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SuperMedz and Stonetable take a look at MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2
Hey folks, Harry here with two more reviews of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2, both pretty damn positive, including one from long term AICNer and TalkBacker, SuperMedz. Now, before we get into this I want to address all this... "It never happened BS, that riddled the last talkback. M.A.C. wasn't the only source on the screening.
Benny Herrmann here Harry -
Keep your ears open: Lalo Schifrin's familiar Misison: Impossible theme hit the suburbs of Chicago last night as Cruise (looking rather shaggy), Woo, et. al. brought out M:I-2 for a test screening. Response was very positive. Many felt it was better than the original.
It was a complete surpirse for the audience, but put your feelers out there--it was well attended.
Benny Herrmann
This was the first peep that something happened regarding MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2. You might remember Benny's spy reports in the past, which have always been reliable, such as This One! Then I got this tip...
Harry-
Rumors abound that there was a M:I 2 test screening(s) in surburban
Chicago on the night of April 30. A friend of mine said that she even saw
Cruise at one of the theatres! I didn't see it, but someone in the spy
network must have!!!
El Tamburo
Then there was the spy known as The Dope that was late arriving and didn't get in, but had overheard some reaction and also gave the tip.
Harry,
i thought you would be interested to know about a focus group showing of MI2
in Naperville, IL at the AMC Cantera 30 theater with special guest Tom C...
I actually was part of the 500 person showing but arrived late and was
unable to get in.. but the basic run-down was that this was the 3hr version
of the flick. The idea was to find out what parts of the movie needed to be
cut down to a more suitable time limit 2hr 20mins. Yes, I did not accually
see the flick, but there were 500 people in Chicago Land that did.. There
is no reason that someone cant give a little info on the showing.. Keep on
Keepin on!
-The Dope
And now we have an AICN talkback regular reporting... Yup, a vast conspiracy I tell ya. Whatever... Here you go....
Hey Harry, I too saw Mission:Impossible 2 on Sunday night. It was held at
the Cantera 30 in Illinois, so if anyone tells you they've seen it anywhere
else at other screenings, they're lying, because this was definitely the only
preview screening of the sort. I would have sent you this review earlier,
but I've been busy with school, I came on and noticed you posted the other
review so I thought I'd add my two cents.
Basically, Meester Anonymous Cool, summed it up... Tom Cruise was there, told
us not to spoil the movie for others, at first no one recognized him, because
we had no idea what movie we were going to see, but someone in the front
yelled "it's Tom!" and everyone eventually caught on. On a side note, he
looked awful... he looked more like Lestat on a hangover than Ethan Hunt, but
anyways, the movie kicked my ass all over the place.
Maybe I'm biased, because I've never been to a test screening or anything
like this before and I was soooo excited about the whole ordeal, but this is
definitely one of the best action movies I have EVER seen. And this is
coming from someone who didn't even like the first one too much. I guess
this was the final cut, and if it is, I don't see how it's going to get a
PG-13, there is tons of violence in this movie, much more than the first...
my only complain is that I thought it ran a little long. Not at the end, but
at the beginning. It has a cool opening but after that it sloooooooooows
down and spends a lot of time developing a plot that just isn't there. And
if it is, I didn't understand it, but then again I didn't understand the plot
to the first one either. Once it gets started, it gets STARTED.
Tom Cruise is the embodiment of a cooool badass Ethan Hunt... NO ONE (aside
from Kevin Spacey) could have been quite as cool as he is. Some of his moves
in this movie just kick so much ass, but I could sense that a lot of people
were put off by the rediculousness of it. Sorry, guys but you really need to
suspend your reality while you're watching a movie like this. Yeah he is
this cool gun-kicking move that the whole entire audience groaned at, but I
thought it was incredible, this is a fun popcorn movie. He's got the look,
he's got the moves, Tom is hot in this movie.
Thandie Newton was equally impressive and I'm sure she'll get pleny more
offers after this hits it big. Anthony Hopkins does have a small part, but
ummmm I'm going to have to disagree with Meester on this one.... Anthony
Hopkins is the BEST part of this movie!!! If you liked him in the trailer,
you'll die of cool overload in the movie. He has the best lines! Every
second he's on screen this movie has "classic" written all over it. Ving
Rhames does have a significantly smaller part and they don't give him
anything interesting to do, but Ving Rhames is just damn cool.
Now the big surprise for me was Dougray Scott. Back when he was signed to
play Wolverine I was one of those people who would not stop pissing and
moaning about how such a prettyboy would be an awful choice for Wolvie. I
was DEEEAD wrong and so were all of you! This is not the Dougray Scott from
Ever After, this is a dark, menacing Dougray Scott that makes Christopher
Walken look like Jake Lloyd. He's a much better villain than Jon Voight in
the first movie.
