The Top Five Best (And Worst) Action Films of 2015

2015, much like 2014, was a fairly disappointing year for action in terms of quantity. However, about two or three action films were near bonafide action masterpieces, with one immediately cementing itself as one of the greatest action films ever made. Therefore, this year was more about quality than it was quantity. 

I also missed out on several action films this year, so I may have simply been watching the wrong films altogether. I wanted to see Skin Trade, Ant-Man, The Man From UNCLE, Hitman: Agent 47, SPL II, Wild City, Wolf Warrior, and The Gunman, but simply never got around too them. And while I will get to those films eventually and probably review them sometime within 2016, I now present my five favorite and least favorite action films of 2015.

The Five Worst

5) Blackhat (Michael Mann, 2015) - Michael Mann used to be one of the premiere directors of dramatic crime cinema with such masterpieces as Heat and Collateral. However, the mighty have most certainly fallen, with Mann's previous three films being complete bores. His latest, Blackhat, is arguably his most boring film to date. Every character is written especially flat and performed so robotic, which is a surprise given the pedigree of A-list actors Chris Hemsworth and Viola Davis. Much like Mann's previous failures, Miami Vice and Public Enemies, Blackhat features some particularly astounding action sequences that unfortunately don't have a great film to go with. This is yet another example of a boring film with forgetful characters that slightly redeems itself due to some great action. However, that simply isn't enough, and Mann needs to learn better in order to deliver a greater product next time.

4) Taken 3 (Olivier Megaton, 2015) - Neeson's action dominance seems to have been on a steady decline as of recently. Ever since Neeson broke out onto the action scene with Taken, few of his action films have been particularly great. Taken 2 is a mediocre sequel, Non-Stop is an entertaining yet lukewarm action thriller, and A Walk Among the Tombstones is an immensely boring noir. Which brings us to Taken 3, easily the worst action film of Neeson's career and proof that the actor should stick to dramas. Megaton's latest entry in the series is an utter joke of a studio actioner, featuring nausea inducing editing and horrendous photography. While the poster clearly states that this is the end, I hope so for our and Neeson's sakes. Check out my review here. 

3) Pound of Flesh (Ernie Barbarash, 2015) - I am embarrassed to admit this, but I was extremely excited for Jean Claude Van Damme's latest direct to video actioner, Pound of Flesh, at the beginning of 2015. Imagine if Liam Neeson's kidney was taken from him instead of his daughter, and you have Pound of Flesh, more or less Van Damme's attempt at a Taken-esque thriller. Unfortunately, the film is exactly everything that is terrible about direct to video cinema. Not only does the film feature some hilariously bad editing, but it also utilizes some horrendous green screen in scenes that clearly weren't finished. One especially bad scene involves Van Damme fighting in front of a computer generated background that reduced me to tears of laughter. I admire Van Damme's attempt at an old fashioned actioner reliant upon fists and gun fights, but Pound of Flesh is a complete joke of an action film. It's worth checking out for a good laugh, but also for an honest watch as to see one of Darren Shahlavi's last performances, may he rest in peace.

2) Zero Tolerance (Wych Kaosayananda, 2015) - Zero Tolerance was a career first for me because it was the first advanced screener that I ever got to watch and review for cityonfire.com. And while I will always remember it as a career first, I will most likely never watch this atrocious film again as long as I live. Poor Kaosayananda was forced to reshoot and re-edit his dramatic film, Angels, into more of a streamlined actioner in order to market it better, especially with the inclusion of Scott Adkins. However, all that did was further confound an already immensely confounding action drama that sucked in the first place. Not only is the plot overly complicated, but all of the characters are practically emotionless. The few action scenes there are, while mildly entertaining and particularly brutal, are edited quite bizarrely too. The film is utterly fascinating to watch though for those who want to try and figure out which scenes were reshoots and which weren't. Far from being "so bad it's good," but worth recommending for those who are willing to do some research in order to fully understand the mess that is Zero Tolerance. Check out my review here.

1) Terminator: Genisys (Alan Taylor, 2015) - To be honest, Zero Tolerance and Pound of Flesh are honestly worse films. However, no other film that came out this year was as insulting as Terminator: Genisys, and for that, it takes the number one spot. This terrible reboot-quel is everything that is wrong with contemporary blockbuster cinema. It doesn't know whether or not it wants to be a reboot or a sequel, contains laughably bad computer graphics, features an overly complicated plot, and rips all of the tension out its video game-esque action sequences. Talk about how to waste a great cast and a once great franchise. This film is proof that studios and Arnold Schwarzenegger don't know good content from bad, and will simply participate in anything as long as it has the Terminator franchise name on it. Congratulations Alan Taylor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Paramount, you made the worst action film of 2015! There's a special realm in Hell for where you guys will be residing. Check out my review here.

