Okay, I just want people’s opinions on this movie, because I saw it last night and loved it, but the crowd was laughing at parts of it…
I can think of at least two parts: when Tom Cruise does a front flip and kicks two guys in the face, people were going, “Oh, that was cheesy.” And during a scene near the end, there were the infamous John Woo birds flying up everywhere and people were just howling as TC walked by and glared at the baddie (in slow motion, of course).
And yeah, he takes a few liberties with the laws of gravity/physics/whatever, but it’s a friggin’ MOVIE! I don’t know what these people expected?
I mean, if you’ve just seen SOME of Woo’s other movies (Hard Boiled, The Killers, A Better Tomorrow, hell, even Face/Off), you would know that this is standard Woo fare!
Is it because his style is so different from our crappy formulaic action directors in the U.S. that people can’t appreciate anything good?
I liked the movie, thought the plot was a little contrived, but the action was beautifully done (as always). But to non-fans, will this film come across as corny?
Actually, I didn’t think there was enough action. I expected a lot of espionage-covert type operations in this part like there was in part one. I couldn’t sense any of that here.
I also like to see people get shot, rather than have the camera pan to the left, simply so the movie gets a PG-13 rating.
As for John Woo’s direction however – the double guns, the slow-mo walks, the scarf blowing in the wind – no complaints here, I loved it.
Sure, it was corny, and I was laughing most of the way through. But wasn’t the cornball stuntery tongue-in-cheek? Lord, I sure hope so.
Some of the Woo tricks bug me (slo-mo walking, yawn), but some of it’s ok.
I have a question related to the movie: Did you notice the blatant advertising interwoven throughout? Two very large AVIS shots, and then the Nissan, the sunglasses, the crotch rockets, etc.
OK, so question now? Do you feel like you’re watching one long, really slick commercial in these cases? Are these opportunities building new super-advertising careers? I can just see the ad executive for Nissan pounding away at John Woo’s producers, bribing them to use the Nissan instead of, going with, say, Land Rover for the flick? Is it going to get out of hand fairly quickly?
Just some nagging thoughts on advertising in movies.
I thought it was great. Definitely his best American film and probably one of the better action flicks to come down the pipe in a while…
My philosophy with Woo is to simply suspend all my disbelief for two hours and enjoy watching him put actors through paces that they wouldn’t ordinarily be able to stand…
lucyfur, i didn’t really notice the advertising in the film, but now that you mention it, I do have a strange urge to go out and purchase Nissans…
As for the action (or relative lack of), yeah, I was a little bummed to see that it was only a PG13 and not an all-out R-rated violence-filled spectacular. But, what are ya gonna do?
Dougray Scott got on my nerves a little bit, though. The guy’s accent was so thick, he seemed like he had just walked off the set of “Trainspotting.” At any minute, I expected him to just explode with: “Fuck off! Doss cunt!”
Not my favorite genre, but I thought it was vastly inferior to M:I-1. The action was good (what there was) and the high point was definitely the motorcycles. And I didn’t particularly mind the Woo-isms.
But what I really disliked was the alleged chemistry between Cruise and what’s-her-butt. Any time the two of them were in the same frame it was the modern cinematic equivalent of goo-goo eyes and the movie just ground to a halt. I think Mr. Big-Star-and-Producer-Only-Name-In-The-Credits overestimates his appeal as a romantic lead in an action film.
Thought the action was great, but there were some severely missing parts to this movie.
Why not cut out 5 minutes of slo-mo walking around in a circle and explain Cruise’s relationship with the doctor? Or that “tension” between him and Hopkins?
And I’m sorry, but two trained killers don’t fight for 10 minutes. And they certainly don’t just stand there while someone kicks them in the neck 12 times.
Now, I thought the direction was good, but for the most part, Woo annoys me. He was fairly original in this one, but he uses the same stuff, every time. And people still say he’s one of the most original directors ever. Maybe the first time, but not now.
Show me some more toys, show me more MISSION, and certainly, make it impossible.
Okay, I’ll buy that… So, how long do you think they would fight IRL?? 30 seconds maybe??
Here’s what I didn’t understand with the girl. The first time you see her, she’s in this dress that makes her look like Pamela friggin’ Anderson. She’s stuffing jewels down her top and has room to spare! And by the next scene, she’s in a t-shirt and is down an A-cup!!
I mean, did they use computer graphics on her chest and then run out of money???
Still would take this movie over the first one any day of the week. Mission:Impossible was so damn convoluted that it wasn’t enjoyable.
When she was wearing the t-shirt, she either had on a non push-up bra, or no bra at all. I’ll go with the latter though, because those nipples were pretty distinct.