My biggest fear is that his movie will be labeled as a rip off The Matrix,
and although The Matrix owes John Woo credit for EVERYTHING in that movie,
they're kinda right. There are a few moments in the movie where it looks
like it's almost parodying The Matrix (ala Deuce Bigalow, the Scary Movie
trailer), and before you say that I haven't seen enough John Woo flicks, I
realize that he's been coming up with the funked up camera slo mo shots long
before The Matrix, but there's a lot of "Gap Commercial" technique going on
in this movie.
Aside from that SMALLL critique, this movie is incredible. It will kick your
ass in more ways that you ever knew your ass could be kicked. The Matrix is
Batman and Fucking Robin compared to this beautiful work of art. Even if you
absolutely do not want to see this movie PLEASE sneak in to see the ending,
because unlike the first one, you won't see the ENDING until you've seen the
movie. This "action flick of the summer" will rock your world. See it twice
and tell them that SuperMedz sent you!
SuperMedz
And now for StoneTable's review of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2.... beware though... it is HIGHLY SPOILER FILLED! BEWARE.... READ ONLY IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT SPOILERS! WARNING!
Mission Impossible 2 Review by StoneTable
Warrenville, Illinois was the place to be last weekend. Moviegoers invited to a private screening of an upcoming “summer blockbuster” were in for a treat. A private screening of “Mission Impossible 2”, with Tom Cruise in attendance.
We got there early enough to sit 4th row center, and patiently waited for everyone else to get seated. After about an hour and a half, the theatre was finally filled. I turned away from the conversation I was in, and at the front of the theatre was Tom Cruise. Once the cheers died down, he welcomed everyone to the only public screening of MI:2 before it’s release. He also asked that we don’t give away the entire plot twists if we rush out to the Internet to talk about it. That said, let me warn you in advance. Read this at your own risk.
The movie is primarily an action film, and John Woo’s hand is apparent here. The action scenes were extremely good, and I left the theatre with feeling very pleased. I did notice some minor issues with the story, but I don’t think they detracted at all from the movie as a whole. In my opinion, this movie is well worth what you’ll pay to see it. Aside from a little slowness at the beginning, the movie is fast paced and action packed.
*** SPOILER WARNING ***
The movie opens to Cruises character, Ethan, on vacation rock climbing. He is soon contacted by the IMF for a new Mission, and is told to recruit his team. It is highly suggested that he recruit a civilian thief, played by Thandie Newton. Cruise travels to Spain to make contact with Thandie, where he interrupts her attempt at stealing some jewels. After an intense car chase, he finally convinces her to help him.
Cruise next meets with his IMF contact, played by Anthony Hopkins, where he learns his mission. A scientist in Sidney, Australia (where most of the movies action occurs) develops a super-flu virus, in an attempt to find an ultimate flu vaccine. He was attempting to deliver a sample of the virus, which is incurable after 20 hours, and terminal after 30-some hours, along with the vaccine, to the CDC in Atlanta. The bad guys are on to him, and while in mid-air over the Rocky Mountains, steal the scientist’s briefcase, and bail out, after setting the planes autopilot to a much lower altitude. In order to find the bad guys, Hopkins let’s us in on the reason why a civilian needed to be recruited. Not only does Thandie play a resourceful thief, she also had a fling with the lead villain, played by Dougray Scott, who still had a thing for her. The plan, reunite Thandie with Dougray and recover the virus and antivirus. A slight conflict arises here, because, by this time, Cruises character has established a physical relationship with Thandie, and is hesitant that the plan will work, until Hopkins reminds him that this is Mission Impossible, not Mission Difficult (probably one of the most memorable lines in the movie).
With the recent theft of the super virus, it is assumed that Dougray will be monitoring the newspapers, so a plan is launched. Because of Thandie’s extensive criminal career, they will arrange for her to be captured, which will make the news, and bring Dougray in for the rescue. After being bailed out of jail, Thandie is picked up, and taken to Sidney, where the villains are headquartered, and reunited with Dougray.
Cruise and the rest of his team, monitoring Thandies location via satellite, now know where the bad guys are at, and begin to plan.
The villains are planning to sell the virus and anti-virus back to the pharmaceutical company that created it for thirty million bucks. Cruise is intent on destroying the virus, and first attempts to destroy it at it’s source, the lab where it was created. Getting around an elaborate security system, Cruise penetrates the labs security, and destroys all but one vial of super flu when the villains walk in, using Thandie as a bargaining chip. After a violent and exciting fight scene, Thandie ends up injecting herself with the virus, knowing that doing so makes her more valuable alive then dead, and Cruise escapes to fight another day.