The Five Best

5) Close Range (Isaac Florentine, 2015) - This was another career first for me, as I not only got to review an advance screener of the film but also star Scott Adkins himself. It was an awesome opportunity and the only way that I was able to check out the film far before its VOD release. While plagued with more DTV trappings than I'd like to admit, Close Range features some hard hitting action courtesy of Florentine's graceful eye for action. Both he and performer Adkins give their A-game in one of the better direct to video films in recent years. While far from a great action film, Close Range gives you exactly what you want, brutal and memorable showdowns coupled with shootouts to boot. Check out my review here.

4) No Tears for the Dead (Lee Jeong-beom, 2015) - Lee Jeong-beom came onto my radar when I discovered his 2010 masterpiece, The Man From Nowhere. It's easily one of the best action films in recent years thanks to both its tragic story and immensely bloody action. Therefore, I had to check out his latest, No Tears for the Dead, with the hope that the man would bring the goods once again. While far away from being nearly as masterful his previous effort, No Tears for the Dead continues Lee Jeong-beom's streak of exploring morally ambiguous assassins. The film is extremely reminiscent of other South Korean actioners such as A Company Man and, in my opinion, the all time greatest South Korean actioner, A Bittersweet Life, for its exploration of the assassin mindset and his diversion from his bosses and previously ingrained morals. Unlike The Man From Nowhere, No Tears for the Dead's resolution is more about emotion and theme than it is entertainment or audience satisfaction. Thankfully, Jeong delivers the action goods once again, with an unforgettable 10 minute long melee fight/shootout in an apartment complex that makes for one hell of a set piece.

3) Kingsman: The Secret Service (Matthew Vaughn, 2015) - Vaughn's hard R pastique of the spy genre was one of the year's best films purely for its high octane energy and mean spirited violence. Previous Vaughn joins like Kick-Ass left a sour taste in my mouth because it put a child front and center to the violence. However, Kingsman blends the over the top violence of comic book writer Mark Millar with Vaughn's stylistic tendencies for their best collaboration yet. The film also features an excellent cast, with Colin Firth giving one of the year's most bad ass performances. Newcomer Taron Egerton gives a star making performance as the spy in training, while the rest of the supporting cast does great work as well. It's wild, funny, and excessively violent, but fun from start to finish and one of the year's biggest surprises. Check out my review here.

2) Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (Christopher McQuarrie, 2015) - The latest M:I entry was an absolute blast and one of the best big budget sequels to come along in awhile. Badass auteur Chris McQuarrie knocked it out of the park, delivering a sequel that both fans of the series and newcomers could enjoy alike. With the recent announcement that McQuarrie will be returning for the sixth installment, M:I fans should be happier than ever before, as the franchise seems tailor made for McQuarrie. 

1) Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller) - It's rare that a film comes out and immediately registers on your radar as a bonafide masterpiece. Miller's reboot of his iconic Mad Max series was exactly that, a cinematic masterpiece in every sense of the word. It's a brutal, epic, violent, and extremely emotional film that both thrilled and choked me up during my first viewing. This will be one that action fans find themselves constantly returning to year after year. Regardless of whether a sequel is ever made, Fury Road will always stand as one of the greats. Check out my review here.

Honorable Mentions

And that's that! Here's to 2016, hopefully a much superior year for action!

Mission-Impossible-a-Thon, Part 4 - Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

Director: Brad Bird

Cast: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist

Country: United States

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 132 minutes

One of my favorite things about the Mission: Impossible franchise is that there is typically four to six years in between each entry. Therefore, each installment feels well earned and never rushed. Each film always feels essential to the times and gives Cruise another chance to play the ever lovable Ethan Hunt. That's another thing I love about this franchise; Cruise doesn't rely upon it for his career. He does all types of films in between each Mission entry. When Cruise does return to a Mission film though, it feels like we are meeting up with an old friend who has a new bag of tricks to show us. And in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, that bag of tricks includes a car chase in a sand storm, a fight inside of a futuristic parking garage, and Tom Cruise climbing the tallest building on the planet. 

