OK, so it's not the most brainy of plots, and the whole thing is basically built around a few action sequences — such as a playful car chase, a rock-climbing scene filmed in Moab and the motorcycle duel alluded to in the trailers. But they're all doozies and all by themselves make the film worth seeing.

All of this is well-captured by Woo and cinematographer Jeffrey Kimball. And unlike other recent action films, the use of slow-motion photography doesn't seem overdone here; it actually helps spotlight some surprisingly good martial-arts fighting and stuntwork (a lot of it done by Cruise himself).

On the performance side, Cruise is a bit aloof, but considering that his character is supposed to be a chameleon-like cipher, that's certainly forgivable. Besides, Newton supplies all the warmth and heat the film needs.

Also, Cruise has a more than adequate counterpart in Scott, who is properly villainous, despite a thick adopted accent. Ving Rhames, Brendan Gleeson and Anthony Hopkins are a bit underused in supporting roles, however.

"Mission: Impossible 2" is rated PG-13 for violence (including gunplay, as well as martial-arts and hand-to-hand combat), scattered use of profanity and some sexual double-entendres, and brief gore. Running time: 126 minutes.

You can reach Jeff Vice by e-mail at jeff@desnews.com