Rooms on Film: Mission: Impossible II

So there's this new movie out, Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, which I definitely plan to see. Action movies are absolutely my thing. But in the course of reviewing the new movie, many people have passed judgment on it's three predecessors, particularly M:I-2. Despite the fact that M:I-2 outgrossed the other films by $10 million to date, it is apparently the least loved in the series. 

But not by me. Oh, no. M:I-2 is one of my guilty pleasures, right up there with The Legend of Billie Jean. Actually, higher.

Whenever that flick is on I tuck in for a glorious spy thriller wrapped around a deliciously flirty romance. I find M:I-2 to be the epitome of escapist filmmaking. It's fun, buoyant, sexy, elegant, dire, graceful, heartbreaking and redemptive. What more could you want than a hero you believe is in love, a villain who really, really has it coming to him and a love interest who - though naughty - sacrifices herself for the greater good? 

can a master spy and a master thief live happily ever after?

And not only did the film seduce me with it's long, sultry dance of a story, it also made me see the TOM CRUISE!!! in Tom Cruise. Child/teen of the 1980s though I be, I never quite felt his "it" factor. Now, for the space of this film, I'm in love with Tom Cruise. And I kinda want to be Thandie Newton's Nyah who reminds me of the heroine in the Sidney Sheldon novel, IF TOMORROW COMES, who goes from lawyer to international jewel thief. Sure, Nyah's an amoral thief, but she's a master at it and her work is no less thrilling than the spy game. Willowy, gorgeous, confident and cool under pressure? Who wouldn't want to be this chick? Too bad their relationship didn't make it to M:I-3, but how long can two adrenaline junkies on opposite sides of the law last? 

Mission: Impossible II deserves respect, not only for the all-around coolness of it's globetrotting story, but particularly for it's variety of lovely sets, from a villa in Spain to a modern mansion in Australia. But my favorites are the villa and a hotel room in Seville:

One enchanted evening in Seville our couple meets in a sweeping villa. Everyone is distracted by the dance performance which sets the tone of vigor and grace that shapes even the film's biggest action sequences. The villa has the sort of traditional Moorish architecture you would expect to find in Spain: arched doorways, mosaic tiles, intricate lattice patterns, as well as traditional accessories such as brass lanterns, antique wooden furniture, and baroque candlesticks:

A hotel room features an elegant balcony overlooking a local celebration. The exquisite grillwork, the throne-like chairs and the carved candlesticks and pottery create a wonderfully romantic atmosphere:

Ghost Protocol looks to have big sets and some dazzling design. So here's hoping it's another delicious globetrotting race. I think the last one was, but really I don't remember much about that one. I mean, there was no me Nyah.