When did Cruise’s character suddenly go from technology based spying to kick-boxing. Did I miss something. The only physically demanding scene in M:I-1 was hanging from the rope in the computer room. Now it’s kick, hit, kick…not brief enough sensuality,jump out of helicopter/building, kick, hit, kick. Waste of a good five dollar bill.
I don’t mind suspending reality for a movie. I just wish I hadn’t done it for this one.
The final chase scene went on and on so long, I kept expecting to see them put on pantomime horse costumes and hop on tandem bicycles.
The fight scene was a little stagey with the waves crashing in harmony with the flying kicks etc. but that’s just Woo being Woo (in fact this film is Woo at his Woo-iest).
I liked the whole infiltration/shoot-out/exit scene in the tower, that’s the best part. I would have cast a better babe to be the babe. She’s neither cute nor dangerous enough … The latex-mask gimmick is tired and preposterous but they use it several times, each more unbelievable than the last.
Definitely places that movie could have been edited down a bit. The movie’s 2 hours and 10 min. but there’s only 1 and 50 of material there at most … just an OK movie. I should have gone to see Gladiator instead.
I thought MI2 was better that MI. Seemed to have a more plausible plot. Yeah, some of the action was corny…but it was a fun 2 hour and ten minute escape. I give it 2 1/2 stars [**(*/2)].
Ok, I liked it. It was kinda corny at times, like the Matrix-esque fight scenes. If you don’t have a superpowerful computer allowing you to project your body that way, you don’t have a case. On the plus side, the movie was easy to follow. I still am not sure just what M:I 1 was about.
I just saw M:I2 last night and I loved it! I usually don’t go for action movies, but the Matrix and this one are changing my mind. I mean, blatant violence and ass-kicking are fine, but when the waves crash into time to the kicks…that’s art, man.
As for:
No no no! Tom Cruise is the reason I saw this movie. IMHO, NO one else could have pulled it off. Especially that scene where he slo-mo walks past the door…no one but Tom can do that. Oy vey. Ever since I saw Cocktail when I was 6, Tom is the sexiest man alive and will be till the day I die. And Dougray? A girl can’t take that much, although personally I preferred his codpiece is ever after. The accent thing was true, I wasn’t sure if he was Scottish or Russian.
I liked the actress too. She’s unconventional, but pretty. She added a little intelligence to the plot, much better than the typical “Christmas Snow”-look-at-my-boobies-I’m-smart-too-really!" actresses.
All in all, 2 and a half hours of mindless fun. I think it had everything the Bond movies have been missing lately.
By the way, the funniest thing was when Ethan and Sean were fighting and there was this dramatic pause, and some random lady yelled, “Kick his ass, yo!” Classic.
Me and all of my companion moviegoers thought it was somewhat silly, as all of Woo’s work is. The fight scene at the end was just tedious, and people in the audience were yelling “come on already!”.
Just how many spinning, midair roundhouse kicks does it take to make a movie anyways?
The totally predictable plot, the irrelevant sidekicks, the cheesy love connection, silly scenes with the birds, the slow-motion staredowns - the movie was plain unbelieveable.
And yet, it still got an 7.5 on the Anthracite Movie Rating Scale, becuase it was entertaining through most of it. Albeit not in a manner anticipated by Woo.
The first Mission movie got a 9.25 on the same scale. Why? Because it had a believeable, more complex plot with interesting supporting characters, no cheesy love story, no “look-at-me-I’m-Tom-Cruise-I-can-seduce-anyone-shit”, no Matrix-esque fight scenes (to steal from red_dragon60), and better setting.
Ronin currently holds the high position for the spy/action category, with a 9.75.
When I go to see a John Woo movie, I’m not looking for plot points, or character development, or (god forbid) plausibility. I’m looking to see 300 Chinese terrorists get their eyes shot out at a hundred yards by a guy with a pistol in each hand. In slow motion. With doves flying around. And an aria being sung in the background.
That having been said, you bet I liked MI:2. I didn’t like the story, or the characters, or the actors, or the first half of the movie for that matter, but once they got into that biotech building, and Tom Cruise spun around and pulled out the second gun, I was like a little kid the rest of the way through. I guess it’s all about what you expect from the movie. From my point of view, it delivered, 'cause I didn’t really care about anything other than some ridiculously cool action (with the stress on “ridiculous”).
Great. I write all this, preview it, and Nacho4Sara has summed it up in one sentence.
Amen to that brother. Amen!!! (but you forgot, it has to be in a tea room, and then the bad guy makes a paper crane for each of the 300 guys he’s killed that day )
All I’ve got to say about MI2 is that I left the theater wanting to burn rubber, peel outta the parking lot at 110 mph and take a turn on two wheels. And shoot someone, I guess
That’s the mark of a damn entertaining movie to me…