The villains now have Thandie, who was infected with the virus, a sample of her blood, which contains the live virus, and the anti virus, and prepare to make their deal. The IMF team tracks the villains down to the site of the exchange, and Cruise moves in. There is a lot of action as Cruise makes his way through the compound, and to the bad guys, who have just sprung a surprise on the pharmaceutical company. They no longer want the cash. They now want thirty million dollars worth of options, and to insure that the companies stock will rise, they announce that they released the infected Thandie somewhere in Sidney, so that the population of Sidney, and the world, will need to have the vaccine within a few days, thus causing a jump in the companies worth.
Cruise then arrives, resulting in much death and destruction. He steals the last remaining vials of virus and anti virus, and bolts out of there, leading an intensive chase. He contacts the rest of the team, still nearby in the helicopter, and tells them to rescue Thandie, and then find him.
While the helicopter moves to intercept Thandie, Cruise and his nemesis, Dougray, battle it out on motorcycles, and eventually end up locked in hand to hand combat on a beach.
HARRY NOTE: I erased the final bits from this review, as noone should give away the end of the film. No matter what sort of SPOILER WARNINGS you slap on it.
Stone Table
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I know the audience would groan at some of the John Woo moves that Tom Cruise would do in this movie, but like the reviewer said, suspend reality when watching Woo. You will enjoy it more. I sooooo hope this movie is rated R and is not cut to 2 hours and 20 minutes. I will buy this movie on DVD( which better have the cut out scenes) but I would rather see Woo's unedited genius on screen. Hell ya this movie will kick fucking ass.
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well, i really loved the first movie, and this one seems to be totally outrageous, oh, yeah, Woo's doing it, so i guess it's expected. i'll see the movie anyway. sadly, it seems that the teasers and trailers don't give the film justice. i guess i'll have to wait and see. WOO'S a god amongst action, hope this is a great film.
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....I always thuoght it was about the IMF TEAM. This sounds like Chow Yun Cruise....which I guess is cool...one cat earlier stated that the film is Matrix-like...a) Matrix is John Woo/Jet Li on a real budget, no slight intended, and b)..why not more? Hell, as long as Cruise ain't leanin' back doging bullets, they've got my money....sounds worth the cash to me. Somebody, shoulda put a couple guns in Ving's hands however...waste of a COMPLETE badass.
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..... are these fake, too? What a pack of jackasses! Oh, and what's this I hear about Tobey Maguire being cast as Peter Parker/Spiderman?
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May 02, 2000 6:16:44 PM CDT
Everytime a reviewer on this site says how great a film is, I'm
by gilmour
Hope it doesn't happen again.
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Can't wait for this bad boy..
sounds like a good ol' fashion ass kicking fest. -
No. Kevin Spacey woulda been PERFECT for the role...hell, he oughta be the nest Anakin. As for the movie itself, if it werent for John Woo directing it I wouldnt be looking forward to this; the fact that he's directing it gives me hope that the whole Mission Impossible story can be salvaged.
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May 02, 2000 7:09:58 PM CDT
Ok, if Harry had to erase the last part of that message...
by leonardthelizard
The ending MUST be unreal...I normally don't trust that fat tub of lard, but in this case, I'll admit I'm intrigued by his move.
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Yes, Leonard...this ending to this thing must be pretty damn jaw-droppingly cool. I feel like you made a good choice in exercising your editing judgement, Harry.
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i kinda like that idea. imagine a john woo film with chow yun fat and tom cruise going against each other. what could possibly happen?
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MI2 has been my personal frontrunner for biggest movie of the year ever since I heard Woo-Woo was directing. No slight on The Palmer, but the first one seemed to really drag to me. I agree that MI the series was always about the suspense, and mainly about tricking the bad guys into screwing themselves over, but for it to translate to the big screen, the pace needed to be faster, the action more... just more. The first movie ticked me off by showing the big ending (helicopter go boom! T.C. gets thrown to the train) in all the trailers and even the commercials. Add to that the villianification of Mr. Phelps! My thought is that T.C. didn't want the spectre of Jim Phelps overshadowing Ethan Hunt in any sequels, so make Jim a bad guy) This movie just smells good! I just hope when they cut the hell out of it (and you know they will) they don't totally screw up the story. If they do, viva la DVD! And, Amazing Larry, you must be SOOOO happy that Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is coming out on DVD so your full story can see the light of day. TIMMMYYYYY!!! LIVIN' LAU!... timmy
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May 02, 2000 7:42:17 PM CDT
Thank you Lord for this bounty we are about to receive (Plus: MI
by wesley snipes
I am soo freaking hyped to see this movie that it cannot possibly live up to my expectations. Paramount, just don't cut any of the cool Woo action moves! The gun popping up bit must stay!
