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Mission: Impossible 2

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Mission: Impossible 2
Ethan Hunt running
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Woo
Screenplay byRobert Towne
Story by
Based onMission: Impossible
byBruce Geller
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJeffrey L. Kimball
Edited by
Music byHans Zimmer
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures[1]
Release date
  • May 24, 2000(2000-05-24)
Running time
124 minutes[2]
Countries
LanguageEnglish
Budget$120–125 million[3][4]
Box office$546.3 million[4]

Mission: Impossible 2(titled onscreen asMission: Impossible IIand abbreviated asM:i-2)[1]is a 2000actionspy filmdirected byJohn Wooand produced by and starringTom Cruise.It is the sequel toMission: Impossible(1996) and the second installment in theMission: Impossiblefilm series.The film also starsDougray Scott,Thandiwe Newton,Richard Roxburgh,John Polson,Brendan Gleeson,Rade ŠerbedžijaandVing Rhames.In the film,Ethan Hunt(Cruise) teams with professional thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Newton) to secure a genetically modified disease held by rogueImpossible Missions Force(IMF) agent Sean Ambrose (Scott), who is Nordoff-Hall's former lover.

Mission: Impossible 2was theatrically released in the United States byParamount Pictureson May 24, 2000, and grossed $546 million worldwide, becoming thehighest-grossing film of that year.Initial reactions from critics were mixed, with praise for the action sequences and Woo's direction, but criticism for the characterization, deeming the film inferior to the first film. A sequel,Mission: Impossible III,was released in 2006.

Plot[edit]

InSydney,bio-genetics scientist Dr. Vladimir Nekhorvich sends a message to the IMF for Dimitri (Ethan Hunt's cover name), his old friend, warning that his employer, Biocyte Pharmaceuticals, forced him to develop a biological weapon, theChimera virus,to profit from the cure,Bellerophon.He injects himself with the virus, carrying Bellerophon in a bag. However, en route toAtlanta,IMF agent Sean Ambrose, who was disguised as Dimitri, goes rogue, betrays Nekhorvich, steals Bellerophon, and crashes the plane in theRockies.

InSeville,IMF director Swanbeck informs Ethan about Ambrose's actions, tasks him with recovering Chimera and Bellerophon, and has him recruit Nyah Nordoff-Hall, a professional thief and Ambrose's ex-girlfriend. Despite her initial reluctance, Ethan gets her to trace Ambrose to Sydney using an injectable tracking device. Ethan assembles his team, old friend and computer hackerLuther Stickelland helicopter pilot Billy Baird, in Sydney while Nyah pretends to rekindle her relationship with Ambrose.

After Ambrose uses a video of Chimera infecting one of Nekhorvich's colleagues to blackmail Biocyte'sCEO,John McCloy, into cooperation, Nyah gives Ethan the memory card containing the video, revealing that Chimera has a 20-hour dormant period; Bellerophon is only effective if used within that window. Ethan's team kidnaps McCloy and learns that the only Bellerophon samples, taken by Nekhorvich, are now in Ambrose's hands, but he doesn't have the virus, since Nekhorvich injected himself with it. Ethan breaks into Biocyte headquarters and destroys two samples of Chimera, but Ambrose's team ambushes him, having discovered Nyah's deception. At a stalemate, Ambrose orders Nyah to retrieve the virus' last sample, but she injects herself with it instead and begs Ethan to kill her to destroy the virus. Ethan refuses and flees the facility, promising to get her the cure.

Ambrose releases Nyah to wander the streets of Sydney, intending to start a pandemic. He offers to sell Bellerophon to McCloy in exchange for enough stock options to make him Biocyte's majority shareholder, enabling both him and McCloy to make billions. Ethan infiltrates Ambrose's base and fights Ambrose's right-hand man Hugh Stamp; Stamp seemingly brings a subdued Ethan to Ambrose, who executes him. However, Ambrose discovers that the dead "Ethan" is actually Stamp, masked and gagged, while the real Ethan has stolen the Bellerophon samples. Enraged, Ambrose and his men chase after Ethan, who kills them, while Luther and Billy locate Nyah, who has wandered to a cliffside to kill herself and prevent the outbreak.

Ethan kills Ambrose in a fistfight on the beach and gives Bellerophon to the arriving Luther, who injects Nyah with it. The IMF clears Nyah's criminal record and Ethan starts a vacation with her in Sydney.

