With a franchise based on double-crosses,
realistic face masks, and all sorts of world-ending McGuffin's, it's no shame
to be a bit confused while watching a "Mission Impossible" movie. Here are
the moments that left us scratching our heads in "Dead Reckoning–Part One." Spoilers ahead.
“Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning” begins aboard a Russian submarine patrolling the Bering Sea. In
the first couple of shots, we’re introduced to both the Entity—at the time a seemingly
innocuous A.I. housed in some sort of mainframe aboard the sub—and the two-part key that controls
it. An attack from a hostile sub prompts the Russian crew to launch a torpedo of their own,
but it all ends up being a ruse—there was no other sub. Every reading on the Russians’
computers was a fabrication of the AI, which tricks the crew into destroying themselves.
All of that is pretty clear on the first watch, but lots of details are obfuscated.
Why is the A.I. there to begin with? Why does it become aggressive and kill the Russians?
As the story moves forward, we get a bit more context. The A.I. was apparently constructed by
the United States and was, at some point, moved to the Russian sub to test its abilities. Even if it
was an ultra-smart A.I., it seems extraordinarily difficult to sneak it aboard a high-tech stealth
submarine, so why such a difficult task would be a test run is a bit confusing.
What is made clear by Denlinger at the end of “Dead Reckoning” is that the sub’s destruction
was a rogue action for the Entity. The U.S. never intended for it to actually attack the Russians.
After the apparent death of Ilsa Faust, “Dead Reckoning” shows us
a top-secret meeting of U.S. intelligence officials. The topic is the escaped Entity,
but before a concrete decision can be made, a suspicious intruder gasses the
whole room and knocks out everyone except for former IMF director Eugene Kittridge.
As the assailant removes his disguise, we see that it’s actually Ethan Hunt.
Unless you’re paying close attention, this confrontation might be a bit confusing.
Both men seem to want the same thing, and Ethan remains dedicated to the mission that Kittridge
assigned him. He’s upset because he’s realized that Kittridge is the one who put out a bounty
on Ilsa—something that wasn’t disclosed in the mission briefing. This was done in an effort
to flush her out and obtain her half of the key as quickly as possible. Ethan is understandably
angry about this, but since she’s actually still alive, at least part of his rage is a ruse.
The schism with Kittridge only grows because the director wants the key turned over to the U.S.
government. Ethan insists that even his own superiors can’t be trusted with the Entity,
saying that it must instead be destroyed. This is the fundamental split that sends him rogue
for the rest of the movie—a prioritization of the greater good over the demands of his
country. Given what’s revealed about Denlinger later on, it seems Ethan made the right call.
Ethan and the gang’s first real faceoff with the Entity comes at the airport in Abu Dhabi,
where their mission to track the key buyer is disrupted by a nuclear bomb—sort of.
As Ethan evades government agents and tries to track down the buyer, Benji discovers a strange
bag in the airport’s security system that, sure enough, contains what appears to be a nuclear
explosive. What’s even more unnerving is that it seems to know who Benji is,
revealing its cipher with the phrase “U R DUNN” -- Benji’s last name -- spelled out.
It also asks a series of personal questions and knows when Benji isn’t telling the truth.
In the end, the bomb turns out to be a dud. So what was the point? For one,
it was probably partly sent to distract Ethan’s team from the real issue—Grace,
Gabriel, and the acquisition of the key. But also, it seems like the Entity is just showing
off. It knows exactly which team member will come to disarm the device, and it knows all
of his personal secrets. The Entity lingers in the background during most of the movie,
but this is one of the few moments when we see just how prideful and devious it can be.
Perhaps the biggest unanswered question in “Dead Reckoning” is how the keys to
the Entity get out of the ice in the Bering Sea. Nobody besides Gabriel and Denlinger
seems to know where the “lock” to the AI’s source code is, but since both halves of
the key were retrieved from the submarine’s crash site, that doesn’t really make sense.
If you knew where to look for the keys, and you knew why they’re important,
you also probably would have known how important the submarine is. If the keys
were retrieved by the Russian government, they probably would have gone right down to the sub
to access the mainframe. If it was the U.S. government that got them out of the water,
then Ethan’s whole mission never would have happened. So who did get them out?
We know Ilsa got hers by stealing them from someone else, but how did they get the key?
Unfortunately, this is one of the confusing moments in “Dead Reckoning” that can’t be
fully explained. It’s possible that “Part Two” of the “Mission: Impossible” movie will illuminate
what actually happened to the keys, but for now, we’re left to our own devices.
More a series of moments than just one, the Entity pulls lots of strings from the
shadows throughout “Dead Reckoning.” A lot of these manipulations aren’t
revealed until after the fact, though, making some moments pretty confusing.
