'MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2' WOO'S IDEAS MAKE `MISSION' POSSIBLE.

Byline: - Glenn Whipp

Just like the rest of us, Hong Kong director John Woo saw ``Mission: Impossible,'' and just like the rest of us, he left the theater scratching his head.

``The story was a little confusing to me,'' Woo says. ``And it also felt too cold. There was always too much going on; it was just so busy.''

So when the director, hot off the success of his breakthrough American film, ``Face/Off,'' was approached by Tom Cruise to make the sequel, Woo had plenty of ideas.

``I wanted the movie a little more charming, kind of like `To Catch a Thief,' '' Woo says. ``I like my movies to be character-driven and have some romance. And Tom, he wanted each `Mission: Impossible' episode to have a different style, so we were seeing eye to eye right away.''

The film has Cruise battling Anthony Hopkins over a female agent (Thandie Newton). Hopkins' villain, incidentally, wants to unleash a deadly virus.

Woo admits to having some disagreements with producer-star Cruise along the way (``Tom has plenty of ideas''), but that was the least of his problems during a long, hard and complicated shoot in Australia. The production was plagued by horrible weather, logistic problems during urban shoots and the defection of cinematographer Andrew Lesnie to the ``Lord of the Rings'' trilogy.

``This is one of the most difficult movies I've ever made,'' Woo says. ``But we overcame. We kept fighting. After all this, I hope people will like it.''

And even with the heavy-metal soundtrack featuring artists such as Limp Biskit and Rob Zombi, we should be able to figure out what's going on this time around.

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Photo: (color) ``Mission: Impossible 2,'' starring Tom Cruise, hits theaters May 24.