The hosts of the Hit Factory podcast, Aaron Casias and Carlee Gomes, return to the show from San Francisco to defend John Woo’s Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), generally considered the weakest film in the series.

Woo’s underappreciated sequel is best enjoyed as his attempt to fuse modern American blockbuster filmmaking with the delirious style of Hong Kong action cinema and the spirit of Hitchcock’s grand Hollywood entertainments, in this case openly echoing the plot of Notorious. It also set the template for Mission: Impossible as a continuing series of thrillers.

Most importantly, this was the movie where Tom Cruise turned into the Tom Cruise we have today: the man who does his own death-defying stunts and the last real Hollywood movie star, who practically makes propaganda for himself.

Patrons of the Junk Filter podcast receive at least two additional exclusive episodes a month: some of our notable previous guests include Jared Yates Sexton, David Roth, Alex Shephard, Sooz Kempner, and Jacob Bacharach. More to come! Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter

Follow Aaron Casias and Carlee Gomes on Twitter.

Subscribe to the Hit Factory podcast; you can also support the show directly through Patreon.

Trailer for Mission: Impossible 2 (John Woo, 2000)

Trailer for Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)

"Aeropuerto", John Woo’s great commercial for Nike, 1998 (he was working on this when he was tapped by Cruise to direct M:I 2.)

A great interview with Thandiwe Newton for Vulture where she spills the tea on her film career and talks about working on M:I 2.