Mission: Impossible 2

Scientist Vladimir Nekhorvich was forced to create Chimera, a deadly virus, and Bellerophon, its cure. Sean Ambrose, a rogue IMF agent, wears an Ethan Hunt disguise to steal the cure and bring down the scientist's plane. Ethan recruits thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall, Ambrose's ex-girlfriend, to get inside his crew in Sydney, backed by Luther and pilot Billy Baird. Ambrose plans to blackmail the head of Biocyte and take over the company. To keep the virus out of his hands, Nyah injects herself with Chimera, starting a 20-hour clock. Ethan raids the lab, recovers the cure and kills Ambrose in a fight on the beach. Luther gets the Bellerophon into Nyah in time, and she and Ethan start a vacation in Sydney.

1. CameoAnthony Hopkins hands out the mission

   Anthony Hopkins appears uncredited as Mission Commander Swanbeck, who gives Ethan the assignment. Ian McKellen turned the part down because of a London stage commitment.

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2. Behind the scenesFree solo in Utah

   The opening climb was shot at Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah, and the studio worried about safety. Cruise tore his shoulder on the jump from one part of the cliff to another.

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3. Behind the scenesA real knife

   For the final fight, Cruise insisted on a real knife. It was attached to a cable measured to stop a quarter of an inch from his eye.

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4. ReferenceShades of Hitchcock

   The plot owes a lot to Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (1946): an agent sends the woman he loves to get close to her old flame, the villain.

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5. Behind the scenesThe villain who lost Wolverine

   The shoot ran long, and Dougray Scott, who plays Sean Ambrose, was also hurt in a motorcycle accident. That's why he dropped out of playing Wolverine in X-Men.

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