other movies at the time. My theory is that The Matrix raised the bar on what people expect from an action movie and while many others took that cue, for some reason Woo stuck to his old style and it wasn't good enough anymore.

[–] Tyler-A-Arse 9 years ago

I was ready to accept the over styled action scenes, but for some reason I don't remember the editing being that bad or it requiring that much suspension of disbelief.

You could be right, slyle. But I think it's a case of maturity. I was younger and thought this type of stuff was cool. Now, I think I'm less accepting of ludicrous BS that I see in movies. At least make it believable.

[–] danzig138-668-939218 9 years ago

I missed the franchise when the movies first came out, so I literally watched this for the first time tonight, and yeah, you're pretty much dead on.

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WORDS MEAN THINGS! Also, before you come to bitch about a plot hole, rewatch the show/movie.

[–] Stygian6 9 years ago

Completely agree - as a huge Woo devotee, MI series fan and Australian (where the film was set), it pains me to say that what seemed 'underwhelming' at the time now seems downright awful! Re-watching it now for the first time in 10 years its really aged badly, and the flaws and poor writing are cringe-inducing.

Its true that Robert Towne was given several action set pieces and instructed to wrap a story round it - and its very obvious he took the money and ran. The tiny cast, repetition of boring locations, clumsy romance and plodding dialogue in the first hour is like the Chimera virus, slowly killing the movie. Woo's direction is also at his most indulgent and almost comically over-stylised, like a parody of his own work.

The motorcycle stunt finale is thrillingly staged, but by the time it arrives is too little too late. Even the final fight sequence between Cruise and Scott, while it has some nice choreography, seems over-wrought.

Oh what this film might have been with a better screenplay... At the very least Woo's overindulgent shooting schedule saved us from having to endure the unwatchable Dougray Scott as Wolverine.....

[–] ComicNerd 9 years ago

The tiny cast, repetition of boring locations, clumsy romance and plodding dialogue in the first hour is like the Chimera virus, slowly killing the movie. Woo's direction is also at his most indulgent and almost comically over-stylised, like a parody of his own work.

I just basically repeated the same thing, I should have read down first. Your right though I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought the movie had a boring look to it with the locations. Compare MI2 to the rest of the MI movies and it looks cheap.

I think the actually over all plot is not too bad, but it needed better locations, more inventive action set pieces and more characters other then Ethan Hunt.

[–] ComicNerd 9 years ago

The movie has a lot of problems: Tom Cruise is basically on a solo mission. Unlike the other MI movies, it takes place mostly in 1 location, Australia and it's not that exciting to look at. The cinematographer was Jeffery Kimball who shot Top Gun and the movie has that 80's Bruckheimer look to it.

Overall the movie seems like someone doing a parody of John Woo's style, with the slow mo, doves flying etc, rather then Woo himself directing.

[–] Empathy77 9 years ago

Yea, it's bad, I gave it a 4

[–] mariakelly-04164 8 years ago

It was horrible!

Laugh while you can. Monkey Boy!

[–] FatherStack1987 (171) 6 years ago

I remember loving this... as a teenager. Watching it now, it's soooo bad. Can't help but snigger every few minutes and the woman is annoying as fuck.

[–] dlancer (2036) 6 years ago

I remember being fine with it... until he kicked a gun to his hand.

[–] Cognoscente (2664) 5 months ago

According to Terence Chang's memoir, Robert Towne was replaced as the screenwriter: "Paramount was not satisfied with the script Robert produced. We were already in Sydney, having script meetings with Robert every day at Tom's house. However, our script meetings with Robert made no progress. Maybe there was jet lag, but Robert seemed very tired, and once he actually fell asleep and snored during the conversation. Paramount decided to send another screenwriter, Paul Attanasio, who had written Donnie Brasco, to Sydney to participate in rewriting the script. But Paula Wagner, Tom’s partner, asked someone to take Paul around and didn’t let him meet John Woo and me. Paul spent two weeks as a tourist in Sydney and finally left. This was not the way to go. John Woo said that he had no interest in participating anymore. It would be better to wait for Tom to hand over the completed script to him, and he would concentrate on filming."