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is currently the highest grossing entry in the franchise. It is also the most critically hailed entry as well, with numerous critics praising the film's humor, pace, and unbearable tension. Interestingly enough, the film was directed by first time live action director Brad Bird, well known for masterful animated features like The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. It's interesting watching Ghost Protocol because it's not often that animated filmmakers make live action films. Therefore, it's harder to spot the filmatisms that reflect Bird's works the way that De Palma, Woo, and Abrams left their mark all over their respective franchise entries. Still, Bird's Mission is an exciting entry in the series and one that serves as a throwback to the De Palma days in which Ethan engaged in various heists instead of shootouts. If Bird had tossed in a few bad ass gun fights into the mix, than Ghost Protocol would probably be my favorite entry in the series. 

Cruise runs for his life from Mother Russia's Kremlin.

Ghost Protocol's plot is arguably the most complex of the franchise yet. In this entry, we meet Ethan as he breaks out of a Russian prison with help from fellow agents Benji (Simon Pegg now expanded to a significant supporting role) and Jane (newcomer Paula Patton). Ethan and his team than make their way to the Kremlin in Russia and infiltrate the building in order to obtain files identifying a man known as "Cobalt." However, the mission ends in disaster when "Cobalt" bombs the Kremlin and makes the IMF appear responsible in an attempt at sparking a nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia. As a result, The United States Government enacts Ghost Protocol; this disavows the entire IMF until they can prove themselves innocent of the attack. It is than up to Ethan, Benji, Jane, and additional newcomer Brandt (Jeremy Renner, The Bourne Legacy) to stop Cobalt from nuking the U.S. and to clear their names. As usual with the franchise, a mere four agents go up against impossible odds and come out on top. However, Ghost Protocol squeezes in an essential sub-plot concerning Ethan's wife Julia that pays off in a big way and for the first time establishes actual continuity between franchise entries.

Ghost Protocol is a very tense and exciting globe trotting spy thriller that takes us from Russia to Mumbai. The film is packed with memorable characters, varied settings, and stunning set pieces that remind the viewer why Mission: Impossible is such a great blockbuster franchise. Even though Ethan and his team travel the globe in the film, all of the set pieces and character moments are small scaled in nature. No matter how large a battle Man of Steel or The Avengers ends on, none of those films can compete with the compact tension on display in Ghost Protocol's technologically advanced parking garage fight and the now infamous Burj climbing sequence.

Unfortunately, Ghost Protocol is more of a team driven film focused on gadgets and plot than an action film starring Tom Cruise. Cruse is still the lead, but the lead of a team given equal screen time and substantial backstories. This is both a negative and a positive. It is a positive in that each team member feels like an actual character instead of an archetypal computer hacker or fist fighter. Whereas previous IMF agents were typically bland characters, Ghost Protocol's teammates are fully fleshed out characters with miniature story arcs of their own.

Just running down the world's tallest building. No big deal.

However, this team driven nature of the film is a negative in that the focus is taken off of Ethan. I love the team driven nature of the film, I really do. But, I prefer my Ethan Hunt when he is the star running around and fighting people a-la M:i:I, M:i:II, and M:i:III. Ghost Protocol is great stuff, but it lacks the gritty, personal, and grounded bad-ass nature that made parts of M:i:II good and all of M:i:III great. The only time that Ghost Protocol encroaches upon gritty and bad-ass action is in the final action sequence. As Ethan chases Cobalt around a technologically advanced parking garage, the two beat the crap out of one another and leap from one moving platform to another. It makes for an incredibly tense sequence filled with moments that will make you gasp and hold your breath. Even though all of the film's other set pieces are solid, none of them give me that bad-ass thrill that the motorcycle chase from M:i:II or the bridge attack from M:i:III gave me.

That select personal opinion being said, Ghost Protocol is still great entertainment as far as team driven films go. All of the set pieces are a lot of fun and blockbuster filmmaking at its finest. Ghost Protocol might have the most variety in its set pieces than any other entry in the franchise. In one film, we see Ethan escape from prison, break into the Kremlin, escape a sunken car, climb up and down the side of the world's tallest building, fight a group of henchies inside of said building, chase Cobalt in a sand storm, and than fight Cobalt once and for all inside of a parking garage. Talk about bang for your buck. Most fans remember the Burj sequence as the almighty show stopper of both the film and the entire franchise. I have to admit, the Burj sequence is incredible stuff bolstered by both its practicality (no green screens here) and sheer insanity (Ethan runs down a freaking building).