Cast[edit]

Additionally,Anthony Hopkinsappears in an uncreditedcameo appearanceas Mission Commander Swanbeck.[5]Tom Cruise's cousinWilliam MapotherandDominic Purcellappear as, respectively, Wallis and Ulrich, two of Ambrose's henchmen.

Production[edit]

William Goldmansays he was the first writer on the film. "All that’s left of mine is the climax... the climbing up the rocks sequence," he said. "I couldn’t come up with a good villain and Bob Towne did."[6]

According to screenwriterRobert Towne,several action sequences were already planned for the film prior to his involvement and before the story had been written.[7]Ian McKellenwas offered the part of Mission Commander Swanbeck but turned it down.[8]

Earlier drafts of the script includedWilly Armitageas one of the team members, though the role would have been recast with a younger actor instead of original cast memberPeter Lupus.[9][10][11]

The studio expressed concern about the safety of filming Tom Cruise's entrance scene, in which he isfree solo climbingatDead Horse Point State ParkinMoab, Utah.[12]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 aharnessand a thin wire.[13]He tore his shoulder when performing the jump from one part of the cliff to another.[14]

Thandiwe Newton discussed her unpleasant on-set experiences with Cruise during the shooting of the balcony sequence in a 2020 interview. According to Newton, Cruise was heavily stressed over the expectations of the sequel being good and was upset during the shooting of said scene because she had "the shittiest lines." The two decided to reverse roleplay each other as practice. However, it was unhelpful for her and pushed her "into a place of terror and insecurity." After the shooting was finished for the day, she contactedJonathan Demme,telling him what happened. Looking back on that day, Newton said about Cruise, "Bless him. And I really do mean bless him because he was trying his damnedest."[15][16][17]

During the final fight scene between Ethan Hunt and Sean Ambrose, Tom Cruise insisted that a real knife be used. The knife was attached to a cable and was carefully measured to stop a quarter of an inch from Tom Cruise's eyeball, and the actor asked Dougray Scott to put his full strength down on the knife to get a realistic look for the scene.

Music[edit]

Main articles:Mission: Impossible 2 (score)andMission: Impossible 2 (soundtrack)

The film'soriginal scorewas composed and conducted byHans Zimmerand features vocals performed byLisa Gerrard.[18]In addition, the film includes contemporary music such asLimp Bizkit's rendition ofLalo Schifrin'sMission: Impossiblethemeentitled "Take a Look Around"as well asMetallica's "I Disappear".[19]

While Ethan is rock climbing during his holiday,Zap Mama's remixed version of "Iko Iko"plays on the soundtrack.

About the score, Zimmer said: “The love theme fromMission: Impossible[II] was written about 6 weeks before they started shooting. I was on it that early. Then, we had a big meeting in Australia. They had the love theme, and I knew what the story was about, and I always thought it was about these two men being in love with the girl. So I said to the record company guy, "Look, here's one thing I would love you to do, when you find bands for me, make them all female. Make them all about sirens." Of course, what did I get? A bunch of heavy metal bands with guys. I promise you, it would have been a better movie, and it would have been a better score. “[20]

In 2024, Diego Pineda Pacheco from Collider singled outMission: Impossible 2as one of Zimmer’s most underrated scores especially for theInjectionscene: “The film's score is imbued with Spanish influences, filling the romance at the core of the narrative with passion and flair. “[21]

Release[edit]

Home media[edit]

Mission: Impossible 2was released onVHSandDVDon November 7, 2000,[22][23]with a rare JapaneseLaserDiscrelease following on April 3, 2001[24](released late in the format's life), with a potential North American release of this LaserDisc being cancelled in mid-2001.[25]ABlu-rayrelease followed on June 3, 2008, and anUltra HD Blu-rayversion was released on June 26, 2018.[26]

Reception[edit]

Box office[edit]

On opening day,Mission: Impossible 2made $12.5 million, making it the fourth-highest-grossing Wednesday opening, behindMen in Black,Independence DayandStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.At that time, it had the largest number of screenings, playing at 3,653 theaters and beatingScream 3.[27]The film would go on to hold this record until it was surpassed byHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stonethe following year.[28]It grossed $57,845,297, crossing overToy Story 2to have the third-highest-grossing opening weekend of all time, behindThe Lost World: Jurassic ParkandThe Phantom Menace.[29]Moreover, the film surpassed its predecessorMission: Impossiblefor not only having the highest-grossing opening weekend for a film based on a TV show, but also the largest opening weekend for anyParamountfilm. It also dethronedAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Mefor scoring the biggest opening weekend for a spy film, a position it held until 2002.[29]

