Scene of the Week: Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible is a very successful movie franchise that started with some pretty successful television shows. A mission impossible is also the task to make sequels that are as good or better than the original. Leave it to John Woo to give Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt a memorable second outing in the franchise thanks to some exciting action. Tom Cruise has always delivered stunts in the Mission: Impossible films from the helicopter and train in the first, to hanging on the sides of buildings and even planes in the new films. However the second outing is easily the Wooiest.
Mission: Impossible II finds Ethan and his I.M.F. team out to stop a rogue agent played by Dougray Scott who has his hands on a deadly chemical weapon. There is plenty of action throughout but once you know that Tom Cruise and Dougray Scott will be basically playing chicken on speed bikes, I can see no other director than John Woo. The lead up is outstanding with a frenetic chase (you better believe that John Woo throws in some slow motion) that culminates in one of the single greatest bro hugs on screen…