As I stated before, the supporting teammates are one of the film's strongest points. Benji is upgraded to a larger supporting role from his small three scene appearance in M:i:III. Pegg is one of the best comedic voices in cinema today. Therefore, I am happy to see Shaun of the Dead himself become a staple of the franchise. Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton are fantastic additions as well. Unfortunately, franchise regulars Ving Rhames and Michelle Monaghan are reduced to small cameos in the film's final scene. While it sucks to go through an entire Mission film without our hacker friend Luther or Ethan's newly established wife, their single scene inclusion is well spent.

Renner and Patton take aim at Cruise in one of the film's tensest scenes.

Now that I think of it, Ghost Protocol lacks both a helping heaping of bad ass action and a bad ass villain. Phillip Seymour Hoffman's villainous performance from M:i:III was one for the books. He owned that film with every second he had on screen. Unfortunately, Ghost Protocol's villain is barely memorable or visible. Cobalt, portrayed by Michael Nyqvist (also of John Wick villainy), has very few scenes to establish a menacing presence or leave a lasting impact on the viewer. It's clear that Bird wanted the villain to be kept in the shadows as much as possible. The character pops up for the first time out of nowhere in the middle of the Kremlin mission and doesn't truly reappear until the very end of the film. There's nothing wrong with Nyqvist's performance, it's just that his character has no character, plain and simple. It's also a bummer to watch a Mission film where the lead villain has a single henchman and no cronies to back him up. I love a good Mission film where the villain has number of cronies for Ethan to shoot up or take on. It also makes a villain seem more prominent when they have a group of men working for them. Therefore, Ghost Protocol's villain leaves much to be desired. I guess we should be thankful that Nyqvist isn't as bad as Dougray Scott in M:i:II.

It seems that after three entries, Paramount is done with numbering their Mission films. We live in a day and age where studios seem ashamed at numbering their franchise entries. It's rare that a franchise entry includes any number above three next to its title. The only contemporary franchise I can think of that wears its numbers proudly on its sleeve is the Fast and Furious franchise, currently at entry number seven. However, most contemporary franchise entries (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, X-Men: Days of Future Past) incorporate a sub-title next to the main title in order to avoid sequel fatigue. I'm sad to say it but Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is the first entry in its series to ditch the roman numerals. I have always found roman numerals to be a classy way to number your franchise entries anyways. And with the recently titled Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation set for release in July 2015, it seems the numerals are out for good.

I am also sad to report that Ethan's alternating hair length ends here. While each entry has alternated Ethan's hair length, the recently revealed fifth entry shows Ethan with a long head of hair. I was really hoping that Cruise would have a short head of hair a-la Jack Reacher to go with his second McQuarrie team up. Oh well, let's hope the film is good despite Tom Cruise's hair cut.

This parking garage sequence is infinitely re-watchable. It's that great.

After the one-two-punch of Mission: Impossible III and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, I cannot wait for what Christopher McQuarrie's Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation has in store for us. The Mission: Impossible franchise is currently on a role and I could not be happier about it. Ghost Protocol is a great entry that any one can enjoy. For the first time in the series, you don't have to be a Tom Cruise fan to find enjoyment in this globe trotting thriller. If you don't connect with Cruise, you'll be sure to connect with one of the likable teammates or tense heists scattered throughout the film. This is still a solid entry in the series that any action fan should enjoy despite the lack of grounded/personal action or a truly menacing villain. I'll be back to celebrate the Ethan Hunt saga in July with...Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation! Until then, I recommend revisiting all four of the Mission: Impossible installments in order to get caught up on the series.

Rating: 9/10 - Although I prefer Ethan Hunt and his fellow antagonist to be more deadly and bad ass, this is a truly fantastic spy thriller that sets the bar high for future franchise entries.

Franchise:
Mission: Impossible (1996, dir. Brian De Palma)
Mission: Impossible II (2000, dir. John Woo)
Mission: Impossible III (2006, dir. J.J. Abrams)
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011, dir. Brad Bird)
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015, dir. Christopher McQuarrie)

Mission-Impossible-a-Thon, Part 3 - Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Director: J.J. Abrams

Cast: Tom Cruise, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Keri Russell, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup

Country: United States

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 125 minutes

Now is the perfect time to revisit J.J. Abrams' Mission: Impossible III because there is both a new J.J. Abrams film (something called Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and a new Mission: Impossible film coming out in the same year. All of the lense flare and exciting action that Abrams has become known for started right here with the third installment of Mission: Impossible. Abrams has quickly become one of the most well known names in Hollywood for his many producing credits on projects like Cloverfield and Lost and his dual Star Trek films. For those who are curious, I absolutely love his Star Trek reboot from 2009 and consider it to be one of the best reboots ever made and one of the great contemporary science fiction films. The sequel, not so much, but that's besides the point. Therefore, let us see where the origins of Abrams' Hollywood takeover began with Mission: Impossible III!

