Why is Tom Cruise free climbing a sheer rock face in a tank top and shades? Like many things in Mission: Impossible 2, the opening prioritises looking cool over practicality. There's certainly an argument to be made – and this is no bad thing – that this is a movie that runs on vibes and vibes alone.
There's also an argument to be made for the 2000 sequel being the most underrated Mission of the bunch. That's not one you'll find here. It deservingly sits near the bottom of most M:I rankings; an odd curio of a film – directed by John Woo, no less – that's a tonal mismatch for Cruise's strengths, bundled with a two-dimensional villain, a stuttering plot, and by far the series' least memorable action sequences.
