MI7's Ending Positions The Franchise To Refreshingly Return To Its Analog Roots

Contains spoilers for "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One"

Following the events of "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One," our favorite Impossible Mission Force team is in the wind, with their leader, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), gaining a bigger target on his back than ever before. He's left Gabriel (Esai Morales) all fired up and cursing to the heavens, with the secret weapon only the Entity has an eye on still waiting to be retrieved from the bottom of the ocean. The only problem is that this cold and calculated AI may have only lost hold of the strings for a moment and will no doubt be back to pulling them when "Dead Reckoning Part Two" comes around, forcing Ethan to change tactics if he's going to stay on top of the situation.

But just how can Ethan beat an enemy that's ten steps ahead of every possible decision? Well, as Luther (Ving Rhames) rightfully deduces, it's something that can't be done without going off the grid. Vanishing from Gabriel and his AI overlord's radar is key to succeeding in whatever future plans need to be mapped out — plans that can't involve high-tech gizmos or a Wi-Fi connection. If that's the case, it could see Ethan and his team heading in a direction that "Dead Reckoning Part One" already sets a course for: returning to the past of "Mission: Impossible" and going old school on the enemy.

As great as the franchise has become, some of the coolest moments about Brian De Palma's original entry are the on-the-fly, makeshift spy tactics Ethan puts into effect when he's out of options. Instead, he's breaking light bulbs to deter intruders while messaging chat rooms to try to shine a light on "Job 314." He's alone with only himself to depend on, and it makes the film all the more gripping because of it.

That's not to say "Dead Reckoning Part Two" should strip away the stunts, but keeping the balance between spectacle and spy games could be a great shift back to what made fans fall in love with the franchise in the first place. It could also give us something that we've rarely seen the series do since it got bigger budgets and a higher quota on dropped jaws: finally get his desk jockey allies out in the field properly. In "Dead Reckoning Part One," Luther and Benji (Simon Pegg) are forced to ditch their gear and abort. Now let's see what they're like when they have to go out and fend for themselves.

Look, while the last few "Mission: Impossible" movies have been ensembles, you don't see Ving Rhames parachuting off a cliff, do you? There's no doubt that the series is under Cruise control and has been for years, but given the Entity's advantage, it'd be great to see Luther, Benji, and Grace (Hayley Atwell) doing real spy stuff. While Ethan is hopping from one biplane to another (an analog means of transportation that the Entity can't touch, we might add), Benji and the hacking hero known as Phineas Phreak might be forced to unplug themselves and work on their feet rather than their keyboards for a change. It'd be another great way to mix things up when we get reunited with them in the next installment.

With this change of tactics, though, comes a higher risk. We've seen both of Ethan's tech guys fending for themselves in the past — but not as much as their team leader. Should this be the direction the franchise takes these two legends in, the threat level for both of them could make for a truly thrilling element that the franchise has been without for some time: a serious kind of danger that not even Ethan Hunt at high speed can match.