Even though M:i:II was a huge commercial success, Paramount could not have churned out a worse entry for the franchise. M:i:II is a dumb as nails action film that took all of the spy and heist tactics out of what started as a spy franchise. Therefore, maybe it was for the best that Paramount took a six year hiatus with the series and took their time with the next sequel. What they delivered was M:i:III, Abrams' directorial debut and a darn good entry in the series. M:i:III combined the memorable spy tactics from the first entry and the shoot 'em up action from the second entry in order to deliver a crowd pleasing action blockbuster that provided something for everyone. M:i:III is quite possibly one of the best representations of a Hollywood blockbuster. The film moves at a swift pace, delivers several exciting action scenes, gives the audience a little romance to swoon over, tosses a few laughs in for good measure, provides us with a chilling villain to hate, maybe has a twist or two, and never takes any risks for good or for bad. If aliens ever came to our planet and asked what a Hollywood blockbuster was, I would show them M:i:III.

The distinctive Abrams style started here.

M:i:III starts with the best opening scene in the entire series. Seriously, it'll be tough to ever top the greatness found in the first four minutes. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) awakes chained to a chair with his new wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan) tied up in front of him. Owen Damian (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) stands in front of Ethan with a gun to his wife's head. He repeatedly asks Ethan to tell him the location of the "rabbit's foot" or else he will shoot his wife by the count of 10. What follows is a nail biting and tense opener that shows Tom Cruise in one of his most vulnerable moments. And than...bang!

We than flash back to the past to figure out how Ethan got into this mess. Ethan is no longer on active field duty because he is now married. However, when IMF contacts Ethan and tells him that an agent he once trained has been captured, he decides to go back into active field duty in order to save her. Even though Ethan finds himself reunited with his old friend Luther (Ving Rhames), he quickly learns that active field duty and a wife don't mix well. What follows is two hours of action, suspense, and villainy as Ethan goes up against the cold hearted Owen Damian, his most formidable foe yet.

One of M:i:III's strongest elements is its believable relationship between Ethan and Julia. While the first installment lacked any romance, M:i:II based its entire plot around the sexual tension between Ethan and Thandie Newton's Naya. However, the romance was so forced and heavy handed that no viewer believed the two's love for one other. Therefore, Abrams wisely scrapped the Naya character from the franchise altogether and gave Ethan a believable wife that humanizes him. This relationship dynamic also helps audiences connect with the film better. I could easily see my girlfriend, someone who doesn't care for action films, connecting with this film because of this. Abrams and fellow screenwriters Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman did a great job showing what happens to Ethan when he tries to hide his job from his wife. Therefore, Ethan finds himself more vulnerable than ever before in this installment because his desire for an everyday relationship puts both his job and wife in jeopardy. If Ethan was an unstoppable action hero in M:i:II, than he is a relatable and human action hero here.

Is it too early for Phillip Seymour Hoffman jokes?

M:i:III features not only a better love interest, but also a far superior villain. Dougray Scott's villainous performance from M:i:II was so bad that he bordered on self parody. Therefore, Abrams went in the exact opposite direction with his Mission villain by directing the great Phillip Seymour Hoffman to play the villain as straight and cold as possible. Hoffman's Damian is a cruel villain who makes a big impact with surprisingly little screen time. It's a shame to see Damian only survive one Mission installment, because he truly makes for Ethan's greatest foe yet. The supporting cast is leaps and bounds better than M:i:II's as well. Rhames does great work as always as Luther, his respective franchise character. We are also introduced to yet another head of IMF, this time played by Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix). I don't know what is up with IMF and their leaders, but they consistently change from picture to picture. We also get good turns by Maqqie Q (Live Free or Die Hard), Johnathan Rhys Myers (From Paris With Love), Keri Russell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Billy Crudup (Watchmen), and the always amazing Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz).

As I stated previously, M:i:III's action scenes are nowhere near as excellent as the ones in M:i:II. One of my biggest issues with Abrams' eye for action is that he allows the camera to shake far too often. In most of the film's action scenes, the shot repeatedly shakes and is far too often a close up than a medium shot. This close up shakey cam style renders some of the action incomprehensible and deprives the film of the gracefulness that Woo showcased so brilliantly. Say what you want about M:i:II, but Woo directed the hell out of that film's action sequences. On the bright side though, M:i:III does contain a few solid and comprehensible set pieces. The best set piece in the film is the bridge attack that occurs exactly in the middle of the film's runtime. This scene is made all the better because it is set atop a bridge over water, thereby rendering escape impossible for our characters. Also, you just have to love the shot in which a missile blows up a car behind Tom Cruise and tosses him through the air into a car next to him. Great stuff.

