Just like being cool and handsome, the opening scene of Tom Cruise climbing the rock face is very shocking, but the subsequent scenes inevitably fall into the formulaic Hollywood style, or perhaps we should say the formulaic style of John Woo.
Although John Woo, like Yuen Woo-ping, deeply influenced Hollywood's action and gunfight scenes, even bringing about a revolution, those with discerning eyes can see that this director, known for his violent aesthetics, actually only has those few tricks up his sleeve.
It's not an exaggeration to say that Mission: Impossible 2 is more like a Hollywood-assembled Hong Kong action film tech-show, except that Tom Cruise's name and box-office appeal are much stronger than the actor usually used by John Woo.
The whole movie's selling points are the overly used spy and action tropes, and John Woo simply reworked and collaged some of those elements. Among these elements, there are both his own and others' contributions.
The essence of Mission: Impossible 2 is in two words: "disguise." It is the charm of "disguise" that makes the plot twist and turns, creating suspense, and it is also through "disguise" that challenges are solved, the hero turns danger into safety, and through the movie's "disguise," character identities are quickly swapped, enriching the film's narrative language.
But Mission: Impossible 2 is still a dazzling and extravagant popcorn blockbuster, with Tom Cruise's idol appeal and John Woo's "violent aesthetics" not yet causing aesthetic fatigue, and the audience still gladly buys into it.
This is evident from the enthusiastic applause at the end of the premiere.
Now, as popcorn films dominate the summer blockbusters, these simple, explosive films are the most popular, especially since the film also features Tom Cruise's handsome face, which makes countless people scream.
Even Duke has to admit that when it comes to getting male actors to look cool and handsome, John Woo ranks among the top, even in Hollywood. He truly maximizes Tom Cruise's strengths.
When the applause died down, Duke walked to the front row to congratulate Tom Cruise and John Woo. After all, he was one of the film's investors. He would certainly value those who create value for him, and he had also noticed Jackie Chan, whose Rush Hour 2 seemed to be releasing this year. Plus, several actors from the already released Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hong Kong filmmakers were entering a glorious period in Hollywood.
Duke didn't stay long at the Hollywood Chinese Theater. Soon after, he continued his negotiations with Warner on the Harry Potter series and kept an eye on Mission: Impossible 2's box office, as he held a third of the investment and profits.
The success or failure of Mission: Impossible 2 was also closely tied to his interests.
Due to fierce competition in the summer blockbusters, Mission: Impossible 2 being a sequel to a hit movie, the media once again stirred up controversy around Tom Cruise before its release. For example, tabloids continued with the tradition of Duke's legacy, constantly discussing Cruise's faith, and gossip media focused on his marriage, claiming that they were on the brink of divorce.
In fact, even the rumors that Duke had initially fabricated about the Cruise couple being controlled by Scientology were brought up again by some people.
These were all normal occurrences. How could any major production be released quietly during the summer?
However, rumors were just rumors. The Cruises frequently appeared in the media, and on the surface, there seemed to be no issue with their marriage.
Celebrity marriage problems tend to spread in the industry before they are exposed to the media. Perhaps it was because they had stayed in New Zealand for too long, or maybe no one had tipped him off, but Tom Cruise's marriage seemed fine, even though it was rumored that their relationship had been in turmoil a while ago.
It seemed that this couple's fate was quietly changing.
While some media attacked Mission: Impossible 2 and the Cruises, others heavily promoted them. After the premiere, Mission: Impossible 2 received collective scorn from critics, and professional reviews plummeted below passing marks.
But none of this affected Tom Cruise's pulling power. On the first day of release, Mission: Impossible 2 earned a stunning $21.02 million in North America, creating the best single-day box office performance of 2000, firmly placing the film ahead of its competitors.
In North America, there's a strange phenomenon: whenever there's an economic crisis, box office earnings often soar.
Now, as the stock market fluctuates, with reports of people jumping from buildings and a bleak investment market, America's golden decade seems to be over. But this didn't stop large numbers of people from flocking to cinemas, perhaps because the films offered a brief escape from the harsh reality of life.
The single-day box office of Mission: Impossible 2 was clearly on the path to big success. After an explosive Friday box office, Saturday continued in high spirits, earning $23.07 million, almost guaranteeing the top spot on the weekend box office chart.
In fact, this top spot was virtually locked. Even though Mission: Impossible 2 couldn't avoid the normal box office trends, with Sunday's ticket sales dropping to $19.21 million, the total weekend box office of $63.3 million ensured it held the number one spot in North America.
While Duke was busy with his work, he received a call from Tom Cruise. Perhaps prompted by Nicole Kidman or Pat Kingsley, Cruise personally thanked him. If it weren't for the publicity, he might have even considered visiting in person.
"Duke, I really appreciate your full support. If possible, I'd love to collaborate with you long-term."
The voice on the other end was full of sincerity. "Thank you for recommending that director. He was perfect for this series. Unfortunately…"
Upon hearing the sigh, Duke asked, "What happened?"
"John Woo declined me." Tom Cruise sounded regretful. "He plans to take on a new WWII project."
"That's fine, Tom," Duke said, pleased with the news. "John Woo's personal style is too distinctive, and it could easily lead to aesthetic fatigue. We can find a new director."
"Duke, there's something I need to give you a heads-up about."
After his continuous success working with Duke, Tom Cruise placed great importance on their collaboration. "The Mission: Impossible series may be taking a break…"
"I think it's a good idea to pause for a while."
Temporarily shelving the series for two to three years was actually more in line with the market's future needs, and Duke had no objections.
Unlike other major franchise films, Mission: Impossible keeps changing its style with each film.
The first was a tribute to the Cold War style of the original TV show, the second was a Hong Kong action film showcase by John Woo, the third followed the action movie style of The Bourne Identity, and the fourth featured a thrilling, high-stakes plot where the hero risks everything.
As the first blockbuster of the summer season, Mission: Impossible 2's box office performance was stunning. Numerous research agencies predicted the film would surpass $200 million in North America.
Of course, the premise was that the weekday and next weekend's box office wouldn't experience a sharp drop.
Looking at North American film history, films like Batman & Robin—which earned over $50 million on opening weekend, but then saw a dramatic drop—are not uncommon.
However, Mission: Impossible 2 was clearly not in that category.
On Monday, the first weekday after release, the box office did drop significantly, but within a normal range, with $11.27 million, which was enough to satisfy Duke.
In the following three weekdays, Mission: Impossible 2 maintained steady performance, earning $12.57 million, $11.04 million, and $10.98 million, respectively. The total for the four weekdays was $45.86 million.
In total, after one full week of release, Mission: Impossible 2 had earned $101.9 million in North America!
This was Tom Cruise's best-ever box office performance with the same release time. If all goes well, he'll likely be the first to break the $200 million barrier in North America.
However, to reach that milestone, Mission: Impossible 2 would need to withstand the competition from major films releasing in the next two weekends. Not only would it face the mammoth King Kong from Peter Jackson and Universal Pictures in the second weekend, but also DreamWorks' epic Gladiator in the third weekend.
King Kong, which took three years to produce, had a staggering budget of $180 million, while Gladiator, a collaboration between DreamWorks and Ridley Scott, was aimed at the Oscars next year.
The summer blockbuster competition was about to heat up.
After finishing his work, Duke stayed in Los Angeles at the invitation of Naomi Watts and Nancy Josephson, attending the premiere of King Kong, where he reunited with old friends, including Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob, who had begun official collaborations with Universal Pictures.
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