A fanedit...
Mission Impossible II The Spence Edit
Spence is one of my favorite faneditors. I love his approach. He sees films in a unique way that helps him to find the best attributes of films that others may overlook for obvious reasons. He said, "I won't edit a film that I don't like."
That is why I was in a state of amazement when he chose to edit Mission Impossible 2 and present it as his reintroduction after a long absence from fanediting. I know we are all glad to see him back...but with this monster?
I couldn't figure out why Spence would choose the worst film in this overblown Tom Cruise ego gratifying franchise. That was my first impression when he allowed me to preview this edit several months ago.
To be honest, the franchise is alright from an action standpoint. Never boring and usually well made, but I don't care for Tom Cruise in these type of roles. I didn't like him as a Charles Bronson wannabe in the Jack Reacher films (I loved the books, so that was very disheartening). I definitely don't like him out of character trying to out Bond the plethora of actors who have played Bond.
Mission Impossible 2 has moments of excitement, moments of sheer idiocy and moments of sheer idiotic excitement. It's never boring, but it features Tom Cruise in his cocky, wise-guy mode, rather than his earnest, searching, don't-hate-me-because-I'm-beautiful mode.
The movie seems something less than the sum of its parts. It comes off as an aggressive live action cartoon. That is part of the appeal bit it negates any chance it might have had of making any emotional impact (which was unlikely from the start).
The movie has downright ridiculous moments. The dove flying in when the hero appears, the gratuitous sex scene, the score, the out of franchise music choices which cause it to be stuck in an era...but the most ridiculous contrivance of all, although cool in theory, is the characters' ability to put on elaborate prosthetic masks and voice patches, then rip them off after someone has been fatally duped. That's above and beyond the suspension of disbelief in any reality.
So much for my disdain for the original. I wondered what the ???? was Spence thinking?
Straight out the gate Spence improves the movie exponentially by incorporating in-franchise music as the score, causing the edit to feel more in line with the other entries in the series. I cannot overstate what an improvement this is to the edit as a whole.
Spence also recognized the need to more evenly distribute the action throughout the film to create a more even pace which drastically improved the momentum and rewarded the viewer's investment. I love what he did with the shootout at the Biocyte facility. Major improvement!
And...(to quote L8wrtr...) My man! Spence either trimmed or removed much of the over the top John Woo moments, that ventured into cartoon territory. The edit takes the plot and the franchise more seriously, as a result and becomes a far better investment of the viewer's attention.
Spence states that this franchise is his favorite (I am sorry that we can't agree on that. I still respect you!). He felt that this film had elements that haven't aged well and that there's a really good movie in there...that the script is a solid Hitchcock esque caper full of twists, turns, backstabs and reveals. The performances overall great, with Tom Cruise giving a charming turn as a softer and more romantic Ethan, a deliciously dirtbag villain, and one of the best female leads the series has had. Also, though they lay the "John Woo-ness" on a little too thick at times, the action is well staged and choreographed.
His goal was to remove the dated elements of MI-2, pick up the pace, and bring it more in line with the other films in the series.
And in that...he achieved remarkably! I did enjoy this edit far far far more than I thought I would all three times that I watched it and I did finally figure out what the ???? he was thinking...
Two very enthusiastic thumbs up for the edit (and you are required to own the original) but avoid watching it at all costs!