MovieChat Forums > Mission: Impossible II (2000) Discussion > Have anybody noticed how utterly misogyn...

Have anybody noticed how utterly misogynistic this movie was?

posted 6 years ago by TMC-4 (20185)
31 replies | jump to latest

A few people do:
http://collider.com/mission-impossible-2-retrospective-series-tom-cruise/

https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2015/05/11/when-doves-cry-john-woos-mission-impossible-ii

https://www.slashfilm.com/mission-impossible-2-john-woo/

http://angriest.blogspot.com/2015/03/mission-impossible-ii-2000.html

http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/feature/discussion-impossible---mission-impossible-ii-2000.php

http://www.cathsfilmforum.com/?page_id=407

http://decentfilms.com/reviews/missionimpossible

https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/missionimpossible2/

https://www.kevinmclenithan.com/blog/2016/10/8/mission-impossible-2

https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2015/08/ranking-the-mission-impossible-franchise/

http://www.famousfix.com/topic/mission-impossible-ii/news

http://www.simbasible.com/mission-impossible-ii-review/

https://www.metrotimes.com/the-scene/archives/2000/05/24/mission-impossible-ii

[–] FatherStack1987 (171) 6 years ago

🙄

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 6 years ago

Is that a good cube or a bad cube!?

[–] FatherStack1987 (171) 6 years ago

I was rolling my eyes at how ludicrous this was.

Just enjoy the movie for what it is. A dumb action film, instead of looking for so-called "misogyny" or other things to be offended by.

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 6 years ago

How is this being ludicrous!? If it touched upon this in say, one article then I can see your point but if the idea of this movie having a misogynistic bent is touched upon in at least 13 articles, then we have a problem. And no, saying that I should just enjoy the move for what it is isn't going to work. You're basically saying that there's no point in being an objective film critic since the whole movie is just out to entertain you. And calling it "just a dumb action film" is a cop-out and intelligence insulting.

[–] FatherStack1987 (171) 6 years ago

It's not a problem at all. Just an example of thirteen sensitive little snowflakes.

Wah.

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 6 years ago

There are some "snowflakes" on Twitter who feel this way too:
https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&q=%20mission%20impossible%202%20misogynistic&src=typd

https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&q=%20mission%20impossible%20II%20misogynistic&src=typd

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 5 years ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/g6zend/mission_impossible_ii_directed_by_john_woo_has/

So I've decided to watch the Mission Impossible movies. I'd seen 1-3 when they originally came out, but haven't really seen them since then.

First one was and is still a remarkable bit of tight action filmmaking. I couldn't believe how quickly each scene went by pushing the movie along. Really good use of music and just a great rewatch able film.

Missio Impossible 2. It is fantastic and horrible at the same time, I almost don't understand. It is incredibly sexist, basically crossing the border on misogyny with the jokes about women. The music, bad jazz mixed with rock, is at best meh and terrible oftentimes. The acting and John Woo cinematography is bordering on over the top to jumping past it like a motorcycle jumping a motorcycle. The direction style is definitely a product of it's time. It is melodramatic. The motorcycle fight is just...insane.

Let's not even discuss Tom Cruise's hair.

But in the end it is still a good action film.

[–] FatherStack1987 (171) 5 years ago

ZZZZzzzzzzzz

[–] darkpast (8764) 6 years ago

this one was more of James Bond ripoff, these movie are fun , they are not making statements

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 5 years ago

Speaking of which:
https://www.quora.com/Is-James-Bond-sexist-misogynist-in-the-older-films

https://www.quora.com/Are-James-Bond-films-misogynistic

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

well , i followed one of your links ...
it just lead me here...
so i followed another , the .famousfix one above.
That lead me to a badly designed page full of little comments about MI2, none of which seemed to mention the films misgynisticyness
i give up

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 6 years ago

Do you want me to start from the beginning:
http://collider.com/mission-impossible-2-retrospective-series-tom-cruise/

The result was a disaster that jettisoned what was fun about the first movie and reduced Mission: Impossible II to a painfully generic action film that sucked the energy out of its talented actor and director and left audiences with a shell of a picture that’s both crushingly dull and ragingly misogynistic.

https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2015/05/11/when-doves-cry-john-woos-mission-impossible-ii

Listening to Ambrose repeatedly blubber the word “bitch” is excruciating over the course of the film’s (surprisingly brief) two-hour runtime.

https://www.slashfilm.com/mission-impossible-2-john-woo/

Unfortunately, there’s a cold misogynistic streak that runs through the center of Mission: Impossible II, as Nyah is relegated to being a pawn passed between powerful men (going as far as to engage in unwanted sexual congress with Ambrose in his Sydney hideaway). Even Hopkins’ debonair task master says that she’s recruited mainly because being born a woman has gifted her the innate ability to “deceive men”. One wonders if the lengthy custody battle Towne endured with his ex-wife Julie prompted him to inflict some rather heinous fictional trauma on the heroines (though, in fairness, his “manly” pulp screenwriting has historically presented women in a questionable light).

http://angriest.blogspot.com/2015/03/mission-impossible-ii-2000.html

Hollywood regularly makes films that are sexist, and that sideline or objectify its female characters - or in some cases exclude women from their narratives altogether. M:I2 goes one step further than that. Based purely on on-screen evidence, I'm pretty sure those in control of this film actively hate women.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

- Listening to Ambrose repeatedly blubber the word “bitch”
- Nyah is relegated to being a pawn passed between powerful men
- Hopkins’ debonair task master says that she’s recruited mainly because being born a woman has gifted her the innate ability to “deceive men”

So 3 actual things cited there. I guess Ambrose is the bad guy?
I must confess I dont watch many mindless action films , and havent seen this one.
Can anyone whose seen it confirm if the above 3 things are standout examples of mysogeny?

