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