Tom Cruise Had to Be Shut Down for His Extreme Behavior in ‘Mission Impossible 2’ That Was Frankly Disturbing: “We didn’t allow him to do that”

SUMMARY

• Tom Cruise's love for film has made him into a Hollywood messiah, especially considering his post-pandemic efforts to save the theatrical distribution system.
• Mission: Impossible 2 landed Cruise in controversy after rumors about his heavy-handed interference in the film's post-production process threatened his reputation as an actor.
• John Woo's Mission: Impossible film failed to impress the audience due to various factors that resulted from a troubled filming process behind the scenes.

There is a long-hidden secret formula in the film industry that lets Hollywood choose which stars to raise among the litany of struggling and aspiring actors. Tom Cruise is one such movie star who has almost a messianic quality to his career, fame, success, and popularity.

The fact was further proven when his love for the entertainment business propelled him to save the theatrical distribution system, thus saving Hollywood, after the global pandemic.

Mission: Impossible 2 [Credit: Paramount Pictures]

However, such an overbearing love for the industry has often led Cruise to cross a line and overstep where he isn’t meant to. Jumping off cliffs and dangling from a Boeing aside, the fanatic in Tom Cruise has sometimes taken his love for the filmmaking business and turned it into a weird obsession. Naturally, not all directors took kindly to his attitude… for obvious reasons.

Tom Cruise Gets Too Bossy on Mission: Impossible 2

Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 2 [Credit: Paramount Pictures]

During the filming of one of the most controversial and worst-rated Mission: Impossible movies, Tom Cruise‘s Ethan Hunt encounters a biological weapon that needs to be destroyed before it can be used as a weapon of terrorism and mass destruction. However, the John Woo film featured more fiery explosions and loud gunfights than an actual war film and far too many for a spy movie.

The film was shredded by fans and critics alike. John Woo – the legendary Hong Kong action filmmaker – failed to impress the Hollywood audience. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise went back to work, the Mission: Impossible franchise carried on delivering hits, and the actor became a legend in the action scene himself. Years later, the truth about Mission: Impossible 2 came to light.

While the movie found itself under constant backlash, Cruise was dragged into the mounting controversy as rumors about his heavy-handed involvement in finalizing the film’s cut began to circulate. John Woo then dismissed the claims of Cruise interfering with his cut by revealing to Rolling Stone:

While Cruise’s love for the filmmaking business is a well-known trait of the actor, at the time, those rumors could have heavily impacted his rising status as an action star – a label that later became inherent to his identity years down the line. Fortunately, John Woo did not let the behind-the-scenes controversy affect the film after its premiere by clearing Tom Cruise’s name from scandal.

The Many Troubles of Mission: Impossible 2

Mission: Impossible 2 feat. Thandie Newton [Credit: Paramount Pictures]

Despite delivering the biggest box office hit of 2000 with Mission: Impossible 2, John Woo’s time filming the 25th movie of his career was mired in trouble. The director found himself constantly clashing with his lead star, Tom Cruise. The actor, who wanted to do all of the stunts himself, undermined the efforts of stunt doubles, who the director wanted to shine the spotlight upon.

Meanwhile, Woo’s original cut for the movie, which clocked in at 3 and a half hours long, was rejected by Paramount as the studio execs wanted a shorter runtime. The cut-down film resulted in a patchy story filled with plot holes and continuity errors that made for a bad viewing experience for the audience.

Mission: Impossible 2 was a much-anticipated film after Tom Cruise’s first 1996 blockbuster hit. As a result, the box office performance of the sequel was impressive, raking in $57 million at the opening and grossing $546 million worldwide in the end [via The Numbers]. The film’s 56% rating on Rotten Tomatoes remains its only black mark.

Mission: Impossible 2 is streaming on Paramount+.

Written by Diya Majumdar

Articles Published: 2052

Armed with a degree in literature and a love for pop culture, Diya Majumdar has over 1800 published articles on FandomWire. Her passion and profession both include dissecting the world of cinema while being a liberally opinionated person with an overbearing love for music and Monet.