There’s a lot of praise flying around for “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” but there’s something a little different about one sequence of the film and it’s right up front.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR “MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE”
The film begins with a relatively standalone sequence involving a submarine which evokes elements of classic thrillers like “The Hunt for Red October” and “WarGames” as it sets up the film’s lethal AI threat The Entity.
Reactions on social media suggest the sequence feels a little awkwardly place. Others have complained that it essentially puts the audience a footstep ahead of Ethan and his crew for the entire movie as opposed to us learning about the nature of the threat alongside our heroes.
Now one Twitter user named darkavm, via Screen Rant, has found the answer buried in a year-old THR report about Paramount which cites budgetary decisions and studio demands as having impacted the inclusion.
The report indicates the scene was originally designated for “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two” but a late decision led to the movie being restructured so that the submarine scene would appear in ‘Part One’.
In doing so, an element of mystery surrounding the AI is removed as we know where the ‘lock’ is for the key everyone is hunting for – thus potentially diminishing the impact of the film’s ending. On the other hand, it potentially makes things clearer for those finding the story too difficult to follow.
The submarine element is expected to play a much bigger part in the ‘second part’ movie, which is currently scheduled to release in June next year.