Anyway, I have questions about the first MI film which need answering: How did Jon Voight (Mr. Phelps) know that "Goelitzen" (the mole) would be walking down that alley way? And why would Goelitzen, knowing that he's probably being tailed by traitors who'll kill him for the disc, walk up to a mysterious man behind a gate? How could "Sarah" be so stupid and clumsy to follow him and ALSO be stabbed by a guy BEHIND BARS? And most importantly, why didn't the 'drunk russian couple' from the second IMF team investigate when they were clearly shown to be nearby and watching?? I like the first MI film because it exudes style, but like someone else said, "It wasn't so much the plot as it was the execution which made things confusing." -
I was really looking forward to seeing this film... until I read the shooting script, which was basically a 120 page excuse for Cruise to jump off stuff and look cool. I know, I know, it's a popcorn movie, but I expected a lot more out of Cruise, his producing partner Paula Wagner, and especially Robert Towne. Now for my question: where the "scooby doo" scenes (where-- gimme a break-- a character rips off his face to reveal that he's someone else) in the print that you saw? Every time this happened in the script, I wanted to puke.
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Now I'm sure to you Australia is some distant weird land and Russell Crowe hasn't been in many movies before Gladiator....
But at least learn to spell the city where most of the film was shot. -
Im just wondering, i live about 20 min away from where that theatre is, and I wanna know how you viewers ended up seeing this test screeing. And ow does one get passes to any test screening?
Just wondering, and thanx in advance. -
I don't care if it's just mindless violence, plot loopholes, IT'S ONLY 10 BUCKS my girl spends that on a double Latte. Now if any Industry big wigs are reading this I humbly
request you fast forward on a live action Josie and the Pussycats movie. And let Garbage do the music. -
. . . why does a movie have to be rated R to be good?
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MI2 is another Hong Kong rip-off! Let's see, where have I've seen those glasses before? Oh yeah, Chow Yun Fat made that a trademark in movies like Hard Boiled and A Better Tomorrow! And where have I've seen wire-works like that before? In about 100 or so Hong Kong flicks, oh yeah, and The Matrix! That's shit, Tom Cruise doesn't know any crap about martial arts, and they made that fool flying 20 feet off a motor-cycle doing a poor man's imitation of Jackie Chan's kicks, piece of American garbage! Next thing you know, Nicholas Cage is start chop-sockying in his next overly hyped stupid flick. Leave the martial arts action to the real martial artists! Cruise is degrading the whole martial arts genre, what the hell is he thinking? I can't believe you got fools here that'll accept Cruise flying off a motor-cycle and going through fire unmarked, while you diss the fore-fathers of martial arts, like Jet Li, a real martial arts champion. John Woo needs to start making films for Chow Yun Fat and other Asian actors! That's crap, punks like Roger Ebert diss Jet Li for using wires but you punks will accept Tom Cruise in MI2 for this shit? That's pure racism. Give credit where credit is due!
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the thing i liked about john woo films was the seriousness mixed in with the action, I dont know maybe its me but i cant remember feeling any sort of serious intense emotions in any of tom cruise's earlier films... except maybe the one where he dances around in his undies when mum and dad left home for a bit!
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Thandie is hacking up lung butter, Rene Russo/Outbreak-style, and she's about to die. Just then, Ethan Hunt kisses her, and we all realize that he is The One. Then the Matrix is destroyed, and some techno music plays. --- back to reality --- A John Woo movie isn't a John Woo movie without a bunch of guys holding guns to one another's heads. Does that appear in MI: 2? As for the first one, Jon Voight was mind-bogglingly bad. Maybe he was just concerned about his daughter tongue-wrestling his son... Let's not forget Geraldo suggested Voight deserved an Oscar for his role in "Anaconda." Celebrity ass-kissing at its finest, folks.
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Chow Yun Fat left Asia as one of the greatest actors/action hero of all time, he has legendary status in Asia. When he came to America they teamed him up in movies like The Replacement Killers and The Corrupter, which were awefull movies by American directors who don't know how to utilize his talents. Right now, Chow Yun Fat's carreer is at it's lowest point, primarily because of the shit ass, so be it, American directors. They fucking screwed him! If they teamed Chow Yun Fat and John Woo in the first place, the Replacement Killers would've been another John Woo/Chow Yun Fat classic, instead that didn't happen and it only damaged Chow's lengendary status. Why the hell does Tom Cruise need John Woo to give him a booster? Tom Cruise has already gained ground in America, Chow on the other hand is struggling to achieve fame here in America. John Woo should team up with Chow Yun Fat and show America why he's a respectable actor in America. John Woo did wonders for idiots like, Jean Claude Van Damm the coke sniffer, John Travolta mr disco inferno, and Nicholas Cage the big geek who is now for some reason an action star! Please, Mr. Woo give back to the guy who made you a great director and who you made as an icon in Asia, Chow Yun Fat.