For starters, at least part of Ilsa’s mission to acquire the key seems to have been orchestrated
by the Entity. She believed that she was being contacted by agents within MI6,
and since she was no longer a proper member of the group, she didn’t think twice about
using indirect communication. It's implied that the Entity used her to acquire half of the key,
knowing she’d be able to get the job done. That brought the device into play, making it easier
for Gabriel and his team to steal it back. It’s also possible that the Entity wanted Ilsa so that
Ethan would get pulled in, as it seems to have a sadistic interest in him, just like Gabriel.
"His fate is written. Shall we write yours too?"
It’s also implied that Grace might have been hired by the Entity to rob Ethan
at the Abu Dhabi airport. She says that her contact with her employer was almost
entirely digital. The White Widow later takes credit for hiring Grace,
but since the Entity seems to know every one of the Widow’s moves, it could still
have been working through her without her knowledge. After all, Grace’s resemblance
to both Marie and Ilsa is striking, so she could have been chosen just to mess with Ethan’s head.
One of the most confusing moments in “Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part One” is the
fragmented flashback that shows Ethan’s dark past with Gabriel. In the shadowy scene,
we see a young Gabriel shoot a woman dead–a woman who’s later identified as Marie. Apparently,
she was Ethan’s love before he joined the IMF. While not expressly stated,
it’s implied that Ethan took the fall for her murder and was sentenced to
time in prison. While there, he was given the option to go free and join the IMF.
This is a pretty huge revelation, especially since neither Gabriel nor Marie have ever been
mentioned in the prior six movies. What’s less clear is why Gabriel would have killed Marie in
the first place. Ethan says that he enjoys causing suffering, which suggests that Marie’s death was
more than just a random act of violence. Was Gabriel involved in global terrorism all the
way back then, even before Ethan was in the IMF? And why was Ethan so convinced that he was dead?
"Who is he?"
"Someone I should've killed a long time ago."
The answers to these questions will hopefully come in “Dead Reckoning Part Two.” Maybe Gabriel’s
original relationship with Ethan had something to do with the early development of the AI. Until
we learn more about what the villain actually wants, the answers will continue to elude us.
The first half of “Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part One” culminates in a massive
dance party in Venice, hosted by the White Widow but secretly controlled by Gabriel
and the Entity. It’s a convoluted sequence with a ton of moving parts,
making it easy to miss some things on your first time through.
Here’s the deal: The White Widow hired Grace to steal the key in Abu Dhabi,
telling her to deliver the goods to the party in Venice later on. Grace
does as she’s told without ever knowing who actually hired her,
but before the Widow can find her at the party, she’s intercepted by Gabriel. He,
too, wants the key, and tells her that she will likely die if she doesn’t hand it over to him.
But before he can get too threatening, the Widow appears, creating a sort of Mexican standoff.
To protect the key and herself, Grace stashes it in the pocket
of the White Widow’s brother Zola without him noticing. Then Ethan and Ilsa show up,
and the whole motley crew steps into a more private area to chat.
The Widow claims that she hasn’t decided yet who to sell the key to,
but Gabriel knows that’s a lie. He foretells her trip the next day on the Orient Express,
where she plans to sell the key to the U.S. government. In a shocking twist,
it’s revealed that all of the music visualizers at the party are in fact the Entity, and that
the whole situation has been orchestrated by the AI. Because of this, the White Widow
lets Gabriel walk away unscathed, and Ethan, Grace, and Ilsa have to fend for themselves.
Ilsa Faust is killed off in a big surprise twist midway through “Mission:
Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part One.” Sadly, being a series mainstay for almost a decade can’t save
her from getting sacrificed to motivate Ethan. At least she gives her life so that Grace may live,
though, right? For whatever reason, Gabriel is determined to kill only one of the two women,
even after his plan to make Ethan choose falls apart.
"He knows the best way to get to me."
The whole “one will die” thing is just another way to torment Ethan,
showing him that the Entity is in full control, and that he is powerless. But
that doesn’t explain why Gabriel wouldn’t still capture Grace after killing Ilsa. Sure,
he might not want them both dead, but Grace has crucial information and skills that prove
necessary for Ethan’s mission. Shouldn’t he take her with him to wrap up the loose end?
It’s implied that Grace hides during Ilsa and Gabriel’s fight,
which is why he lets her go. When Ethan finds Ilsa’s boody on the bridge, Gabriel is gone,
and Grace quickly jumps out of her hiding spot. Was Gabriel really unable to find her,
even with the Entity’s help? This inconsistency can be explained away
by saying that everything is part of the AI’s plan, but that’s not really a satisfying answer.
Ethan and the crew develop a foolproof plan to sneak aboard the Orient Express
and swipe the key from the White Widow. That is, until the mask machine breaks. Initially,
Ethan plans to go undercover alongside Grace, disguising himself as the Widow’s
brother Zola. But because the machine breaks down, they’re left with only the one mask,
and Ethan has to figure out a different way to get onto the train.
