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PUBLISH: Mission Impossible 2 and 3 reviews

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---
box_office: $215,409,889
date: 2023-02-26 11:09:04+09:00
favorite: false
genres:
- Action
- Adventure
- Thriller
image: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BN2RkYWVkZDQtNTMxMi00NWQ4LWE2ODctNmQzOWM2NjQzYzdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUzOTY1NTc@._V1_SX800.webp
imdb: 6.1/10
imdb_link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120755
metacritic: 59/100
metacritic_link: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/mission-impossible-ii
mpaa: PG-13
quick_look: 'The second installment in the _Mission: Impossible_ franchise that begins to bridge the gap between the iconic later films and the more "by the book" early films.'
rating: 3
rotten_tomatoes: 56%
rotten_tomatoes_link: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mission_impossible_ii
summary: Ethan Hunt is back to stop a rouge IMF agent from unleashing a deadly virus
title: 'Mission: Impossible II'
year: 2000
---
## Recommendation
This is another one that I don't think I recommend to people who aren't looking to binge the series. It's not a bad film, it's fine, but it's also not special. Like [the first film](/film/reviews/mission-impossible), I can suggest a watch for context, since this movie builds out the characters and the IMF a bit more.
I also can fully recommend skipping this movie. My recommendation for the first movie also applies to this one: if you're looking for a spy movie or even specifically a _Mission: Impossible_ movie, there are better options available to you in the series ([_Mission: Impossible III_](/film/reviews/mission-impossible-iii) or better yet [_Mission: Impossible - Fallout_](/film/reviews/mission-impossible-fallout)).
## Thoughts
### The Unbeatable Action Hero
Ethan Hunt in this movie is basically invincible which has a negative effect on the stakes of the story. Of course, watching the film now we know that his character isn't going to die because he has to star in the next several films, but in this film Ethan doesn't even seem capable of losing a fight.
This issue occurred to me during the scene where Ethan infiltrates the biomedical company to destroy the virus. Their _barely_ planned scheme goes off without much of a hitch until the bad guy shows up to intervene. Even then, it doesn't play out as the bad guy planning well, because Ethan has already successfully destroyed the main virus and all but one of the inoculation guns.
This lowering of the stakes and implication that everything will end with Ethan saving the day removes all of the suspense from the plot. In all of the other movies, including the first, Ethan is barely escaping with his life and scrapes out a win from the jaws of defeat. In MI: 2, the only tension is if they will save his girlfriend or not, but the fate of the world never really feels like it's in the balance.
### Bad Guy in the IMF
One through line for all of the _Mission: Impossible_ movies is that they love a bad guy working in the IMF. Minor Spoilers, but I think _Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol_ is the only movie where the big bad isn't either from IMF or some equivalent allied spy agency.
This movie is no exception, although I think it does a better job of using that plot point than many of the others. Normally, Ethan is framed by a corrupt senior agent, but in this movie, he goes head to head with another IMF agent at the same level as him. This makes for some interesting and fun scenes like when Ambrose (the bad guy) uses the mask tech to impersonate Ethan, or when he use's his insider knowledge of Ethan's tactics to predict how he will infiltrate the biomedical facility to destroy the virus.

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---
box_office: $134,029,801
date: 2023-02-26 11:37:31+09:00
favorite: false
genres:
- Action
- Adventure
- Thriller
image: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOThhNTA1YjItYzk2Ny00M2Y1LWJlYWUtZDQyZDU0YmY5Y2M5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjU0OTQ0OTY@._V1_SX800.webp
imdb: 6.9/10
imdb_link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317919
metacritic: 66/100
metacritic_link: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/mission:-impossible-iii
mpaa: PG-13
quick_look: 'Now the series is really heating up. _Mission: Impossible III_, through a terrifying villain and a return to the danger levels of the first movie, transcends its lukewarm predecessors into the realm of truly great spy movies'
rating: 4
rotten_tomatoes: 71%
rotten_tomatoes_link: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mission:_impossible_iii
summary: Ethan Hunt is pulled out of retirement to stop the biggest bad yet
title: 'Mission: Impossible III'
year: 2006
---
## Recommendation
Finally, we start getting to the good ones! If you've been binging the series, I would say that up until now it's hard to understand what all the hype is about. Well, the wait is over because MI:3 is where the franchise really takes off.
The reservations I have about recommending the first two movies do not apply to this one. While it has all the familiar spy and _Mission: Impossible_ tropes, it also has a very strong villain, and addresses some of the criticisms I raised about the first two movies. I can easily recommend this to anyone looking for an action or spy movie.
## Thoughts
### Higher Stakes
My biggest gripe with MI:2 was that there seemed to be no real stakes. Ethan was basically invincible, so we as an audience weren't really worried about the eventual outcome of the movie. MI:3 addresses that fault almost immediately, as the first mission Ethan goes on is a complete failure. It results in the hostage they have gone to rescue having her brain exploded which is about as gruesome as it gets. This failure does a few things: first it helps us immediately understand Ethan's motivations for continuing, it also makes us a lot less assured of his success, and it shows us that the villain in this one is not messing around.
Another area where this movie improves on its predecessors is with the love interest. In the second movie, the love interest was essentially a "bond-girl" whereas in this movie, Ethan has gotten involved with a regular person and we are able to see what his life would be like if he left the IMF. It provides many layers of tension and implies a longer and deeper relationship than the one week affair from the previous film. The movie then beautifully combines these two sources of tension to elevate the bad guy in a super creepy scene where he works out who Ethan is and laser focuses in on his new weak spot.
Ethan also really takes a beating in this movie. I mentioned how their first mission is a failure, but even their successes seem to be _just_ coming together. In the final fight, Ethan has to be electrocuted to death just so the bomb in his head doesn't explode and kill him in a way he can't potentially be revived from. This is after a brutal fight through a hospital ending in him winning somewhat by luck.
### Doomsday?
One problem that I have with the plot is that, again I don't really feel like the team is stopping any sort of doomsday event. There is "the rabbits foot" but it's unclear what this the actual danger is. We put together that it's some sort of biological weapon, but they might as well have called it "the MacGuffin".
In the end it doesn't really matter because the suspense comes from whether or not Ethan will be able to get Julia back unharmed. We don't really care about the weapon because we don't have any idea of who is going to use it or why.