- Mission: Impossible II
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For other uses, see Mission: Impossible (disambiguation).
Mission: Impossible II 
Theatrical teaser posterDirected by John Woo Produced by Screenplay by Robert Towne Story by Starring Music by - Hans Zimmer
- Klaus Badelt (additional)
- Lalo Schifrin (main theme)
Cinematography Jeffrey L. Kimball Editing by - Christian Wagner
- Steven Kemper
- Stuart Baird
Studio Cruise/Wagner Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date(s) May 24, 2000 Running time 123 minutes Country United States
AustraliaLanguage English Budget $125 million Box office $546,388,200 Mission: Impossible II (also known as M:I-2) is a 2000 action film directed by John Woo, and starring Tom Cruise, who also served as the film's producer. It is a sequel to Brian De Palma's 1996 film Mission: Impossible with Cruise reprising his role as agent Ethan Hunt of the IMF, a top-secret espionage and clandestine operation agency.
Contents
Plot
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), while vacationing, is alerted by the IMF that someone has used his identity to assist Russian bio-chemical expert Dr. Vladimir Nekhorvich (Rade Serbedzija) of Biocyte Pharmaceuticals to enter into the United States, but purposely crashed the commercial airline en route. Nekhorvich, an old friend of Hunt, had forewarned the IMF of his arrival, planning to deliver a new virus called Chimera and its cure, Bellerophon, both of which he was forced to develop by Biocyte, into the IMF's hands. With the crash of the plane, IMF is worried that the virus is out in the open, believing that former IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) is behind the incident. IMF assigns Hunt and his team to recover it, but must include Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton), a professional thief, presently operating in Seville, Spain, as she will be able to get close to Ambrose.
After recruiting Nyah, Hunt meets his team, computer expert Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and pilot Billy Baird (John Polson) in Sydney, Australia, where Biocyte laboratories are located along with Ambrose's headquarters. As Hunt and the others stake out Biocyte, Nyah gets close to Ambrose and begins to find any information related to the Chimera virus. At a horse racing event, Ambrose quietly meets with Biocyte's CEO, John C. McCloy (Brendan Gleeson), and shows him a video of the Chimera virus affecting one of Nekhorvich's colleagues taken from Biocyte, using the footage to force McCloy to cooperate with them. Nyah is able to steal the video footage long enough to transfer it to Hunt and his team, who learn that the Chimera virus has a 20 hours dormant period before it causes death through mass destruction of the victim's red blood cells; Bellerophon can only save the victim if used within the 20 hours.
The IMF team kidnaps McCloy and learn that Nekhorvich had actually injected himself with Chimera, the only way he could smuggle the virus from Biocyte, and had all the known samples of Bellerophon, now presently in Ambrose's hands. Ambrose has blackmailed McCloy to sell him the virus for £37,000,000 and promising to return the samples of Bellerophon. Hunt's team plans to break into Biocyte and destroy the virus. Ambrose, posing as Hunt, tricks Nyah into revealing Hunt's plan. Ambrose secures Nyah and prepares to raid Biocyte himself to secure the virus. Hunt is able to destroy all but one sample of the virus before Ambrose interrupts him, and an ensuing firefight begins. Hunt learns that Ambrose is holding Nyah and stops firing, during which Ambrose orders Nyah to retrieve the last sample. When she does so, she injects herself with it, thus preventing Ambrose from simply killing her to get it. As Ambrose takes Nyah and escapes from the laboratory, Hunt starts a 20 hour countdown and departs before Biocyte security arrives.
Ambrose opts to let Nyah wander the streets of Sydney in a daze, and demands McCloy to effectively hand over enough control of Biocyte to make him the majority shareholder, or else Nyah's infection will cause a pandemic that will kill 17 million people in Australia alone; Ambrose's plan is to make a fortune when prices of Biocyte's stock sky-rocket due to demand for Bellerophon. Hunt's team is able to locate and infiltrate the meeting, stealing the samples of Bellerophon while taking out many of Ambrose's men. Luther and Billy locate Nyah who has wandered to a cliff side, intent on killing herself to prevent Chimera from spreading. As the two IMF agents bring Nyah to Hunt, he and Ambrose engage in a fist fight. With little time left on the 20 hour countdown, Hunt finally gains the upper hand over Ambrose and kills him, and then injects Nyah with Bellerophon. Hunt reports to IMF on the successful mission; IMF clears Nyah's criminal record, and allows Hunt to continue his vacation with her in Sydney.
Cast
- Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt
- Dougray Scott as Sean Ambrose
- Thandie Newton as Nyah Nordoff-Hall
- Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell
- Richard Roxburgh as Hugh Stamp
- John Polson as Billy Baird
- Brendan Gleeson as John C. McCloy
- Anthony Hopkins as Mission Commander Swanbeck (uncredited)
- Rade Šerbedžija as Dr. Nekhorvich (as Radé Sherbedgia)
- William Mapother as Wallis
- Dominic Purcell as Ulrich
- Mathew Wilkinson as Michael
- Nicholas Bell as Accountant
- Cristina Brogers as Flamenco Dancer
- Kee Chan as Chemist
- Kim Fleming as Larrabee
- Sam Jones as Plane Passenger
- Tory Mussett (uncredited)
Production
Production of the film was troubled and was shut down for several weeks as the script was re-worked. As a result both Dougray Scott and Thandie Newton lost the chance to appear in starring roles in other films. Cruise and Woo had reportedly clashed several times throughout filming over creative differences, but both walked away from it on good terms.
