TMC
07-01-2018, 02:00 AM
http://screencrush.com/mission-impossible-2-is-good-actually/
I’m not exactly sure when it became cool to make fun of Mission: Impossible II (https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/8uszbo/reassessing_mission_impossible_2/). The reviews at the time of its release were largely positive. The film’s Rotten Tomatoes rating is just five points lower than Mission: Impossible’s; on Metacritic they have the exact same score. Roger Ebert called Mission: Impossible II “more evolved, more confident, more sure-footed” than the original in his review. I saw it in the theater and thought it was a totally agreeable follow-up to the first Mission: Impossible. But at some point, the consensus about M:I-2 shifted.
In 2018, when the film comes up, it’s mostly as the “bad” Mission: Impossible and as a target of jokes about dated early 2000s style and fashions. And sure, some of it is dated. The wirework stunts are very much of its time. A few of director John Woo’s trademarks have passed into the realm of cliché. There really might not be another summer blockbuster with so much slow-motion photography. When compared to the rest of this franchise, it’s hard to argue with the sentiment that it’s the worst Mission: Impossible.
But just because Mission: Impossible II is the weakest entry in the series doesn’t mean it’s a bad film. Here are five reasons why it’s time for the M:I-2 bashing to stop.
I’m not exactly sure when it became cool to make fun of Mission: Impossible II (https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/8uszbo/reassessing_mission_impossible_2/). The reviews at the time of its release were largely positive. The film’s Rotten Tomatoes rating is just five points lower than Mission: Impossible’s; on Metacritic they have the exact same score. Roger Ebert called Mission: Impossible II “more evolved, more confident, more sure-footed” than the original in his review. I saw it in the theater and thought it was a totally agreeable follow-up to the first Mission: Impossible. But at some point, the consensus about M:I-2 shifted.
In 2018, when the film comes up, it’s mostly as the “bad” Mission: Impossible and as a target of jokes about dated early 2000s style and fashions. And sure, some of it is dated. The wirework stunts are very much of its time. A few of director John Woo’s trademarks have passed into the realm of cliché. There really might not be another summer blockbuster with so much slow-motion photography. When compared to the rest of this franchise, it’s hard to argue with the sentiment that it’s the worst Mission: Impossible.
But just because Mission: Impossible II is the weakest entry in the series doesn’t mean it’s a bad film. Here are five reasons why it’s time for the M:I-2 bashing to stop.