MI-2 arrived in London this weekend with the expected blaze. Opening night was sold out in advance and it seems that even with the weather remaining cold and grey, Tom Cruise was announcing the start of summer.

In sharp contrast to the original Mission Impossible, the plot of MI-2 is fairly simple. Rogue MI-5 agent, Sean Ambrose, steals a deadly virus and plans to release it into the human populace only to then sell the anti dote thereby minting millions of dollars. Ethan Hunte is given the task of foiling the plan. To do this he recruits (and falls in love with) Ambrose's former flame and uses her as bait.

While the storyline is based very loosely on Hitchcock's brilliant espionage thriller Notorious, it explores none of the subtleties of the relationships between the main characters that Hitchcock's classic did. Instead the plot is lost in a blaze of explosions, high-speed chases and ridiculously overblown set pieces. However, what more could one expect from a John Woo film?

Unfortunately, while Face Off was racy and pacy at the same time, MI-2 drags unacceptably for a film of its genre. The flaw lies in Woo and Cruise's decision to sacrifice action for the romantic angle that is introduced early in the film. While Mission Impossible was criticised for being cold and somewhat clinical, Woo's sequel was meant to bring warmth to Cruise's character. But the pairing of the leads fails to bring the fireworks that it promises in the first few scenes. The result is a forced romance and an action film that wants to break loose but never does.

When we do finally see some action there are the usual Woo trademarks - the slow mo, the camera panning round in circular movements - it's all hugely dramatic and done with great style. Sadly, this time Woo goes overboard even by his own standards. The camera provides us every conceivable angle on Cruise's profile, his locks flowing heroically in the wind. A white dove flies through a blazing fire before Cruise appears, again in slow motion. The fire's eruption blazes as a reflection in the crazed villains pupils. It's extremely stylish in bits but the overall effect is diluted by the fact that all the action sequences are so long drawn out that even they begin to drag. On top of that some of the action scenes are simply down right ridiculous.

If some of you thought that Face Off was like a Bollywood film wait till you see Cruise somersaulting while firing gun shots, flying though the air to deliver kicks a la WWF wrestlers and also suffering a mid air collision with the villain as both fly off those snazzy motor bikes. Even the much acclaimed rock climbing scene is pointless serving more as a showcase for Cruise's muscles rather than as a cog in the film's plot.

MI-2 is a huge disappointment. It's tedious, utterly predictable, lacks in any tension and doesn't have a single memorable sequence. There are flashes of Woo's inimitable style but is he becoming a victim of his own success? Tom Cruise has the charisma and screen presence to make an excellent action hero but this effort is a misfire and the opportunity is wasted.

And yet Cruise and Woo are laughing all the way to the box office as the film rakes in millions.