Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Is Full Of Callbacks To The First Film
This post contains spoilers for "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One."
"Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" is playing in theaters everywhere now. Along with looking to the future by giving us the first installment of a two-part story, the sequel has also reached back into the history of the action franchise to help drive the narrative. The film's new villain has direct ties to Ethan Hunt's past, but the big bad doesn't actually have anything to do with the events of the original "Mission: Impossible" movie, which feels like a missed opportunity.
However, despite the nod to events that took place before the franchise's start back in 1996, there are still plenty of references to Tom Cruise's original "Mission: Impossible," directed by the great Brian de Palma. In fact, some sequences feel like director Christopher McQuarrie is providing audiences with his own version of the original movie, especially with the intimidating presence of Henry Czerny reprising his role as the IMF's Eugene Kittridge and a particular train action sequence. Some of these references are for the hardcore "Mission: Impossible" fans, but they're not all quite so stealthy. Let's dig in.
Bravo Echo One One
Early in "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning," we get a glimpse at what Ethan Hunt is up to when he's not accepting deadly missions. Ethan once hoped to have a normal life with his wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan), but he's since settled for a more casual romantic dynamic with Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), whose spy lifestyle skews much closer to his everyday existence. Since Ilsa isn't around, Ethan is using his spare time to help recruit new Impossible Mission Force agents.
After the film's opening submarine sequence, we see a food delivery guy dropping off an order in what appears to be an abandoned building, until Ethan appears from the shadows. During this scene, Ethan is given his new mission, and it involves tracking down Ilsa, who has gotten herself into some trouble yet again. When Ethan gives his agent identification to receive the mission, he says "Bravo Echo One One." And those who have been with the "Mission: Impossible" movies since the beginning should recognize that call sign.
In the first movie, after Ethan Hunt's entire IMF team has been killed in the first act, Ethan makes a covert phone call from a phone booth on the streets of Prague. After securing the phone, he calls into an IMF hotline, and he's prompted to give his designation, which just so happens to be "Bravo Echo One One."
Funnily enough, this same reference was also made in "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation." It's a deep cut, and now you can point it out to your friends.
'Kittridge, you've never seen me very upset'
Bringing Kittridge back to the "Mission: Impossible" franchise is a great decision, and Henry Czerny brings the goods yet again. Kittridge once again finds himself at odds with Ethan, but before they part ways, they have a conversation that makes a direct callback to their in-person confrontation in the first "Mission: Impossible" movie.
After that phone call we talked about above, Kittridge instructs Ethan to meet him at "Location Green," which turns out to be the "Akvarium" restaurant (though it's not a real location in Prague). During that meeting, Ethan learns that the entire mission that just failed was actually a mole hunt, and since Ethan is the only one who survived, the IMF has assumed that Ethan himself is the mole. When Kittridge tries to convince Ethan to calmly leave the restaurant under their custody, he says, "I can understand you're very upset." And Ethan responds with the famous line, "Kittridge, you've never seen me very upset."
In "Dead Reckoning Part One," Ethan learns that he's been used by Kittridge again, this time in the United States government's attempt to obtain the cruciform key that everyone in the world is now trying to get their hands on, even though none of the world's leaders seem to understand what it unlocks. During that conversation, Kittridge gives a variation on his original "Mission: Impossible" line by saying, "I know you're upset." But Ethan's response puts a fun spin on the proceedings, as he responds, "Upset? I'm not upset. You wanted me to listen. This is me listening." It's a fun exchange, and again, we couldn't be more happy to have Henry Czerny chewing scenery in front of Tom Cruise.
A little sleight of hand
In the first "Mission: Impossible," Ethan Hunt gets a little playful with the team he recruits to help him steal the NOC list of agents who are in place around the world. Ethan and his fellow agent Claire Phelps (Emmanuelle Béart) hire Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames, a staple of the franchise) and Franz Krieger (Jean Reno) to help them break into CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. After completing the heist, Krieger decides that he wants to be a more integral part of the plan to sell the NOC list. When he refuses to give Ethan the disc after the heist, Ethan pulls out another disc that he claims has the NOC list on it.
While taunting Krieger about the situation and whether or not he would actually trust the thief with the real NOC list, Ethan does a little sleight of hand by making the disc suddenly disappear out of his hands, not unlike a street magician. Then he pulls it out of Clarie's coat with a cocky smile flashed at Krieger before tapping him on the head with the disc. Honestly, it's much better if you remind yourself with a clip:
Again, Ethan pulls another sleight of hand trick when he claps his hands together and makes the disc disappear again before pulling it out of his back pocket. Ethan says, "Do you really think I'd let you have the NOC list?" Defeated, Krieger says, "Try any sleight of hand with my money, I'll cut your throat."
But of course, the real trick was Ethan convincing Krieger that he didn't have the actual list. When Krieger leaves, he throws what he believes to be the fake disc into the trash. Then Ethan walks over and grabs it out of the trash, revealing that Krieger actually had the real NOC list in his possession the whole time.
Ethan's sleight of hand skills come into play in "Dead Reckoning" in a similar fashion, when a thief named Grace (Hayley Atwell) gets caught up in the mad dash for the cruciform key. While having a back and forth with Grace about what he's trying to accomplish and how she's getting involved in something she can't possibly fathom, Ethan uses some of his fast hands to make the key appear and disappear. It's another fun callback to a skill we haven't seen Ethan use since the first movie.
Luther's nicknames
Speaking of the heist from the first "Mission: Impossible" movie, there's another fun callback to the introduction of Luther Stickell in the franchise. In the first film, when Ethan lays out what he's looking to accomplish by breaking into the CIA headquarters in Langley, Luther is immediately unsure about being able to pull it off, to which Ethan quickly responds, "This doesn't sound like the Luther Stickell I heard of. What did they used to call you, the Net Ranger? Phineas Phreak? The only man alive who actually hacked NATO Ghost Com."
In "Dead Reckoning Part One," there's a moment when Benji is arguing whether or not he can write code as quickly and efficiently as Luther. While arguing his case, Benji refers to Luther mockingly by his Net Ranger and Phineas Phreak namesakes.
Catching the train
Finally, while not necessarily an overt reference to an Easter egg or line from the first movie, "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One" features a climax that feels like director Christopher McQuarrie trying to deliver his version of the end of the original "Mission: Impossible."
The original movie establishes a meeting between Ethan and a mysterious buyer he knows only as Job, who has been trying to get ahold of the NOC list. Job turns out to be Ethan's presumed dead colleague Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), and there's a whole chase on top of a speeding bullet train, including a fight between Ethan and Jim. The end of "Dead Reckoning" follows suit, with the Entity's human proxy, Gabriel (Esai Morales), engaging in a fight with Ethan on top of the train (and it's a real train going 60 miles per hour). They even square off while the train speeds through a tunnel, forcing them to stay close to the train's roof while trying to eliminate each other.
Both of the trains meet fiery ends, but of course, McQuarrie takes things up a notch by having another suspenseful action sequence where Ethan and Grace have to hurriedly climb up several of the remaining Orient Express train cars as they're on the verge of tumbling over the cliff. Combine all that with the presence of Kittridge on the train, this time as the buyer of the film's MacGuffin rather than the one apprehending an underground criminal, and you've got yourself a pretty solid revamp of the original "Mission: Impossible" ending.
Go see "Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One" again in theaters now.