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and he said the studio had very little input during filming so this should be all Woo.Also he mentioned that nothing had been cut and that a love story was central to the plot. As i read staxs script review, which said that Thandie Newtons role was the most developed, i reckon this might be a damn good quality flick.
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Any movie with Tom Cruise flying off a motorcycle doing a kick, is pure crap.
We all know Tom Cruise is no martial artists, and he is no action star. For God's sake! He started out his carreer in dramatic roles like Top Gun and The Pelican Brief.
I own and love almost every one of John Woo movies in Hong Kong, but this one bites the dust!
But it appears Hollywood is making actors like Travolta, Cage, and Cruise into action stars by getting John Woo to direct their candy asses.
While Chow Yun Fat is getting crappy roles like the Replacement Killers, The Corrupter, with bad American directors! They are purposely screwing Chow Yun Fat by not getting him a good director like John Woo!
It appears Chow Yun Fat has lost the battle to Travolta, Cage, and Cruise, since he has failed at the box office! I wonder why? Because they are intentionally screwing him!
John Woo don't be a sell out and bring back the bad ass, sun-glass wearing, gun-slinging, mr cool, Chow Yun Fat back please. -
Ok it's one thing to babble on incorherent nonsense about a film screening but to boast of false facts like ya know what your talking about it silly. I'm a projectionist at AMC Planet Movies 30 and also attended that screening at the Cantera. The film was great and I can't wait to see the final cut... but dear god saying The Matrix should be given credit to John Woo?!?!?! The Matrix directors/writers were inspired by the brothers watching fight director Yuen Woo-Ping's films, Jet Li movies and the art/style of japanese animated films. NOT JOHN WOO YOU POMPUS ASS! LOL John Woo does gun/gangster dramas not kung fu fantasies. Get your asian film lore right! Trust me I know what I'm talking about I collect all of John Woo's films and Jet Li's films on dvd. Two totally different concepts...
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go watch the lobby scene and tell me that isn't pure john woo. Twin handgun/machine pistol? woo's done it. Black coats/shades? woo and chow yun fat started a fashion for that in hong kong FIFTEEN YEARS ago. Also, further proof, go check out the wachowski scripted Assassins(or rather, don't)which is pretty much a John woo homage. I'm not ragging on the matrix, you understand, its just credit should go where credits due. I think the matrix rocks, in fact but its still derivative as hell.
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I knew the lobby sceene in matrix would be brought up as defense for giving credit to John Woo... granted the directors are plain and simple hong kong film buffs. But... john woo's films have a style to them of all their own and matrix's lobby sceene had NO John Woo style... Yuen Woo Ping mastered all the moves throughout that entire film from Carrie Anne Moss running up the wall dodging shotgun fire to Keanu's cartwheel gun fire in the lobby sceene. If Matrix is to give any credit... it's to Yuen Woo Ping!!! Matrix dosen't need to give any credit... Hong Kong films have different genre's. All these genre's below mixed into one was Matrix. Gun/Gangster Drama (John Woo mostly), Comedy Kung Fu (Jakkie Chan), Serious Kung Fu Drama (Jet Li), Historic/Period Kung Fu like "Once Upon A Time In China" or a Fantasy like Tsui Hark's "A Chinese Ghost Story" or "Swordsman II". If Mission Impossible 2 is Matrix like... from what I noticed watching it John Woo is selling himself out a lil by adding kung fu cause film producers/distributors wants him to have a Matrix clone. This film was good... but not classic John Woo.
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May 03, 2000 7:28:03 AM CDT
Uh, Kampbell Kid. The Wachowskis have a message for you...
by wesley snipes
Check out the Matrix DVD. During one of the featurettes, the Wachowskis discuss their influences for this film and they specifically state, "crazy John Woo stuff". It doesn't get any clearer than that. For the record, I don't care if they directly took ideas from HK and anime films (which they did), because they freely admit it and because the final product is still totally kick-ass. They threw in many of their own clever ideas in the script and the execution is fantastic! Have you guys (not you, Kampbell Kid) ever seen other attempted Woo ripoffs by lesser directors? They're fucking weak! A good homage is not easy to do. The Wachowskis clearly know what the f#$k they are doing.
