Mission: Impossible resolves long-running mystery in a smarter way than you think

Mission Impossible – The Ultimate Conclusion

This film might not necessarily mark the end of the franchise, but it undeniably concludes the narrative arc of the eight films so far, weaving in numerous references and homages to Ethan Hunt’s past operations.

One notable link can be drawn to the movie “Mission: Impossible III” and its plot device, known as the ‘Rabbit’s Foot’. In a bid to rescue Julia from Owen Davian, Ethan found himself in a situation where he had to obtain the Rabbit’s Foot and deliver it to Davian, despite being completely unaware of its true value or the potential harm it could cause.

At the movie’s conclusion, everything seems resolved despite Davian’s demise and the IMF regaining the Rabbit’s Foot. However, its true nature remains a mystery, as hinted by the first trailer for The Final Reckoning, it appears to be connected to the Entity.

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Fans speculated that the Rabbit’s Foot could be the key to overpowering the Entity, but it turns out that the Rabbit’s Foot is not something separate from the Entity; instead, it seems the Rabbit’s Foot either is the Entity or is its origin. The Rabbit’s Foot was a cyber weapon deployed by the US government on the Sevastopol, and this attack appears to be what eventually transformed into the Entity.

It’s understandable if you view this connection between “The Final Reckoning” and Ethan’s past as a simple retcon for narrative convenience. But upon closer inspection, it turns out to be a more clever revelation than it initially appears, with foundations laid as far back as almost two decades ago.

In the movie “Mission: Impossible III”, the most we learned about the Rabbit’s Foot and its tremendous power came from a speech given by Benji Dunn, which drew upon his professor’s teachings at Oxford University.

Here’s that speech in full to save you searching out a clip:

He instructed topics like biomolecular kinetics and cellular dynamics, and often shared a chilling tale with the junior students about the potential demise of our world at the hands of technology. This dreadful substance, which he called the ‘Anti-Divinity’, was destined to be created.

It behaved as if it were an unrelenting, rapid-evolving demolisher, a seemingly indomitable energy of devastating might. It left nothing untouched – not buildings, nor parks, nor roads, nor even the most innocent places like playgrounds and ice cream shops.

Whenever I encounter an organization that lavishly funds enigmatic technology, I instinctively suspect they might be the Anti-Divinity group, the type associated with apocalyptic events, if you catch my drift.

When filming “Mission: Impossible III”, it was highly unlikely that Tom Cruise had any inkling that the Rabbit’s Foot was in fact the Entity, an artificially intelligent being with the power to annihilate the world. Instead, it served as a conventional plot device, or what is often referred to in spy movies as a MacGuffin.

Actually, adapting it to suit the character of the Entity turned out splendidly, and it’s plausible that Benji’s speech was reconsidered by Cruise and director/screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie for The Final Reckoning, possibly even for Dead Reckoning prior to that.

By the time The Final Reckoning begins, it’s clear that the Entity has witnessed the world being devastated by technology. In fact, there’s a Doomsday Cult who think the Entity will rebuild civilization, and its intrusion into nuclear command centers has brought the world to the edge of a nuclear disaster.

In that situation, there’s no better way to define the Entity, and thus the Rabbit’s Foot, than as an indomitable force of devastating might that could raze everything around it.

The Rabbit’s Foot has been reimagined in a way that significantly deviates from its original concept, if there ever was one. However, this new interpretation proves to be intelligent and consistent, avoiding any inconsistencies or plot gaps.

The only thing they got wrong was that when Ethan gets involved, nothing is unstoppable.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is out now in cinemas.

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2025-05-23 14:20