Mission impossible II is undoubtedly one of the ten worst movies ever made; with the exception of the climbing sequence, at the beginning of the film, it is completely without excitement or any other merit. The endless stream of explosions and gunfire is a poor substitute for a plot or for interesting and engaging characterization; this is not an action movie, it is more like a small-town fireworks display. <br /><br />The female lead comes across as having as much personality as a sack of wet fish; what little she does say is delivered with all of the emotion and enthusiasm of a fast-food order. <br /><br />Mr. Cruise is a competent actor; however, you would never know it from this film--nobody would have been able to deliver a compelling performance, considering the insipid dialog, abysmal writing and first-year film-school-caliber direction, in this mess. The gimmick, with the masks IS cute and would be a nice addition to a movie, which contained some real intrigue, however when it is as over-used, as in this film, it is only silly.<br /><br />There should be a secure institution, located far away from Hollywood, where untalented writers and self-indulgent directors, like the fools who created this garbage, can be locked up and kept from bothering the public with this kind of silliness.