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May 03, 2000 9:16:47 AM CDT
DarthEvil is going to reveal the super, secret, chocolate ending
by craiggers
I have to tell you, I anticipate this movie. I want this movie, and I want it NOW! Ever since that kick ass trailer, I've been craving this action flick like I need it to live. It looks fucking cool. Tom Cruise with the long scruffy hair, Anthony Hopkins as his boss (Anthony Hopkins is the MAN), and what looks to be an awesome motorcycle chase scene. This movie is going to be much, much, MUCH better than the original, I just know it! The original Mission Impossible took me at least 5 viewings until I could finally get the plot straight. It was so convoluted. But once figured out, the movie became really boss. But this one will be better. The plot will be more straight forward and easier to follow, and action scenes will abound under the leadership of the action movie genious that is John Woo! This is a movie that HAS to be scene over the summer...
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well, I must say that while I thought the Matrix was an incredible piece of cut and paste thefted garbage, MI2 looks very promising. I think a lot of the cheesyness or over the top exxagerated action/violence is reminiscent of the waktrix, yet this time seems to be done right. MI2 from every angles strikes me as a bad ass comic book movie. From the poster to the trailer it seems to establish itself as a smooth entertainer. Where as the waktrix was just numbing eye candy (a tour through the most pop styles of video editing, commercial music, and trendy clothing) MI2 seems to actually have something decent in store. I have been a big fan of Woo since before the US connection and its really annoying to see so many people take their shit from this man and then try to site all these other "contemporary classics" that they know they either havent seen or have nothing to do with! Shit, is it me or has anyone else noticed the gun fighting style of american movies change since Johnnys been about? You may not like his american movies, but give the man his credit! I guarantee, if it werent for Woo we'd be seeing much different american action flics and the matrix wouldnt exist. He may not make the most realistic movies, but his style allows it without being insulting. No, I dont want to stick every movie with a reality stick, but cmon, just dont insult my intelligence with another gap movie, I could do without!
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You mean there are other people in Hong Kong than John Woo? I'll be darned.
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It's about time someone noticed that MOST American action has changed since that horrible Hard Target flick, but it's the Hong Kong stuff that makes John Woo a genius. He can do whatever he wants. I'm sure that if he does rip off or parody the Matrix it'll be to teach those Wack-owski's a lesson, and he'll do a much better job.
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Children...Children!! Can't we all just get along? Is it possible that one day I'll come here look at the talkbalks and see people disagreeing civilally(sp.?)? Or maybe even admitting I'm not familiar with "So-and-so's" work, where can I pick it up? Oh yeah, that would be too much like admitting you don't know something...;-P Woo...Ping...Woo...Ping..Woo.Ping
Wooping!! Wooping!!TIIIMMMMYY!!! -
May 03, 2000 12:32:39 PM CDT
This may come off wrong, but I think once Chow Yun Fat gets his
by superninja
It's fine when you're watching a dubbed/subtitled Hong Kong flick. It's easy to see there how truly gifted Chow is -- he's handsome, funny and intense. He also has an immense amount of charisma and charm -- he reminds me of Carey Grant. And while he's an action star, he's not a Jet-Li-type of action star which translates okay into American cinema because of pure physical ability -- Chow is Hong Kong cinema's Harrison Ford. That doesn't translate so well if you're in a film where everyone else is speaking perfect english and you're struggling with a dialect. I think if Chow can break the language barrier, that we will start to see him get better pictures. Not saying it's right, but it seems that's the way it is. Right now, he's getting typecast as the cool asian guy, instead of as a leading man.
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Im sorry but since this film is going to be pg-13 i know it'll be watered down.John woo is a director that was made for R films. Especially an action film that clearly resembles woo's earlier work.Anybody see woo's made for cable flicks, see what i mean.I just hope the dvd is uncut,and because of cruise's involvment i doubt it.But god i hope i'm wrong.
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Charles Flemming of Deadling Hollywood reports that the film has finally received a PG-13 rating after numerous submissions. At issue were mainly the violent scenes & some scenes of sensuality. Is this the same cut shown in Illinois? Someone PLEASE TELL ME! I'm a movie geek. It'll kill me to learn that what the Warrenites saw as "one of the BEST action movie ever" will not be what we see on May 26 (24?)! Anybody know? This movie DEMANDS a special edition DVD. Don't screw it up, Paramount!
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John Woo ripping off John Woo? That dosen't make any fucking sense. You must remember that Hard Boiled and A Better Tommorow are John Woo films, not Chow Yun Fat films. Now, don't get me wrong...I loved Chow Yun Fat in both Hard Boiled and A Better Tommorow, but accusing John Woo of ripping off his own creations is as stupid as saying Chow Yun Fat is the "champion" of Martial Arts (Bruce Lee anyone?). Oh, and the reason people like Roger Ebert critize Jet Li for using wires is because you can see them in the shot. Maybe if Jet Li could act he would be able to be in a movie where the filmmakers would have enough sense to paint out the wires.
