Question: Gulliver's attempt at avoiding a fight with the Blefuscian at sea sea fails. He've been surrounded and shot at. He grabs at the ropes coming from each ship's bow and drags them away. Now, why were there ropes coming from each of the ships and how did they end up infront of them so that he could grab onto them?
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Question: I noticed that the island they crashed on was "Mata nui." It sounded familiar to me, and Google told me Mata Nui was a Lego Bionicle figure. Since the movie is from 1998 and Bionicle from 2001, Lego must have been inspired by the movie, or what?
Answer: Motu Nui is a real life island, the name means "large island" in Maori. Most likely that is the source of Lego's inspiration for the name. While it is certainly possible that whoever came up with Mata Nui first heard the name Motu Nui in this movie, it is unlikely. Motu Nui is a fairly well known island and also shares its name with a settlement in New Zealand. A fictionalized island called Motu Nui is also the home of Disney princess Moana, which obviously came out after Bionicle but speaks to how well known the name is.
Answer: Thank you. I must have misheard the name in the movie! I will Google Motu Nui now.
Question: When the Creeper lands on top of the bus, you can see he is missing his right wing and his left arm is mangled to the bone. After eating Dante's head, he flies away with two wings and both arms. However, he didn't eat either of Dante's arms and there weren't any extra wings lying around to eat. So how did he get his left arm and right wing back? (00:53:55)
Answer: Eating human flesh helps the Creeper regenerate his whole body, no matter which part he ate.
Question: How long has it been since the last movie? It is said in the fake mission briefing in the beginning that Ethan has been tracking the Syndicate for "the past year", a mission he received at the end of the last movie. Yet I've also heard that the movies are set in the years they come out (2011, 2015, etc) In either case I find it hard to believe that the IMF has not received a new secretary yet if it has been well over a year since the last one died. At the end of Ghost Protocol the IMF is already up and running again. Why haven't they appointed a new head? And who is giving orders/missions in the absence of one? Who gave Hunt the mission to investigate the Syndicate at the end of GP for example?
Answer: The M:I films seem very careful not to show any specific dates (covering up Benji's opera tickets for example). The only thing I could see in this film was the newspaper Atlee has when he meets Ilsa was an actual Evening Standard issue from 16 June 2014. Regarding the IMF Secretary, there could have been one or more appointed since Ghost Protocol, we don't know, there just isn't one at the time of the hearing. Even if there hadn't been one since the Secretary died in Moscow, IMF would have had enough of a command structure to have acting or deputy directors assigning missions.
Question: What exactly were Atlee's intentions with Ilsa? Why did he originally send her to infiltrate the Syndicate and why did he send her back later in the movie? If all he wants to do is keep the Syndicate hidden, what does he hope to accomplish with Ilsa as his woman on the inside? Does he actually know what is on the flashdrive she brings him, or does he also think it's a ledger? It makes sense for him to want to delete it in both cases, so I'm confused trying to figure out which it is. Either way, does Atlee send her back to get killed? Hunt later says he wanted to "frame" her, but I don't understand how.
Answer: When Lane took the Syndicate rogue, Atlee no longer had any control or oversight into the group, so he sent Ilsa Faust to infiltrate them and report to him what Lane was doing. The CIA and IMF already knew about the Syndicate so it was no longer hidden, and Atlee just needed to cover up his role in its creation. As Faust was already undercover there, he could also frame her for any connection to MI6 that might be revealed, particularly if she was killed and could no longer incriminate him.
Question: How did Ethan figure out Atlee's true intentions? He only just learned his name a bit earlier and now he's impersonating him and know exactly how to play him, that he's trying to hide the Syndicate, that he created it, that the PM knows it too. How did he learn all this?
Answer: Atlee was the director general of MI6, so he would have been fairly well known, particularly within the intelligence community. Ethan only impersonated Atlee to get close to the Prime Minister and unlock the red box, and he didn't know Atlee had created the Syndicate until the PM said so. Once he found out, he just went along with it until the real Atlee showed up.
Question: When Ilsa presents Ethan with his supposed 3 options, she says she's proof the Syndicate exists, but I'm not sure how exactly. She also says the CIA wouldn't believe them right afterwards. They all assume at this point the disc is a ledger though, so why wouldn't that definitively prove the Syndicate is real? I know of course that since it's encrypted they can't open it, but Ilsa doesn't know that! I don't see how she could come to the conclusion that the CIA won't believe them.
Question: Why would Jessie's friend take the chance of stealing that piece of paper with Ally's number on it, while their gangster "friend" who is supposed to be pretty scary is right there, when he is sitting there filming the whole damn thing and could just go back and get the number off the camera? (01:01:50)
Question: The father seems to be a very scientific guy. But why hasn't he built some "sound-grenades" which they always carry around and throwing them away to distract the dangerous aliens when they are near? (for example loud toys, egg timers, etc.).
