Cruise takes on the 'Impossible' again

May 26, 2000
Web posted at: 9:29 a.m. EDT (1329 GMT)

From Jim Moret
CNN Entertainment Correspondent

(CNN) -- "Mission: Impossible 2" -- "M:I-2" in shorthand -- made $12.5 million dollars on its first day Thursday. A hefty cut is going to Tom Cruise, who reprised his role as superspy Ethan Hunt.

His mission in the sequel to the 1996 original is to enlist the help of a sensual thief, played by Thandie Newton, to stop the spread of a deadly virus.

"In this one, interestingly, Ethan Hunt departs from his mission in order to … follow his heart, to follow his gut," she said. And that sets him apart from British spy 007.

"I think that he (Hunt) is more three-dimensional than James Bond, " she said. "He's more soulful than James Bond. And also, James Bond sticks very closely to his mission."

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Cruise's other assignment the second time around was to make "M:I-2" feel like an original film, not a sequel. That meant giving Hunt a new persona.

"He's different," Cruise said. "He's a different character."

"In this one we try to make a real person, a real guy, a real hero," added director John Woo. "We intended to make a classic romantic spy movie."

And a classic action flick.

What did Cruise's wife, Nicole Kidman, say?

"Nick (Nicole) said, 'Be careful,'" he recalled. "Of course there's going to be danger -- but it's safe danger."

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Official 'Mission: Impossible 2' site
Paramount Pictures

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