Another excellent film that I have recently purchased on DVD, is Mission Impossible 2. Not only is it a great action movie, reminding me sometimes of other great movies, like The Matrix and James Bond, but it has a fairly good storyline, as well as a bit of lovey dovey stuff.
Tom Cruise is back playing Ethan Hunt, our Mission Impossible hero. Sequels are so much better when the original star is cast.
So what’s the impossible mission this time?
Doctor Nekhorvich (played by Rade Serbedzija), has found out that the company he works for, Biocyte, has developed a lethal form of influenza known as Chimera. They have also developed a cure for this (Bellerophon), and Doctor Nekhorvich learns that they plan to release Chimera into the population so that they can make huge profits on the cure, Bellerophon.
He informs the head of Impossible Mission Force, Swanbeck (played by Anthony Hopkins), that he needs an IMF escort for the disease and it’s cure, and that he will only trust Ethan Hunt.
Ethan is on holiday, so Swanbeck puts another force member in his place, Sean Ambrose (played by Dougray Scott), wearing a mask and voice inhibitor so that he looks and sounds exactly like our hero. But Sean Ambrose has decided he has had enough of living in Ethan Hunt’s shadow, and decides to become a renegade, recruiting ex military members for his team.
He does not know that Doctor Nekhorvich has injected the disease into his body. He thinks that the disease and cure are both safely inside the Doctor’s case. Sean Ambrose and his men steal the case and make the plane crash, after safely escaping.
He then blackmails the company Biocyte.
Our hero has his holiday cut short and is told to recruit 2 IMF members of his own choosing, plus he has to recruit the thief, Nyah Hall (played by Thandie Newton).
He chooses Luther (played by Ving Rhames), and Billy (played by John Polson).
Nyah Hall will be an important key in catching Sean Ambrose because they used to be lovers, and Ambrose has always wanted her back.
Ethan manages to recruit this tanned skinned beauty, and yes, he starts to fall in love with her.
John Woo has done the film justice with his excellent directing, action shots, stunt shots and camera angles. You will agree, if you have seen it, that it really is full of action, gadgets, and great fight scenes.
The cast have been chosen well, Tom Cruise plays his part with excellence and performs most of his own stunts. Thandie Newton, with her English accent, is very pretty, slim and sexy, an ideal choice.
John Woo was delighted with Dougray Scott. “He has those eyes”.
The music is fast and energetic, as action music should be, with much of the famous Mission Impossible signature tune placed in certain shots.
Note: I have been through the movie credits umpteen times now, and I still cannot find Anthony Hopkins listed. Is it me? Is he there? If not, why not?
The DVD contains lots of excellent features, so ladies, you can look at Tom Cruise whenever you like ;-)
INDEX - Just 17 scenes to choose from
LANGUAGES - English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround, English for the hard of hearing.
MISSION DATABASE -
~The Making of Mission Impossible (interviews with Tom Cruise, John Woo, other actors, and production staff).
~Mission Incredible (interviews with Tom etc. about the stunts).
~Impossible Shots (John Woo and stunt team explaining certain shots).
~Metallica (video of Metallica performing ‘I Disappear’).
~Alternative Title Sequence (I prefer the one they chose)
~Mission Improbable (some very amusing interviews with Tom cruise and his stunt double Tom Crooze. “He’s harmless”).
You can also play this through your computer, and it has some extra’s for PC users:
Special interactive materials and online features.
Agent Dossiers
Mission Locations
Legend of Chimera
M:I 2 Tech Tools
M:I 2 DVD Online
PC minimum requirements:
Win 95 or higher
Macintosh OS 9.0.4 or higher
Apple DVD player 2.2 or higher