Answer: Possibly because it would be too dangerous. Most times an object like that could not be thrown far enough away to allow the family to escape, particularly in a panicked situation. A creature might be momentarily distracted, but would quickly zero in on them as very frightened children would probably be yelling, screaming, and crying.
Question: Did Lane intend for Ilsa to enlist Ethan's help all along? What does he want with Ethan, why does he tolerate him still being alive, why didn't he kill him in the beginning?
Answer: Lane is an expert in manipulating people, and he is using Hunt's skills to get what he wants. As he says at the end, whether Isla killed Hunt (and therefore became further embedded within The Syndicate) or let him go, sooner or later he would have got what he wanted. If Ilsa became loyal to Lane she would have worked to get the red box for Lane. If she helped Hunt, she would work with him to stop Lane getting the red box. Either way, the red box is extracted from the vault.
Question: In the end of the first movie Paul is safe in the hospital, so why has he come back into the forest and gets hit by a truck in this movie?
Answer: Spoiler Alert: At the end of the first movie, Paul was not safe at the hospital. The doctors inform the sheriff that Paul needs to be transferred. We then see Deputy Winston take Paul, but instead of transferring him, Winston dumps Paul on the side of the creek. In the 2nd movie, Paul is alive, but just barely as he's badly infected. He's trying to get help and finally manages to make it to the highway, where he gets hit.
Question: How does MI6 put pressure on Ilsa? Why is she without citizenship and why can't she defy Atlee?
Answer: Ilsa went undercover within The Syndicate. As part of the cover, she was disavowed (effectively being branded a rogue agent and a traitor). If she attempts to leave The Syndicate she would have nowhere to go, as she would be considered a criminal. She could choose to stop, but would spend the rest of her life on the run, being in more or less the same situation as Ethan Hunt is during this film.
Question: Why couldn't Darth Tyranus sense that he was going to be betrayed by Darth Sidious?
Answer: It has been established that Sidious knows the Force extremely well, if not better than anyone. Perhaps he was able to shield himself using the Force in a way that prevented Dooku from sensing he was going to betray him.
But Tyranus is powerful. Even Sidious feared him when he was a Jedi.
Answer: I don't think a Force-user can specifically sense that a betrayal will happen. Maybe Dooku could sense danger, but not who would cause it or when. Also, he might have been feeling over-confident (despite his age and experience). According to one book, Palpatine/Sidious told him that they would kill Obi-wan together, then convince Anakin to join them.
Question: What chord does Miguel strum in De La Cruz's mausoleum after he steals his guitar?
Answer: G.
Question: How did Vader know Han and the others would go to Lando?
Answer: The Falcon had a damaged hyperdrive (hence why it needed to go to Cloud City). As they fled the Star Destroyer, Boba Fett managed to determine the trajectory and deduce the destination. The Star Destroyer and Slave I were then able to set a course for Cloud City and arrive there first.
Question: Did General Grievous know Palpatine is Darth Sidious?
Answer: No. It was a well kept secret that only his apprentice knew.
Who is that apprentice?
Not only his apprentice knew. Maas Amedda and Sly Moore also knew.
Answer: First it was Darth Maul in Episode 1. Then in Episodes 2 and 3 it was Count Dooku.
Question: How come Fred can't accept the briefcase from Barney and Betty at his promotion party?
Answer: When Fred received said promotion, the first order of business Vandercave gave him was to fire Barney. Since Barney would thus have no source of income, the order comes into conflict with his loyalty to his friend; his guilt makes him feel that the gift is something Barney can't afford and which he, Fred, doesn't deserve.
Question: When Frank is delivering books to inmates' cells, he reaches D block, but a guard stops him, and tells him they are not allowed in those cells. Were books really disallowed in D block cells?
Answer: Those were the solitary confinement cells, with no light and no luxuries of any kind. So yes, they did not allow inmates on that block to have books.
This is inaccurate as a light in each cell was turned on at 6:30 every morning in solitary confinement at Alcatraz.
Question: When they are in Paris trying to get Solomon Lane, shouldn't the signs on the police cars have been in French, not English?
Answer: They are in France. The French word for police is "police."
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Answer: Obviously, it's just a deliberate error in a fantasy film that is full of plot-holes and errors. They certainly aren't anchor lines, as the ships are actively involved in a military engagement (surrounding Gulliver). Also, no navy flotilla of sailing ships would have lines hanging loose at the bow or stern, particularly going into a military engagement. Rather, the lines would be coiled and neatly stowed on deck. In this case, the deliberate error permits Gulliver to tow away the Blefuscudian ships in just a matter of moments (even though Blefuscu is over a half-mile away by water).
Charles Austin Miller