THE PROTOTYPICAL ANTIBUSINESS movie on our rating charts has long been Jane Fonda's China Syndrome (1979), which appeared in the pre-Chernobyl period and therefore captivated thousands of reviewers with its tale of nuclear meltdowns attributable to capitalism and the quest for profits. Now, a mere 21 years later, a new entry heads the charts: Mission:

Impossible-2, starring Tom Cruise and rated by Daily Variety as the "summer season champ" in 25 countries.

Cruise, you might recall, is one of Hollywood's most visible adherents of Scientology, but it should be noted that M:

I-2 does not reflect Cruise's Scientologist views. Indeed, what is arresting about the film's antibusiness message is its seeming conflict with the Church of Scientology's own aggressive marketing, which was the subject of a long-running, unsuccessful IRS effort to have the Church declared a for-profit business.

The story line in Mission: Impossible-2 features a few logical lacunae, so it is not at all points possible to see exactly how profits would be enhanced by totally destroying life in Australia, or maybe on the whole planet. My date for this flick was granddaughter Julia Favorov, age 11, who also had problems with the pro?t issue. Unlike me, however, Julia has a serious ideational relationship to Tom Cruise and was therefore keen to suspend disbelief even while taking in this worldwide summertime blockbuster for the second time. When it was all over I brie?y considered a second effort myself, hypothesizing that this might help a fellow understand what had been going on up there on the screen. But this seemed a prohibitive long shot. Too much of the byplay was obviously making no more sense than Tom's favorite cult, or religious enterprise, or whatever it is.

For openers, what was the film getting at with all that early-round flamenco dancing in Spain? And why was Tom Cruise rock climbing in Utah when the Impossible Mission Force (yes, it's the other IMF) desperately needed his help in saving the world from terrorists and pharmaceutical greed and a deadly toxin called Chimera? How did the IMF find him? Why is Tom told that in dealing with Chimera, he must rely on a sexy jewel thief named Nyah, specified to be indispensable in getting to the main terrorist because she was once his main squeeze? Since when are former girlfriends rated reliable by terrorists or, for that matter, pacifists?

And how does Tom--"Ethan Hunt" in the story--get to know the venue of Nyah's next burglary, enabling him to turn up right there during the heist? Or was this sequence written into the script in order to establish Ethan's heavy-thinking credentials, via the following repartee?

Nyah: What are you doing here? Ethan: Think you're the only one who can pick a lock? Nyah (impressed): Hmm. Not just a pretty face, after all.

But then, having gotten off to this great start, why must Ethan and Nyah do one of those ritual bump-bump car races on cliffside roads before getting to fall into bed? And how did the deadly toxic virus, and its antidote, get into the hands of the Biocyte Pharmaceutical Co.? It seems reasonably clear that Biocyte was planning to first spread the virus to millions and then sell the victims the antidote. But how would the company go about marketing this cure for Chimera, stated to cause death within 30 hours of infection?

And doesn't this problem occur to the terrorists, who have stolen both the virus and its cure, and are now demanding big bucks for their return? And how can all the accompanying financial details get wrapped up in the following 18 seconds of dialogue?

Terrorist: We've got the virus and the antivirus. Biocyte Chairman McCloy: Then I've got $30 million for you. Terrorist:

We don't want cash. McCloy: What do you want? Terrorist (flashing diabolical grin): Stock ... stock options, to be a little more precise.

At which point we know we are dealing with ultimate evil, and that nothing short of kickboxing and motorcycle heroics by Tom Cruise can overcome it. Jane Fonda would be overmatched.

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