Movie Opening Analysis- Mission Impossible 2

             
Mission Impossible 2 Analysis

I studied the opening of  Mission Impossible 2 for my analysis. The opening starts with an establishing shot which sets the scene of a Grand Canyon type area. This connotes to show the idea of loneliness and struggle as the area is isolated and has rocks that are extremely high with dangerous rock faces. The next scene is a medium shot of the main character (Ethan) rock climbing. The connotation for this is that Ethan is a daredevil and likes a challenge such as climbing a rock face. What I was also able to denote from this was that he uses no safety equipment which shows that this person has no fear and that nothing scares him; he has no fear of possible death if he falls.  

Another denotation is the bird screeches that are heard throughout the opening scenes. The connotation for this is that it shows the height of the rocks and the type of bird is most likely an eagle. That then again connotes to the idea of the main characters personality as eagles represent freedom in America but also the eagle is a predator and is at the top of the food chain and shows that the main character should be feared by others.

Another scene shows Ethan jumping from one rock to another. The shot has been slowed down to show that he is in a life and death situation. He misses the landing and rolls down the rock face. This connotes again to the idea of panic and struggle .

Another denotation is when Ethan makes a crucifix position after managing to  hold onto the edge of the rock face that he just nearly fell off. This connotes the idea that he is a saviour like Jesus was said to be and therefore reflects to the audience the type of person this character is- a good person. A close up of Ethan's face shows his struggle when faced with a huge task of climbing a rock to the top. It also connotes how determined this man is because he is faced with a situation where he has to carry on as he has no choice in the matter. 




A crane shot denotes the part when Ethan finally reaches the top of the rock. This shows the audience just how far he has travelled and his achievement of climbing the rocks therefore it also shows how the character is able to go to great lengths to get what he wants. In this case what he wants is to climb the rocks. Another denotation is a close up of the iconic sunglasses first shown in the first Mission Impossible movie. This connotes that for audience members who might not have known what film they were being shown but they then recognize the sunglasses and realize they were watching a Mission Impossible film. A pan of Ethan wearing the sunglasses which displays his mission. This connotes that the film is very high tech and focuses on the fact that Ethan is the most important character in the movie. The final shot is when Ethan throws the sunglasses "towards the audience" and they explode. This connotes that the movie is an action and is very fast paced.