In the moment, this predicament feels too unfortunate to be a mistake. Surely someone
sabotaged the mask machine in order to keep Ethan off the train? If you were waiting for
the other shoe to drop on who actually disabled the machine, you may have been disappointed
by the ending. It seems that the whole thing was simply an instance of failed technology,
as no other explanation is given. That said, it's pretty consistent with previous Mission
Impossible movies where technology usually fails at the most exciting moment. Naturally,
it all leads up to making Tom Cruise do another extremely dangerous stunt to keep things moving.
Is it worth it? Sure, but in a story with an all-seeing A.I. enemy, a high-tech machine
breaking down at a pivotal moment seems more meaningful than it actually ends up being.
Director Denlinger doesn’t seem all that important for most of “Mission:
Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part One.” He only really features in one major scene before the end,
in which he appears totally oblivious about the Entity and the threat that it poses. But
in the final act, we learn that Denlinger’s apparent ignorance is all an elaborate ruse.
Like Kittridge, Denlinger boards the Orient Express in an effort to acquire the key from the
White Widow. He stays in his cabin while Kittridge does the deal, but he doesn’t expect Gabriel and
his crew to attack the way they do. Facing down the techno-terrorist, Denlinger spills the beans,
revealing himself to be a truly vile person in a monologue that ends as abruptly as it begins.
Denlinger gets so little screen time and dies so quickly that his whole scheme might blow right by
you. Here’s the gist: He’s a techno-fascist who wants to overthrow and control the U.S.
government and use the American military to take over the world. All he says he needs to make it
happen is full control of the Entity, which he plans to use to turn public sentiment in
his favor and disrupt any would-be adversaries. National coups and world domination might seem
like pretty big ambitions for a man with so few lines, but Denlinger is full of surprises. In
fact, he’s such a twisty character that some viewers might wonder if he actually survives.
Spy thrillers are always full of double-crosses and rogue agents, but by the end of “Mission:
Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part One,” it’s downright tough to know who’s on whose side.
This is particularly perplexing in the case of Ethan, Kittridge, and the IMF.
"Your days of fighting for the so-called greater good are over."
Kittridge boards the Orient Express as a representative of the U.S. government,
and if he had walked off of the train with the key, it would have likely gone right
into Denlinger’s pocket. Sure, the former IMF director might not know that his boss is secretly
planning a world takeover, but he must have some inclination that what he’s doing is dangerous.
Ethan knows that too, yet he still tells Grace that Kittridge will protect her. To
make matters even more confusing, the final shots of the film are accompanied by closing
narration from Kittridge, who addresses Ethan directly and seems to approve his rogue mission.
The best way to understand all these shifting dynamics is by remembering what the IMF is. Yes,
it’s a government agency, but its top-secret nature demands operating outside the rules
more often than not. Kittridge isn’t even the director of the agency anymore, but like Ethan,
he’s playing two different games. No official intelligence agency would approve what he and
Ethan really want to do, making the IMF itself sort of a rogue entity by nature.
Is that a sustainable model? Probably not, but it’s worked for seven movies.
In his final monologue, Director Denlinger briefly explains the actual origins of the Entity,
which up to that point are kept a mystery. He breezes through the origin story so quickly,
though, that you might miss it if you blink. Plus,
some of the biggest questions surrounding the A.I. aren’t answered by his explanation.
What Denlinger seems to say is that the Entity was created by the United States
as a much more docile system. It was, through some unclear series of events,
planted on the Russian submarine seen at the beginning of the movie. The goal,
according to Denlinger, was a kind of test run. Those who created the A.I. wanted to
see if it could effectively disrupt the sub’s stealth systems. Of course,
it ended up doing far more than that, destroying the sub through trickery and vanishing into the
digital night. Denlinger claims that the Entity evolved while away on its mission, transforming
into the more conniving intelligence that we see in the movie. That suggests that the U.S. never
meant for it to be a full information-control machine, but rather a simply anti-spy tool.
Of course, none of that explains the keys, how the A.I. got onto the sub, or why it
needed to destroy it. Those are questions that only “Dead Reckoning Part Two” can answer.
Gabriel is an enigma by design. From his biblical name to the cryptic way he speaks,
he’s meant to come across as mysterious, mythical,
and terrifying. His history with Ethan explains their personal feud,
but we never actually get an explanation of why he’s allied himself with the Entity. His
true motivations and desires are unknown, but thanks to some clues, we can theorize a bit.
"You have no idea the power I represent."
Ethan says that he thought Gabriel had died years before. That means that he hasn’t been
a high-profile terrorist on the global scene until recently. There isn’t much time between
the Entity’s escape and Gabriel’s emergence, which is also highly questionable. How was he so ready
and devoted with such a short amount of time to prepare? Was the A.I. communing with him before it
escaped from the Russians? Was it prepping him in the shadows for what was to come? It seems likely.
That still doesn’t answer the question of what Gabriel actually wants,
though. Why would he join forces with an A.I. that presumably wants to take
over and subjugate the world? Ethan says that he “sees death as a gift he wants to
share with the rest of the world,” and his motivations could be as simple as that. But
because he and Ethan share a past, there must be more going on than Gabriel simply being a madman.