"ROMEO MUST DIE" SUCKED! -
Snipes, I am concerned about the film being buthchered to get a pg-13 rating too. I just read on the anotheruniverse.com site that it looks like cuts to get a kid-friendly rating will occur....frack, frack, frack!!!! It is a John Woo film...it SHOULD be full of violence and action targeted at mature teenagers and adults who can handle it (duhh!...the studio people should know better, John Woo is certainly not a director known for kid-friendly films). John Woo makes gunplay (to use an oft used cliche when referring to the violence in two of his films, and a couple of my favorites, The Killer, and Hard Boiled) balletic and beautiful to behold. He is a master of making violence a wonder to behold on the big screen, so it would be a shame if they turned what sounds like a kick-ass Tom Cruise and John Woo film into another film that becomes incoherrent because it is gutted by the studio, or is edited like Romeo Must Die. Ignoring that films bad acting/plot holes and inconsistencies, it became an action film with so many quick cuts that it was enough to induce an epileptic fit, and never let the audience see a good Jet-Li fight from beginning to end (less mtv rock video cuts would have at at least made the fights in the movie fun to watch, I think that film had more quick cut edits than The Rock and Armageddon combined...well maybe not THAT many, but I think people will get my point:) ). The critics who criticized the Tom Cruise gun kicking scene, as unrealistic may be right, but cool set-ups to gunplay are vintage John Woo, just suspend your disbelief and enjoy!! Whether the film deserved it or not, the first MI did not get a deluxe DVD treatment, hopefully this will NOT be case with MI2, and the DVD will include a directors cut of the film, or at least deleted scenes that you can see, even if it would be cooler if they were reinstated into the main body of the film (lets face it, the big allure of DVD vs VHS is too see directors cuts, or deleted scenes, much like the original allure of Laserdisc of which DVD is an evolution of that format).
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Does anybody else think John Woo is the best contemporary action director?
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May 03, 2000 4:47:30 PM CDT
Andrew: I also made a reference to John Woo doing John Woo, and
by superninja
I feel he's becoming a cliche. It's entirely possible when every film he makes have all of the exact same elements to them. When you become known for a dueling gunfight where the leads run out of ammo just as they get in each other's faces -- DOES THAT MEAN YOU HAVE TO DO IT IN YOUR NEXT THREE FILMS? The guy is not pulling anything new from his hat, as far as I can tell. I've seen his last few "American" films. Sure, he got big for his Hong Kong action style, but maybe it's time to try something different when you're going for a target audience in another country.
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When I read the message censoring StoneTables' review of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2, I was stunned.
Has AICN completely sold out on the principles of free expression? I log on to your site to read the opinions of people who have braved the Hollywood system to give advanced looks at films I care about.
When AICN starts kowtowing to the whims of mega-stars like Tom Cruise (who politely ask not to spoil the end of their films), your credibility is weakened. Every director/actor/executive in town hopes that we don't know what's coming. Why is MI 2 / Cruise any different?
The point of SPOILER WARNINGS is to give people a freedom of choice. If I don't want to have a film's ending ruined, I won't read it. But if one of your faithful readers navigates his/her way into a screening and provides a glimpse into a film I want to know about, you should honor that person's work and the sanctity of the written word.
Give us readers more credit than you did with MI 2. And give your writers more respect too.
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I read some mis-leading article recently about how the same special effects crew who did The Matrix were doing the special effects for MI:2. I quickly went to IMDB to see if this was true and saw that only the special effects company Manex Visual Effects who worked on some special effects for the Matrix is also doing special effects for MI:2. It seems like most all of the special effects people involved in the Matrix aren't involved in MI:2, but nonetheless the involvement by Manex and there use of possibly similar types of special effects may lead to some viewers seeing similarities between the two movies. I'd be interested if anyone had any more specific scoop on what Manex did for either movies. Either way I am hoping the effects in MI:2 are pretty cool and hopefully won't be like the Matrix influenced fight scenes in the movie "Romeo Must Die"... where the fight sequences seemed more like a musical number in the musical the Nutcracker, without the Tchaikovsky music playing.
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I remember reading somewhere that Woo wanted to work in different genres before the MI2 opportunity came along. Like a comedy or romance. But I guess MI2 was irresistable, so he's doing another crazed action film first. He has a WW2 flick next (Windtalkers), a gangster musical (?!), and something with Chow Yun Fat called Fallen Ones!! Woo-hoo! This info was from johnwoo.com.