M:i:III is yet another film that proves why Tom Cruise is the king of on screen running. I don't know what it is, but few actors can run as well as Cruise does. Cruise is so tense and believable while in a jog that I would love to watch a film where Cruise plays a marathon runner for goodness sakes. M:i:I and M:i:II also contain great Tom Cruise running moments. However, M:i:III takes the running cake as it is filled to the brim with sprinting sequences in which Cruise runs his heart out. I also have to mention that M:i:III marks a trend of the franchise in which Tom Cruise's hair length alternates with each film. His hair is short in the first film, long in the second, short in the third, and long in the fourth. I hope that Christopher McQuarrie and Cruise keep this tradition running with M:i:V because I prefer Cruise's hair short and not long, it makes him look younger. Plus it's just fun to spot an alternating trend in a franchise and see it play out over 20 years of movies.

M:i:III, the revival of the series.

M:i:II nearly killed the franchise despite its massive box office intake, plain and simple. It was a dumb and stupid actioner that took all of the character out of Ethan Hunt and provided us with next to no genuine suspense. However, Abrams found a way to bring the series back to its glory by fusing the best elements of both M:i:I and M:i:II together into one cohesive entry. Mission: Impossible III is a darn good summer blockbuster that takes no major risks and commits no major offenses. Even though I complained about the film's shaky cam issues, the rest of the film's strengths out weigh these mere moments of queasy cam syndrome. Interestingly enough, this entry is the lowest grossing of the franchise. It's crazy to think that more people saw John Woo's dove fest than this superior thriller. However, it was M:i:III that set the franchise back on its feet and on the path towards Ghost Protocol greatness. My hat goes off to Abrams and friends for making a darn good action film that holds up even a decade later.

Rating: 8/10 - A fast paced and entertaining summer blockbuster that fuses the best elements of both M:i:I and M:i:II.

Franchise:
Mission: Impossible (1996, dir. Brian De Palma)
Mission: Impossible II (2000, dir. John Woo)
Mission: Impossible III (2006, dir. J.J. Abrams)
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011, dir. Brad Bird)
Mission: Impossible V (2015, dir. Christopher McQuarrie)

Mission-Impossible-a-Thon, Part 2 - Mission: Impossible II (2000)

Director: John Woo

Cast: Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Ving Rhames, Richard Roxburg

Country: United States

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 123 minutes

Mission: Impossible II did so many things different than Mission: Impossible. For starters, the budget was amped up to $125 million from the original's $80 million. Than, the sequel replaced the original's clever and smart plot with a dumb action packed plot complete with lots of nonsensical romance. All of Brian De Palma's stylistic tendencies, tense heist sequences, and storytelling techniques were completely scrapped as well. With De Palma out of the director chair, the greatest action director of all time stepped in. That being, John Woo. 

Woo brings all of his action mastery and love for doves (there is literally a dove on the poster!) to the film and crafts the best action scenes of the entire franchise. However, Woo, screenwriter Robert Towne, and star and producer Tom Cruise completely forgot that a Mission: Impossible film also needs an engaging story. Cruise and Woo must have spent so much time crafting action scenes that they completely forgot that the original film was extremely tense and suspenseful. The sequel is nothing like the original film at all. Besides the presence of Ving Rhames and Tom Cruise, there are almost no similarities between the two films.

I have noted that many non-action fans hate this film (due to the departure of actual spy tactics and smart storytelling) and that many action fans love this film (due to the increased amount of gunfire, car chases, and explosions). Interestingly enough, I find my opinion somewhere in the middle of these two consensuses. I hate that the film abandons the smart plot of De Palma's original in favor of dumb and generic blockbuster storytelling. However, I absolutely love the action scenes in the film and think that the shootouts are incredibly well choreographed, shot, and edited for a PG-13 film. You have to remember that John Woo is arguably my favorite director of all time as far as action filmmakers come. But even my love for Woo can't hide my disappointment with this film. Mission: Impossible II is kind of a red headed step child for me. I hate the darn thing because it's so annoying but have to love it at the same time because my boy John Woo directed the heck out of the action scenes.

Trademark Beretta Woo Gunplay.