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 6 years ago

What does that make Anthony Hopkins' character then!?

[–] FatherStack1987 (171) 6 years ago

It's just a dumb action film. Calm down. If you don't like it, don't watch it. It's that simple.

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 6 years ago

You already uses that rationale like two months ago! And again, I'll say that just writing something off as a "dumb action flick" (at face value) is irresponsible and lazy film criticism. If we're going to go down that route, then we might as well forget about picking apart and analyze the script, story, acting, characterizations or any thing else on the technical or creative side.

[–] FatherStack1987 (171) 6 years ago

😂😂😂😂

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 6 years ago

How am what I'm saying mean to be funny to you!? Am I missing something here!?

[–] FatherStack1987 (171) 6 years ago

Yes. You are seeing things that are clearly not there. Take your feminist goggles off and just enjoy the film for what it is: a piece of mindless action.

For the record, I think this is a shitty film. It's just a daft action film, made to leave your brain at the door. It just pisses me off when SJW types see triggers in everything they watch. Just enjoy the damn film or switch it off and watch something else. Simple.

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 6 years ago

You can't just say that you admit that the movie is shitty (with or without the misogynistic undertones) and then turn around and say that I should just enjoy it as it is and to leave my brain at the door. It's either one thing or another. And what pisses me off is how I must be written off as simply a SJW type with feminist goggles, just because I'm not personally comfortable (and have presented legitimate concern over the matter) with the particular way that women are portrayed or depicted in this movie.

[–] FatherStack1987 (171) 6 years ago

I can and I did just say it. Although I think it's a shitty film, others may enjoy it. It's not my place to say others can't enjoy a film that I'm not the biggest fan of, because others have different opinions from me. It's their right to judge a film for themselves. Just as you see a misogynistic film, the majority of those watching it won't see it that way. It's not your right to force that view upon people.

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 5 years ago

How isn't it my right to be forcing a certain view upon people? Isn't film criticism by design, forcing one's individual opinion on other people? Siskel and Ebert for example, built their entire careers off of forcing a particular view on a movie even if (once you yourself actually see it) you personally don't agree.

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 5 years ago

Whenever I try to make a point about the apparently inherent and unchecked misogyny in movies, the response that I get is that it's excusable since it would naturally be something the bad guy would say?

https://moviechat.org/tt0337921/Cellular/5bf4eb8befa7ad38fee1f5e5/Why-was-Kim-Basinger-repeatedly-referred-to-by-the-bad-guys-as-a-bitch

https://www.quora.com/How-far-should-a-script-go-in-painting-these-bad-guys-as-being-awful-people-by-being-nasty-and-abusive-towards-the-main-female-character-without-becoming-lazy-trite-and-cheap/answer/Ethan-James-22?__filter__=all&__nsrc__=1&__snid3__=3990956392

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

"it's excusable since it would naturally be something the bad guy would say?"
What i thought was worse were the "its a dumb action flick so its ok" responses - what kind of justification is that?

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 5 years ago

It goes beyond what came out of Dougray Scott's mouth, it's the overall theme of the movie that feels decidedly misogynistic. A movie can still come across as misogynistic without women being referred to as "bitches".

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 5 years ago

Lines that couldn't exist today - Mission Impossible II - "What, to go to bed with a man and lie to him? She's a woman, she's got all the training she needs."

https://youtu.be/17BouXNNfuU

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8763) 5 years ago

Tom Cruise said fuck this thread.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (14496) 5 years ago

You will note the year it came out. Case closed.

[–] TMC-4 (20185) 5 years ago

What the hell does that have to do with any thing!? Just because it came out 20 years ago isn't a good enough an excuse!

[–] AmeriGirl26 (14496) 5 years ago

Think about the target audience, and what people were like back during the millennium. People were not as glass-skinned, and "woke" in that time period, as they are now. The target demographic was geared towards men between the ages of 25 and 50. It was also made by men in that age range. Teenage boys enjoyed this film too. It was not really meant to appeal to women or to represent them. The movie's sole purpose (just like "The Dirty Dozen," and probably a lot of other testosterone-soaked films) were meant to entertain men, and nobody else. Just because the film doesn't appeal to women, doesn't mean it's a misogynistic film. It's just not written for them. It's not a crime and shouldn't be seen as one.

[–] TimMC (9143) 5 years ago

Naturally, it IS the Electric Boogaloo Edition of the MI series.

All standard stuff really.