However, Woo makes long movies. 2 hours+. The gun at the head bit usually spans less than 2 minutes of that time. Is it really such a big deal? I notice that nobody ever mentions the massive JET vs. HUMMER vs. HELICOPTER battle in the beginning. That's not exactly a traditional Woo setpiece, is it? Hell, it was the best action scene in Face/Off. But no one ever mentions things like that. I think the "problem" is that there are strong recurring themes in Woo movies. He likes to explore them.. family, loyalty, etc. That's why his films have a familiar feel to all of them, despite new and wonderful action setpieces. In contrast, a lot of Hollywood blockbusters are pretty 'empty'.. they're just about the action with the barest lip service towards any themes. That doesn't make them bad, but you're less likely to associate the director with particular themes. With Woo, you know it's a Woo film... Though Bob the Tomato says MI2 doesn't touch on any traditional Woo themes whatsoever, so who knows? -
** Some MINOR spoliers contained here **
Hey folks,
After reading all that's been posted here on this movie, I have to say a few things.
I saw the media/industry screening of the film last night at Paramount Studios in L.A. (they used the BIG theatre for this one, not one of the smaller screening theatres) and it appears it HAS been cut to PG-13. There are scenes where the camera is deliberately not on the action when something violent is happening. In fact at no time do you see bullets actually hitting someone! It's too bad, but having not seen an R-rated cut before, I can't compare the two. It does seem to detract from the intensity of the movie and makes it very much less Woo-ish, but there's plenty of other stuff happening to at least partly make up for it.
As for the nonsense about this being a rip off of the Matrix, that's utter bullshit. There are NO, I repeat NO Matrix-like "bullet-time" effects in this film at all, even though the way the trailer was edited suggests there might be (methinks Supermedz never even saw the film and is basing his totally vague so-called review on the trailer). There are TONS of slo-mo action shots, though, which have always been Woo's trademark.
Last but not least, I'm not sure why Harry would have edited out Stonedude's review ending. The ending (which I won't reveal here) is cool, for sure, but it's not exactly revolutionary. And if you've seen the full trailer for M:I-2, you've seen at least glimpse of the ending. (Well, the end of the Cruise vs. Dougray battle, I mean. There is a sort of epilogue ending after that that shows how things worked out for Cruise and Thandie's characters.)
That's another problem I had... I know this is nothing new, but GOD DAMMIT does the trailer blow 90% of the best lines and action shots. Every time a new action sequence would gear up, I'd think, "Oh, this is the one that's going to have shot XYZ from the trailer." All of Anthony Hopkins best lines are in the trailer too... the Mission Difficult one, the woman lying to a man one... hell, his entire (miniscule) part in the movie is practically shown in the trailer.
Anyway. The movie does kick ass, even if it takes a while to get started and uses the Scooby Doo mask thing WAYYYY too many times. But heck, who wants reality in a John Woo action flick? Not me, mate.
Prof. Cthulhu
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First of all, about the use of Manex as the effects house for both MI2 and The Matrix... the reasoning behind I believe is that Manex is located in Australia, where both The Matrix and MI2 were shot. However on the Matrix, John Gaeta and his team, who did most of the cool bullet time stuffs, are located in San Francisco. -- Second, about the whole "Matrix owes John Woo etc etc" tangent, this is how I personally took the scene, since i'm a really big fan of Hong Kong Film (not just the random kung fu acrobatics or shoot em up films either, but the screwball comedies and Wong Kar-Wai): Many American directors will attempt something which they call "John Woo Style." The most evident devices in this would probably be slow motion scenes, two guns in hand, and a lot of bullets. However, in John Woo Action Cinema, there's a gracefulness to it -- sort of a rhythmic balance, that makes everything flow well. Especially with all the people jumping in midair, the sliding-on-the-ground shoot em up maneuvers, flips, and so forth. The Matrix attempted this, but to me it was more of a "run and shoot" sequence to me. I am not doubting that the Wachowski's came up with a scene like this due to influences in Hong Kong Action Cinema, but to me it looked more like a something out of a Gordan Chan or Benny Chan film. Maybe even a Johnnie To film. (if you guys dunno what i'm talking about, watch Gen-X Cops, First Option, or The Longest Nite ^_^ ) It's one thing to say you're trying "John Woo style" action and another do pull it off flawlessly. I mean, Walter Hill's "Last Man Standing" rips a TON off of John Woo... whether it's good or not... errrrrrrrr....
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Matrix and MI2 might be compared for action.
Coincidently they were both filmed in the same studios in Sydney, Australia (2000 Olympic city)
Star Wars: Episode 2 will commence filming shortly, at the same studios.
(Episode 3 will also be filmed in Sydney in 2003)
The first film to be shot during the constuction of the studios, was Dark City (a la Matrix).
This was probably because director/author Alex Proyas (of "The Crow" fame) is from Sydney himself.
Matrix started shooting just prior to the studios completion.
Other trivia:
Tom Cruise current lives with his wife, Nicole Kidman in Sydney. Sydney is the home city of his wife Nicole Kidman.
Also the home city of actors such as Russell Crowe, Sam Neill, Mel Gibson
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