WhenMission: Impossible 2first opened, the film was rankednumber one at the US box office,topping outDinosaur.[30]It held on to the number one spot for two weekends until it was overtaken byGone in 60 Seconds.[31]Around this time, the film went on to become the highest-grossing film of the year in the US, beatingGladiator.[32]It would remain so until that December when it was dethroned byHow the Grinch Stole Christmas.[33]

It started its international release on June 1, 2000 and topped theAustralian box officewith a gross of $3.7 million (A$6.4 million) in its opening 4-day weekend from 366 screens, a record forUnited International Pictures.[34]It was a big success in Japan, recording the second biggest opening ever behindStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menacewith a gross of $13.6 million from 356 screens, grossing over $50 million in just over three weeks and $94 million in total.[35][36][4]It recorded the biggest July opening in Germany with a four-day gross of $7.9 million and had record openings in Austria ($1.3 million) and Russia ($0.3 million).[35]

The film eventually grossed $215,409,889 in the United States and Canada and $330,978,216 in other territories for a total worldwide gross of $546,388,105, making it the highest-grossing film of 2000.[4]It is John Woo's highest-grossing film, surpassingFace/Off,and was the highest-grossing film in theMission: Impossibleseries until the release of the fourth film,Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,in 2011.

Critical response[edit]

Review aggregation websiteRotten TomatoesindicatesMission: Impossible 2has an overall approval rating of 56% based on 155 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Your cranium may crave more substance, but your eyes will feast on the amazing action sequences."[37]Metacriticassigned the film a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[38]Audiences polled byCinemaScoregave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, down from the first film's "B+".[39]

Roger Ebertof theChicago Sun-Timesawarded the film three stars, stating "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."[40]Owen GleibermanofEntertainment Weeklyfelt the film was a "throwaway pleasure" but also "a triumph of souped-up action."[41]Ella Taylor ofLA Weeklysaid that "every car chase, every plane crash, every potential drop off a cliff is a masterpiece of grace and surprise."[42]Desson Howe ofThe Washington Postsaid that "[John] Woo [...] takes complete command of the latest technology to create brilliant action sequences."[43]

J. Hoberman ofThe Village Voicecalled the film "a vaguely absurd thriller filled with elaborately superfluous setups and shamelessly stale James Bond riffs."[44]Dennis Harvey ofVarietysaid 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."[45]Jonathan Rosenbaumof theChicago Readersaid that "no hero or villain winds up carrying any moral weight at all."[46]

In a retrospective commentary in 2012, Brad Brevet noted the film has significant similarities in plot and themes toAlfred Hitchcock's 1946 filmNotorious.[47]

Accolades[edit]

Mission: Impossible 2won both Best Male Performance for Tom Cruise and Best Action Sequence at theMTV Movie Awards.[48]However, it was also nominated for twoGolden Raspberry Awardsat the2000 ceremony,includingWorst Remake or SequelandWorst Supporting Actressfor Thandiwe Newton[49]as well as nominated for aStinker Awardat the2000 ceremonyfor Worst Song (Limp Bizkit's "Take a Look Around" ).[50]

References[edit]

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  9. ^Light the Fuse Podcast [@[1]LightTheFusePodat theWayback Machine(archived March 24, 2023)LightTheFusePod] (November 06, 2023)The character name was in early drafts of the script for M:I-2. As for Dan Briggs, earlier drafts of Rogue Nation had him but that character morphed into Ilsa Faust.Retrieved April 24, 2024 from:Twitter postArchivedJanuary 11, 2024, at theWayback Machine
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  11. ^Light the Fuse Podcast [@[2]LightTheFusePodat theWayback Machine(archived March 24, 2023)LightTheFusePod] (November 07, 2023)No, it was too early to get into casting talks but it didn’t seem to be written for him. It would’ve been a new younger version of Willy.Retrieved April 24, 2024 from:Twitter postArchivedJanuary 11, 2024, at theWayback Machine
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  50. ^"Awards".Archived fromthe originalon January 5, 2007.

External links[edit]

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