Mission Impossible II opens with Dr. Nekhorvich (Rade Serbedzija) stealing a virus named Chimera from a lab. While traveling on a plane, the doctor meets with his friend Dimitri (who is actually Ethan Hunt). But when Dimitri arrives, he kills the doctor and pulls off his face mask to reveal that he is actually the villain of the movie, Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott). He and his henchmen escape the plane and send it crashing into the side of a mountain. 

We than get reintroduced to the real Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) as he free climbs along the side of a cliff while listening to reggae music. When he reaches the peak of the cliff, an IMF helicopter shoots a tube toward him. He opens it and pulls out the lamest sunglasses you have seen since the year 2000 and puts them on to reveal a video inside of the lenses. IMF informs him of his newest mission: Ethan must assemble a team in order to stop Sean Ambrose from obtaining the Chimera virus. However, he must get a thief named Naya (Thandie Newton) to join the team no matter what. 

What follows is one of the most boring hour and fifteen minutes in movie history. Ethan strikes up a relationship with Naya, sends her in as a mole to infiltrate Ambrose's hideout (they had a former relationship), and than spends the rest of the film worrying about her being amongst Ambrose and his dangerous henchmen. It takes one hour and fifteen minutes to get to the first action scene in the film. An hour and fifteen minutes! Once the action arrives, Mission II finally becomes a good film. But one and hour and fifteen minutes of nonsensical romance and boring dialog is unforgivable. Shame on you Tom Cruise and John Woo.

Please shoot her!

I cannot stress enough how truly boring the first hour of this film is. There is no tension or suspense at all. I got so bored within the first 15 minutes of the film that I honestly considered fast forwarding up to the action scenes. But than I decided against that because I know I can't properly review the film without having seen the entire thing. The first problem I have with this film is that there is a lot of romantic nonsense between Thandie Newton and Tom Cruise. The two strike up an interest immediately upon meeting and kiss one another within the second time of seeing one another. I am sorry, but these characters and actors have absolutely no chemistry with one another. Their romance is completely forced.

Another big problem is that the film reveals characters' true identities far too often. As seen in the first film, agents can don a mask in order to make themselves look like a completely different person. The first Mission: Impossible film sparingly uses these masks and uses them well. We see them used once at the very beginning and than a second time during the film's finale. The uses of these masks work well because they aren't over done and they come as a surprise too. But than Mission: Impossible II throws that logic to the wind and has a dramatic mask reveal every half hour. I counted five times when characters take a mask off of their face in order to reveal their true identity. Five times! The film borders on self parody by the fourth or fifth mask reveal. And how are these characters whipping up masks so quickly? During the final action scene at the island compound, there is a mask reveal where a character literally had to have had the mask in their jacket pocket to whip it out in time.

But the problems don't stop there. Unlike the first film's cast, I could care less for any of the heroes or villains in this film. Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames do a fine job as their respective characters from the first film. But they aren't given good material at all. The worst offenders, Thandie Newton and Dougray Scott, are dreadfully boring in their roles. They don't have any chemistry with each other or with Cruise. They both come off as lazy, boring, and over the top. You'll be begging to move onto Mission: Impossible III's characters after you spend 30 minutes with these characters. Anthony Hopkins also pops up in a wasted cameo as the new director of IMF. If you ask me, Hopkins is my least favorite director of IMF in contrast to the other directors that pop up throughout the series.

"He put a hole in my Versace. Oh now I'm mad."

If lots of boring dialog and useless shots of the characters' surroundings wasn't enough to annoy you, there is a single scene in Mission: Impossible II that easily ranks as one of the most ridiculous, unnecessary, and stupid scenes in movie history. After Ethan fails to convince Naya that he needs her help on a mission, he decides to track her down in his sports car. Ethan finds Naya driving in her sports car as well along a road that runs next to a cliff. When Ethan smiles from along side her, Naya rams her car into the side of his to prove that she wants him off of her tail. The two than partake in a ridiculous chase as the two bash into each other's cars and dodge oncoming traffic.

After Naya nearly hits an oncoming car, her car spins out of control. Ethan rams his car into the side of her car to prevent it from going off of the cliff and their two cars begin to spin next to one another. As their cars spin out of control, Ethan and Naya look at each in slow motion with loving eyes and have a sexy stare down. Finally, Ethan and Naya look up to see that their cars are spinning toward the edge of a cliff. By luck, Naya's car stops right at the edge of the cliff. When Ethan goes to check on her, Naya is hanging off of the cliff from her car's side door (what the heck caused her door to open up and for her to fall out?) Ethan pulls Naya up on top of him while sitting in her front seat. The two embrace one another and kiss each other because they are both two hot sexy people who just survived a life or death incident (just like the moment between Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves in Speed, but forced instead of earned). Ladies and gentlemen, this is one of the stupidest scenes in movie history. Moving on.

