Mission: Impossible Fallout is quite possibly the most spectacular entry in the series so
far.
On top of another round of insanely awesome action sequences, this sixth instalment also
connects deeply to the past five movies in the franchise.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, it's Jan here and today I'm explaining all the connections
between Fallout's characters and plot and the other Mission: Impossible movies, plus
how the ending sets up a seventh film.
I'll be talking White Widow, Ilsa Faust, Julia's return, Henry Cavill, Solomon Lane, the new
MI 7 team, and easter eggs.
Of course, Spoilers ahead if you've not seen the movie yet.
The end of Mission: Impossible Fallout sees the newly recaptured Solomon Lane handed over
to British intelligence by the CIA.
Taking care of that transaction is the White Widow who CIA boss Erica Sloan refers to as
the broker.
White Widow is actually the daughter of Max, the arms dealer from the very first movie,
and it appears that she's in charge of the same dubious organisation Max led.
And the "ongoing arrangement" that CIA boss Sloan mentions as Lane is handed over is a
reference to the deal that Max was forced to make at the end of the first Mission: Impossible
when she was caught and arrested on the train by the CIA.
It looks like White Widow will be a returning player in future Mission: Impossible movies
which could be interesting given her organisation's nefarious connections in the underworld.
I also noticed that Ethan and White Widow's relationship in Fallout mirrors Ethan's story
with Max in the first film.
In Fallout, Ethan pretends to be Lark in order to meet the White Widow, just like he pretended
to be Job to meet Max in the first movie.
And Fallout even plays up some flirtation between Ethan and White Widow, similar to
that hinted at between Max and Ethan.
I also thought it was incredible how Vanessa Kirby who plays White Widow sounded so similar
to Vanessa Redgrave's Max, even channelling a number of her mannerisms.
Also in Fallout's final scene is a big hint to Rebecca Ferguson's future in the franchise
when Sloan explains that the CIA's transaction with MI6, closes their "friend's account with
British Intelligence".
Earlier, Ilsa told Ethan she was being forced to continue working with the British Secret
Service in order to prove she wasn't a rogue agent.
However, now that Ilsa's free-and-clear of MI6, she'll be available to become a permanent
member of the IMF.
By the end of Fallout, Ilsa has also been confirmed as Ethan's love interest going forward,
with the movie having developed the relationship between them, showing they do actually care
for each other even if Ethan does run her over with a car!
There is, of course, the matter of Michelle Monaghan's Julia who returns for a small but
significant role.
She and Ethan open the movie in a call-back to their wedding scene in Mission: Impossible
3.
This distorted nightmare-like sequence has Solomon Lane officiating at the wedding and
he begins to taunt Ethan about his lies to Julia and leading a double-life, blaming Ethan
for her abduction in M:I 3, their subsequent separation, and how she had to go into hiding
for her own safety in the fourth film.
This scene's important because it sets up Ethan's state of mind in Fallout where he's
troubled by visions of losing his moral compass and harming or killing innocent people in
the course of his missions.
The other purpose of this scene is to set up Julia's reintroduction later in the movie,
something which Tom Cruise had specifically requested.
'I asked Tom, "what's the one thing you wanna do?"
and he said people are still asking me about Julia.'
'You know, you can't be with Ilsa.
There's still Julia.'
'And he said, I wanna tie up that story.'
'So I said, OK, we can do that.'
'But we have to do it in a way that it's not just something we gonna cut out of the movie.'
'It has to be baked into the narrative.'
It's nice to see Michelle Monaghan back and properly integrated into the story after her
tiny cameo in the fourth film.
Her scene with Luther catches us up with what she's been doing since her split from Ethan,
and she has a tender reunion with her ex-husband at the very end where they come to terms with
why they have to be apart.
I think Julia's story is likely wrapped up now in the franchise, however, she could always
return if the story warranted it.
For example, we don't really know who her new husband is exactly, so there's always
a chance he could turn out to be one of Lane's Apostles!
Also, interestingly, at the end of the movie, Ilsa whispers something into Julia's ear.
Although Ilsa's words aren't audible, it does show a connection between the two who are,
to quote Luther, the only two women Ethan has ever been serious about.
And maybe Ethan himself knows what Ilsa said, given what a good lip reader we saw he was
in MI: 3.
But let me know if you've got any theories on what you think Ilsa said to Julia.
Similar to Alec Baldwin's Hunley in Rogue Nation, Angela Bassett's Erica Sloan progresses
from an adversarial view of the IMF at the start of the movie to a positive view of what
the team does by the end.
With Hunley's death in Fallout, I think the film heavily hinted that Sloan will become
the new Secretary for Mission: Impossible 7.
Still alive at the end of Fallout is Solomon Lane.
He could return as it's quite possible there are other Apostles out there who splintered
off from the Syndicate and are ready to take up arms.
Indeed, the original TV series featured the Syndicate as a recurring criminal organisation;
however, I suspect the film franchise will want to move on to a different villain.
The other villain whose future seems over is Henry Cavill's Walker.
After all, he did fall off a cliff after a huge hook smashed into his already burned
face; however, we never saw the body and crazy things have happened to bring back seemingly
dead villains in the movies.
Even if there's a small chance he's still alive, I really don't think we'll see him
return for the next movie as it would feel too repeaty, though maybe he could make a
surprise cameo down the road, perhaps as a horribly disfigured criminal mastermind.
So, this latest Mission: Impossible movie really feels like it's making a concerted
effort to build a more closely connected cinematic universe with recurring villains and new characters
like Ilsa and Benji returning in each film to build a bigger team.
It also felt like there were more call-backs and easter eggs to previous movies than usual.
For example, when Ilsa was gagged and tied up by Lane, it felt like a nod to when Phillip
Seymour Hoffman's villain bound and gagged Julia in the third movie.
In Fallout, Ethan pretends to be Lark with the hope that White Widow and Lark have never
met, a tactic the team previously used in Ghost Protocol.
This time Henry Cavill's Walker mocks the plan saying "hope isn't a strategy".
The scene where Luther, Ethan and Benji set up an elaborate fake hospital room and TV
show so the nuclear scientist will reveal his phone's passcode reminded me of the fake-out
opening scene in the first movie where the team use a similar scam to extract crucial
details from an adversary.
And the final scene of Ethan climbing up a rock face after his fight with Walker to be
rescued by a helicopter calls back to the beginning of Mission: Impossible 2 where Ethan's
rock climbing vacation is interrupted by an IMF helicopter.
So, what did you think of Mission: Impossible 6 and did it get you excited for the future
of the franchise?
Also were there any other interesting connections you spotted?
Let me know in the comments below.
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Thanks for watching and see ya next time.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!