Mission: Impossible - 15 Most WTF Franchise Moments

12. Davian "Kills" Julia (M:I3)

Mission Impossible 3 Julia Dead
Paramount

M:I3 has by far the most intense opening sequence of the series, kicking off in the middle of the movie as antagonist Owen Davian (a brilliant Philip Seymour Hoffman) threatens to murder Julia if Ethan doesn't tell him where the Rabbit's Foot MacGuffin is.

The sequence cuts to black with the implication that Davian has shot Julia, which naturally makes the audience assume they're being misdirected and it will be some sort of a fake-out.

However, when the scene actually plays out over 90 minutes later, "Julia" is in fact shot in the head, before IMF's John Musgrave (Billy Crudup) reveals that a Julia mask was in fact placed over the face of Davian's translator (Bahar Soomekh) who failed him earlier in the movie.

It's a clever double-twist that toys with audience expectations and maybe, just maybe, had them believe Julia was actually dead for a minute. Bravo.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.