M:I-2 (idea)

Good things:

1. John Woo directs, so cool action sequences.
2. Lots of pretty explosions.

1. I don't care for the Love Interest Thandie Newton. I don't know why, everyone else seems to. Maybe it's because it really came through that she was an airhead.
2. The plot is very simple and straightforward. I liked the first movie, because it was actually kind of intricate, and, aside from the deus ex machina mask trick at the end, you got paid well for your suspension of disbelief. In this movie, you knew everything all the time, and when you didn't know everything, you would handily be filled in in 15 seconds. I'm told that this dumbing down was intentional, as the general movie-going public complained that the Mission: Impossible was too hard to follow.
3. Even though this is a John Woo film, you don't get a good fight scene until about halfway into the movie.

Recommendation: Catch a matinee. Your girlfriend will like Tom Cruise's bulging muscles during his rock climbing scene at the beginning of the movie.