Opening Sequences and Enigma - 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol'

In this blog post, I am going to be analysing how enigma/mystery is created for the audience in the opening sequence of 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol'.

The scene begins with aerial shots of the city, which allows the audience to get fully immersed from the beginning. The fast-paced editing highlights that there is a sense of urgency, and this is made clear when the camera zooms in on a rooftop and we see a guy being chased by two enemies as they shoot at him. This intense action immediately grabs the audience’s attention but also makes them curious as they are unaware why this is happening, who the man is, why he is being chased. The dramatic non-diegetic music helps emphasise the intensity of the scene and create excitement for the audience from the start. Just as the guy seems to escape the danger, the camera pans to reveal a woman walking towards him down a quiet alleyway. 

He is suddenly assassinated by this woman which creates shock and confusion for the audience as they just witnessed him escaping the enemies. It is also unclear who this female assassin is and why she has killed the man, leaving the audience with more questions than answers. The woman takes his briefcase after killing him which adds to the enigma of the scene as the audience are unaware of the briefcase's significance. Finally, the camera zooms in on his phone which has a picture of the mysterious woman with the words “ASSASSIN”, accompanied by the sinister non-diegetic music which creates further enigma for the audience who start the film with lots of unanswered questions.