In The Darkrnby George McCartneyrnSeason Your AdmirationrnIn Mission: Impossible 2 {M:12 to enthusiasts),rnthe boyishly becoming TomrnCruise strikes heroic poses, simulatesrnkung-fu kicks, and hangs charminglyrnfrom cliff faces. Unfortunately, thernmovie constructed around him is notrnnearly as becoming. It’s just another tediouslyrnoverproduced, contemptuouslyrnunderwritten farrago of stmits and explosions.rnKids will enjoy it, although I suspectrnthey’ll find its video-game versionrnmore emohonally engaging. Otherwise,rnthere’s little of interest unless vou’re anrninvestor who has bulked up on pharmaceuticalrnstocks. If so, you may find thernfilm’s treatment of vour cash cow quiternriveting—and perhaps a little discomfiti’lg-rnThe film opens with a riddle. An Einsteinrnlook-alike appears on a laptoprnscreen and enigmatically intones thatrn”every search for a hero must begin withrnwhat a hero requires: a villain.” He thenrninjects something into his arm. Thatrnpharmacological something becomesrnthe film’s Macguffin, triggering all of itsrnsubsequent action. Ethan Hunt (Cruisernas the impossible missionary) is sent tornsolve its mystery. Innumerable explosions,rncar chases, and kick-fights later, herndecodes the riddle and discovers whatrnwas in the syringe. It seems an Australianrnpharmaceutical company has decided torntake the guesswork out of research: Insteadrnof waiting for the next big disease tornshow up, they’ve elected to be “proactive”rn(as they say in corporate speak), developingrnan anti-viral drug and tiien designingrna lethal virus for which it will berntiie wonder cure.rnThe parallel with the pharmaceuticalrnindustry’s less circumspect practices isrnhard to ignore. While I’m very happ’ tornlie in an age when antibiotics and accinesrncan cure ever)’thing from ear infectionsrnto polio, there’s no denying that thernpharmaceutical giants have too often succumbedrnto hubris and greed in their rushrnto de’elop the next highly profitablerncure. At times, tiiey have pushed inade-rnMission: Impossible 2rnProduced by Cruise-WagnerrnProductions and Paramount PicturesrnDirected by John WoornScreenplay by Robert TownernReleased by Paramount PicturesrnHamletrnProduced by Double A FilmsrnDirected by Michael AlmereydarnScreenplay by Michael Almereyda,rnfrom Shakespeare’s HamletrnReleased by Miramax FilmsrnSmall Time CrooksrnProduced by Sweetland FilmsrnDirected by Woody AllenrnScreenplay by Woody AllenrnReleased by DreamWorksrnquately tested, enormously expensiverndrugs onto the market with results thatrnrange from useless to utterly disastrous.rnThe swine flu vaccine and thalidomidernwere two glaring examples. More recently,rnthere has been growing eidence thatrnthe blanket prescription of AZT and proteaserninhibitors for those infected withrnHIV has done more harm than good, frequentiyrnkilling HIV-positive individualsrnwho may have been in no real danger ofrndeveloping AIDS.rnThe film’s criminal drug CEO (BrendanrnGleeson looking everv ounce thernpart) seeks to eliminate such unseemlyrnconsequences by taking the next, all-toologicalrnstep in drug marketing: administeringrnboth malady and its patented remedy.rnHe only needs to release a few vialsrnof his deadly virus in downtown Sydneyrnand —presto —his antidote will enjoy arnthriving market. How’s that for gainingrnmarket share and preemptively eliminatingrnquibbles about price?rnA fanciful interpretation? Perhaps.rnBut the film’s writer is Robert Towne, thernman who scripted the bracingly cynicalrnChinatown 26 years ago. Civen the assignmentrnto make Cruise look like JamesrnBond on steroids, Towne apparently decidedrnto amuse himself bv slipping a littlernsubversive subtext into the otherwisernstandard action heroics.rnBut what about the film as entertainment?rnOrchestrated by John Woo ofrnHong Kong krmg-fu fame, M:12 offers arnnearly nonstop series of kabooms punctuatedrnhy bip-bop hand-to-foot fights, all deliveredrnin lightning montages as the camerarnalternates dizzily between extremernclose-ups and long-distance shots. It’s arnsimple strategy: Punmiel the audiencerninto believing they’re getting their money’srnworth. At today’s prices, I’d say a 90-rnpercent discount is in order.rnWhile I wish the star power in M:l 2rnhad been turned down several lumens,rnthe lack of thespian brilliance undoesrnMichael Almereyda’s Hamlet even morernthan its wrongheaded modernization.rnThe play might have weathered thisrnfilm’s sea change to contemporary Manhattanrnhad AlmercN’da not forgotten thernhero. Unfortunately, this Hamlet hasrndocked in the Big Apple without a Hamletrnin the hold. Instead of Denmark’srntroubled prince, we get Ethan Hawkernpalely loitering. He’s little more than arnslacker with attitude.rnIn theory, Almereyda’s attempt tornbring home the play’s timelessness makesrnsense. After all, Shakespeare himself wasrnupdating a tale that preceded him by 700rnvears or more. In practice, however,rnAlmereyda’s film succeeds only in callingrnattention to the play’s historical distancernfrom us. Elsinore is rendered in 21st-centuryrnterms in a way that is jarring in its ingenuitv’.rnDenmark has become a hugerncorporation headquartered in one ofrnManhattan’s glass-and-steel office boxes.rnClaudius is the ultimate corporaternclimber, murdering his brother in orderrnto install himself as the firm’s CEO. Insteadrnof soldiers glimpsing Old Hamlet’srnghost wandering across the castle battlements,rnsecurity guards in the company’srnlobby pick up a strange apparition onrntheir closed-circuit television monitors.rnWhen Claudius and Polonius sendrnOphelia to spy on Hamlet, they strap arnvoice-activated tape recorder to her torso.rnThe play within the play is a video com-rnSEPTEMBER 2000/49rnrnrn