Deliberate mistake: Bare shoulders are forbidden in the Vatican premises, so the sexy dresses in the party would not be allowed.
Factual error: When Tom Cruise is going to defibrillate Keri Russell to disarm the bomb in her head, no defibrillator takes 30 seconds to charge to 150 joules. Most go to 360 joules and if they are not charged in 10 seconds the batteries are depleted enough that they won't charge at all.
Continuity mistake: When Ethan is running through the Shanghai streets, he passes a man holding a vase. In the immediately following wide angle the man has vanished.
Trivia: The scene in which Julia brings Ethan back to life is copied almost identically from the scene in "Lost" (Director JJ Abrams' hit TV show) where Charlie is brought back to life. Incidentally, you can hear the "Lost" music played throughout the show, most noticeable when Davian is about to pick up the gun to kill Julia.
Trivia: One of the reasons why they chose the HK G36 as the rifle Ethan uses in the bridge scene is because it made the scene with Ethan throwing the rifle over the hole blown in the bridge possible in the real world. The G36 is maybe the only rifle in the world that is purposely designed to endure a 2m fall without misfiring. Any other rifle would have ejected its magazine if dropped.
Trivia: When Ethan answers the phone at the party and receives the call about a free trip to Mexico, the voice on the other line is that of the film's director, J.J. Abrams.
Owen Davian: We've implanted an explosive charge in your head. Does that sound familiar?
Owen Davian: Who are you? Do you have a wife? A girlfriend? Whoever she is, I'm gonna find her. I'm gonna hurt her. And then I'm going to kill you right in front of her.
Ethan Hunt: I can't get to the roof!
Declan: Where are you?
Ethan Hunt: Look up! Look up!
Question: When the IMF-team fake the DHL-van breaking down, some drivers from other cars join in on the shouting that ensues. Ethan looks at a man shouting something, and he responds by raising his arm at the man with his handpalm up. What exactly does it mean in Italy when you make that kind of gesture?
Question: When Benji Dunn is guiding Ethan through the streets via satellite to find his wife at the end of the film, Ethan is on a silver phone. Does anyone know the make and model it was? I've been told that it is a Bang and Olufsen but I can't find it.
Question: What is the Rabbit Foot? It was never really explained in the movie or did I miss something?
Answer: It's never explained. This is what's known in the film industry as a McGuffin, a term popularised by Alfred Hitchcock, which is an item that's crucial to the plot, but the exact nature of which is never revealed because it actually doesn't matter in the slightest.
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Answer: Pretty much what it looks like, enraged annoyance.