"I'm the villain!"

Mission: Impossible II is unfortunately more interesting to discuss than to watch. Viewers will notice that each Mission: Impossible film represents the stylistic tendencies of the director attached to it. Therefore, it is quite easy to spot the markings of director John Woo. There are slow motion explosions, Beretta hand guns, double fisted gun play, doves, and even helmet clad motorcycle riding henchmen. However, these aspects of Woo only apply to the action scenes. None of John Woo's typical themes of honor, friendship, or loyalty pop up in the film at all. While I love any action scene that John Woo directs, his action is made far better by the themes and characters found in his Hong Kong films. His American films only represent half of why he is a great filmmaker. This is probably why Woo was chosen to direct the film. The producers saw one of his shootouts from Hard Boiled and flipped out. Or the producers saw Face/Off and thought, "Hey! This guy made a pretty good action movie with characters wearing masks of one another's faces. Let's do that but in a Mission: Impossible movie!"

Mission: Impossible II is John Woo's biggest financial success in his entire career. The film grossed a whopping $540 million worldwide on a $125 million budget. It was also the highest grossing film in 2000! Man, I am so sorry for all of those people out there who had to sit through one of John Woo's most problematic films. On the other hand, I am not sorry that they got to sit through the action scenes because they are absolutely fantastic!

Mission: Impossible II is one of two PG-13 John Woo films (the other being Paycheck). Therefore, the film doesn't display Woo's graceful eye for slow motion blood letting. All of the action is tame and blood-less. However, the choreography, editing, and photography more than makes up for the lack of blood. The two big action scenes in the film are a shootout inside of a close quarters laboratory and a final chase scene involving motorcycles, guns, flipping cars, and a fist fight by the sea. It's a shame these excellent action scenes come so late into the film. You'll be brain dead by the time Tom Cruise finally fires a gun.

Richard Roxburg plays a decent right hand man.

The lab gunfight is filled with plenty of John Woo action shots. Ethan slides on his side and fires two guns in slow motion, Ethan fires two guns into a goon who rushes him, and Ethan runs down an exploding hallway filled with sparks and fire (much like Chow Yun Fat during the hospital finale in Hard Boiled, minus the baby). Unlike the first Mission: Impossible, Ethan racks up a hefty kill count that is more akin to what you would find in a body count heavy John Woo film.

But it is the motorcycle finale that ranks as one of the great cinematic action sequences. Once Ethan gets his hands on a motorcycle, he tries to out run Ambrose and his men's many vehicles. There is some great stunt work in this scene, especially a moment where Tom Cruise leaps off of his motorcycle and hangs onto the side while driving in order to avoid oncoming gun fire! He even looks at his rear view mirror to aim down his gun's sights in order to shoot it backwards! I could rave forever about the slow motion editing and stunt work in this chase scene. It's so fantastic that it makes up for all of the crap that comes before it.

Even though Mission: Impossible was released in 1996, Mission: Impossible II is easily the most dated entry of the entire franchise. The soundtrack and score are incredibly silly (hard rocking Hans Zimmer and Limp Bizkit doing the Mission theme) and the outfits are atrocious as well (Cruise's lame leather jacket and long gross hair don't help). The action sequences are top notch though and still hold up.

Cruise "kicks" it up a notch.

Mission: Impossible II, where to begin? I've said enough about this film so I'll sum it up in short. The first hour and fifteen minutes are boring as hell. Watching them could make for a good torture method. But the final hour of non-stop action and stunt work is entertaining as hell. Is it worth it to sit through the whole film just to get to some great action? In my opinion, no. But, I would recommend the film to fans of John Woo and the series. Woo's action scenes are truly some of the greatest shootouts ever made for a PG-13 feature. But the rest of the film is trash. It's sad to see such a smart franchise turn dumb so quickly.

Rating: 6/10 - Mission: Impossible II is a dull sequel that fails to replicate what made the original film so great while packing a lot more action for the action fanatics to drool over.

Franchise:
Mission: Impossible (1996, dir. Brian De Palma)
Mission: Impossible II (2000, dir. John Woo)
Mission: Impossible III (2006, dir. J.J. Abrams)
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011, dir. Brad Bird)
Mission: Impossible V (2015, dir. Christopher McQuarrie)