h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Mission: Impossible was a poor movie. Don't have second thoughts about it. Don't rent or buy the video just to make sure. It was bad. There were some explosions and people got killed. That's it. Chances are the second part of the film was obscured by a coma when it last got a viewing.

Where M:I failed it's sequel decided to go for the easy option. Explosions, big fights and lots of fancy disguises. OK... that's a bit of a spoiler, but there you have it. This is a journal entry and pussy-footing isn't required. The film has a plot about a virus - Chimaera - that kills people in the space of day (or thereabouts) and half the movie Ethan Hunt doesn't even know what Chimaera is... never mind whether it'll kill anyone.

There's an embarrassing Australian agent (embarrassing for the Australian's primarily) with a big mouth and a big guy who's the techie whose primary (and probably only) character trait is that he likes to dress well. The love interest is a charming, pretty nosed thief with a taste for fast cars and living dangerously. The villian is a Scotsman who reminded me, off-puttingly, of my old departmental manager - something that robbed some of the weight from his villainous role (as my ex-manager was known for his endless witty anecdotes about pretty much anything and bizarre stories about his childhood and family).

The music's good. The scenery is good (Australia and Spain provide some very pretty, and also dusty, backdrops).

One thing to look out for is a remake of The Fast Show's take-off of the endless fight scene (called something like "The Long, Bloody Fist Fight") which features at the end of the movie. You may find yourself wondering whether the financers of the movie realised how much the Fighting Consultants/Choreographers had been paid and decided that they needed to get their moneys worth before the film finished.

Overall, a good action-orientated movie. The start bogs down for a while and there are a couple of slow bits in the middle. The plot just about hangs in there. Go see it.