The studio expressed concern over the safety of filming Ethan Hunt's entrance in the film, where he is free climbing. Cruise refused to drop the idea because he could not think of a better way to reintroduce the character. There was no safety net as he filmed the sequence, but he did have a harness. He tore his shoulder when performing Hunt's jump from one part of the cliff to another.[1]
Reception
Box office
The film was a financial success. In its North American opening weekend the film grossed $57,845,297. The film eventually grossed $215,409,889 in its North American release and $330,978,216 in other territories, totaling $546,388,105 worldwide.[2]
Critical response
Mission: Impossible II received mixed reviews from film critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes indicates the film has an overall approval rating of 57% based on 141 reviews, with an average score of 6/10.[3] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 60% based on 33 reviews.[4]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said that "if the first movie was entertaining as sound, fury, and movement, this one is more evolved, more confident, more sure-footed in the way it marries minimal character development to seamless action."[5] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly felt the film was a "throwaway pleasure" but also "a triumph of souped-up action."[6] Ella Taylor of LA Weekly said that "every car chase, every plane crash, every potential drop off a cliff is a masterpiece of grace and surprise."[7] Desson Thomson of the Washington Post said that "[John] Woo [...] takes complete command of the latest technology to create brilliant action sequences."[8] Lou Lumenick of the New York Post said, "Check your brains at the popcorn stand and hang on for a spectacular ride."[9]
J. Hoberman of The Village Voice called the film "a vaguely absurd thriller filled with elaborately superfluous setups and shamelessly stale James Bond riffs."[10] Dennis Harvey of Variety said the film is "even more empty a luxury vehicle than its predecessor" and that it "pushes the envelope in terms of just how much flashy packaging an audience will buy when there's absolutely nada inside."[11] Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader said that "no hero or villain winds up carrying any moral weight at all."[12]
It was nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards at the 2000 ceremony, including Worst Remake or Sequel and Worst Supporting Actress (Thandie Newton).[13]
The promo title featured on posters for the film Piglet's Big Movie, "P:B:M-1", was a spoof of the promo title "M:I-2" for this film. A teaser trailer included on the DVD spoofed Mission: Impossible II with scenes from Piglet's Big Movie.
Music
Score
Main article: Mission: Impossible II ScoreThe original score was composed by Hans Zimmer and has vocals performed by Lisa Gerrard.
Soundtrack
Main article: Mission: Impossible II SoundtrackThe Mission: Impossible II Soundtrack includes Limp Bizkit's rendition of Lalo Schifrin's Mission: Impossible theme, "Take a Look Around". Also the soundtrack includes Metallica's song "I Disappear".
References
- ^ "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross: Series 16: Episode 1". BBC iPlayer. January 23, 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00fm6wz/Friday_Night_with_Jonathan_Ross_Series_16_Episode_1/. Retrieved January 24, 2009.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible II (2000)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mi2.htm. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
- ^ "Mission Impossible 2 (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mission_impossible_ii/. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
- ^ "Mission: Impossible 2 reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/missionimpossible2.
- ^ Roger Ebert. "Mission: Impossible II review". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000524/REVIEWS/60503001/1023.
- ^ Mission: Impossible II review, Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, Time Inc.
- ^ Mission: Impossible II review, Ella Taylor, LA Weekly
- ^ Mission: Impossible II review, Desson Thomson, Washington Post
- ^ Mission: Impossible II review, Lou Lumenick, New York Post
- ^ Mission: Impossible II review, J. Hoberman, Village Voice
- ^ Mission: Impossible II review, Dennis Harvey, Variety
- ^ Mission: Impossible II review, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
- ^ http://www.razzies.com/forum/2000-razzie-nominees-winners_topic350.html
External links
- Mission: Impossible II at the Internet Movie Database
- Mission: Impossible II at AllRovi
- Mission: Impossible II at Box Office Mojo
- Interview with screenwriter Robert Towne
Mission: Impossible Television 1966 series · 1988 seriesFilms Mission: Impossible · II · III · Ghost ProtocolCharacters Willy Armitage · Dan Briggs · Cinnamon Carter · Barney Collier · Rollin Hand · Ethan Hunt · Jim Phelps · Luther StickellVideo games Mission: Impossible (NES) · Mission: Impossible (1998) · Mission: Impossible (GBC) · Mission: Impossible – Operation SurmaFilm soundtracks Mission: Impossible · II (score) · IIISee also Films directed by John Woo 1970s The Young Dragons (1974) • The Dragon Tamers (1974) • Princess Chang Ping (1975) • Hand of Death (1976) • Money Crazy (1977) • Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1978) • Hello, Late Homecomers (1978) • Follow the Star (1978)1980s From Riches to Rags (1980) • To Hell with the Devil (1981) • Laughing Times (1981) • Plain Jane to the Rescue (1982) • The Time You Need a Friend (1984) • Run Tiger Run (1985) • Heroes Shed No Tears (1986) • A Better Tomorrow (1986) • A Better Tomorrow 2 (1987) • The Killer (1989) • Just Heroes (1989)1990s Bullet in the Head (1990) • Once a Thief (1991) • Hard Boiled (1992) • Hard Target (1993) • Broken Arrow (1996) • Once a Thief (1996) • Face/Off (1997) • Blackjack (1998)2000s 2010s Reign of Assassins (2010)Categories:- 2000 films
- American films
- Australian films
- English-language films
- 2000s action films
- Mission: Impossible
- American spy films
- American action thriller films
- Films based on television series
- Films shot anamorphically
- Films shot in Australia
- Films shot in Sydney
- Films shot in Utah
- Films set in Sydney
- Films set in Australia
- Films set in Spain
- Films directed by John Woo
- Screenplays by William Goldman
- Sequel films
- Paramount Pictures films
- Cruise/Wagner Productions
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