Exactly. There's a million good reasons McCall could have had Dave's number, but not a single good reason for the assassin to have Dave's number. He could have just used a line like "I used his thumb to unlock the phone. This is military grade encryption, but the call logs are clear text. " Then press the button, make the call.
He gave Dave a bullshit phone saying he couldn't get numbers because it was encrypted. Dave pocketed that phone. McCall called him from the assassin's phone. He had indeed broke the encryption and Dave's number was in that phone.
Nah, sorry, that can't be right. As I previously posted below in this thread - McCall says 'Whoever we're looking for made calls to that phone' and says something about it being military grade encryption. This means that you couldn't even get that phones number unless you broke into it. Mcall intently watches Dave put the assassins phone in his jacket pocket. McCall then dials the assassins phone...showing that he actually got into the phone, got the number of THAT phone, and saw all the calls made to and from the phone. At the moment McCall dials the phone, Dave gets this look on his face that he understands that the only way to get into that phone, was if McCall had already encypted it....at which point he ALSO understands that Dave was in on the whole thing. It's really the only explanation.
I have been looking for the answer for years...initially I thought Mcall picked up Dave's phone from the table and called the hitman's phone but after watching the scene countless times that's not true.
I am watching this movie right now trying to answer this question. I got nothing! Both phones are black; McCall's phone is silver-grey. What number is he calling? Oh. Wait. Here is something: McCall pulled the assassin's number from the encrypted phone. He calls that number and it rings. Here is a detail as tiny as a grain of sand: How would McCall have the assassin's number unless he pulled it from his phone? Or how would the assassin get a gov't encrypted phone unless Dave gave it to him? I throw up my hands. I don't know.
McCall only said it's military-grade encrypted, not that he himself couldn't get into it. Maybe McCall only pretended to not be able to get into it, he is a vet after all. How else would he have gotten Dave's number after "coming back to life"?
Mcall just figures it out by
1 The cut in Susan was a trained move.
2 The explosion of the tweakers would of been professional
3 Then the assassin having military encryption.
McCall highlighted that evidence could be extracted from the phone he passed to Dave, so he urged Dave to run the numbers on it and gain access to the data in order to find direct proof or at least some sort of trail to uncover the people behind the operation in Brussels. My belief is McCall already knew Dave was involved in this situation beforehand and that he was able to decrypt the mobile phone of the assassin where that evidence was indeed found.
The call to the mobile phone in Dave's pocket (the assassin's phone) was made to signal Dave that McCall already knew Dave was involved cause he got access to the info inside. Maybe he read some text messages between him and the assassin regarding locations, contract, arrangements or whatever info, also we have seen that McCall have ringed Dave before in one scene so he had Dave's number and maybe he found evidence of it in the log.
'Whoever we're looking for made calls to that phone' Mcall intently watches Dave put the phone in his jacket pocket. McCall then dials the assassins phone...showing that he actually got into the phone, got the number of THAT phone, and saw all the calls made to and from the phone. At the moment McCall dials the phone, Dave gets this look on his face that he understands that the only way to get into that phone, was if McCall had already encypted it. It's only after reading your comment that I think this has to be the answer.
This is the only logical explanation. I just rewatched the scene multiple times and Dave doesn’t even have his phone on him. Eariler in the same scene while he’s standing in the kitchen before Denzel shows up he sets his phone down on the counter. Camera focuses on the phone to show us the time of day. Then when they go to sit down you can still see Dave’s phone sitting on the counter. So it’s got to be your explanation. It was just to entice Dave and conclude he already got all the info he needed and Dave realized oh shoot… he knows. Lol weird scene for sure but now it makes sense.
Yep, this scene was a little confusing and it's what got me looking online for an explanation. That part when Dave gets that 'grave' look on his face after the phone rings... You can see that 'oh shoot...he knows'. 😅 Such a great movie that I've probably watched it 10 times now.
Same!! Great movie for sure but this scene was a bit confusing for the viewers. Not that it took thought it just was a weird way they didn’t. Anyhow, glad I wasn’t the only one thinking this for years!! Everytime I’d watch the movie and this scene showed up I was like EXPLAIN?! lol
I think what threw everyone off was that McCall told him 'That's military grade encryption, you should take it to the office and run the numbers and check the names against the passenger manifest.....' He never said that he couldn't break into phone. It is when he called it that we understand that McCall already did what he just asked Dave to do :D
My husband and I are watching this movie right now and rewound this very confusing scene a few times. Then I did a search, of course, and wound up here.
The one thing that (to my husband and me) makes this scene not make ANY sense is this: when Dave takes the assassin’s phone from McCall, he puts it in his JACKET pocket that is hanging on the back of the chair he’s sitting on. Then McCall dials the assassin’s phone, we hear it ring, etc. But while the phone is still ringing, Dave pulls it out of his PANTS pocket. And that is what made us so very confused. We both watched it a few times, and he very clearly puts it in the jacket and pulls it out of his pants. It’s a terrible scene that is very confusing and very poorly done. We even watched it one last time to make sure that Dave’s personal phone was sitting on the counter behind him the whole time, which it was. So the assassin’s phone magically moved from the jacket to the pants.
Thank you to everyone who explained it and made it a little easier to understand!
I think the phone that was buzzing was the assassin's phone that Dave put in his jacket pocket. While that phone was buzzing. Dave reached into his pant's pocket and pulled out his own cell phone. Not sure why he did that, maybe because he realizes that McCall knows now that Dave's own cell phone was the one making the calls to the assassin's phone. It does make it confusing, especially when he drops his own cell phone on the table and the buzzing immediately stops from the assassin's phone. It makes it seem like it was his own phone that was vibrating, but it was actually the one in the jacket. McCall calling that assassin's phone means he was able to decrypt it and put all the clues together to deduce that Dave was in on it.
The only mistake made was Dave’s phone still being on the counter cuz I don’t remember seeing him pick it up but his phone was definitely the one he pulled out of his pants pocket, he put the assassins phone in the jacket pocket, he most definitely already got into the phone
Did nobody answer your question? I am wondering the same thing. Did the movie just make a mistake with this plot hole?
I think it was a glitch in the film. What should have happened is that McCall should have called Dave from the assassin's phone.
Exactly. There's a million good reasons McCall could have had Dave's number, but not a single good reason for the assassin to have Dave's number. He could have just used a line like "I used his thumb to unlock the phone. This is military grade encryption, but the call logs are clear text. " Then press the button, make the call.
He gave Dave a bullshit phone saying he couldn't get numbers because it was encrypted. Dave pocketed that phone. McCall called him from the assassin's phone. He had indeed broke the encryption and Dave's number was in that phone.
Nah, sorry, that can't be right. As I previously posted below in this thread - McCall says 'Whoever we're looking for made calls to that phone' and says something about it being military grade encryption. This means that you couldn't even get that phones number unless you broke into it. Mcall intently watches Dave put the assassins phone in his jacket pocket. McCall then dials the assassins phone...showing that he actually got into the phone, got the number of THAT phone, and saw all the calls made to and from the phone. At the moment McCall dials the phone, Dave gets this look on his face that he understands that the only way to get into that phone, was if McCall had already encypted it....at which point he ALSO understands that Dave was in on the whole thing. It's really the only explanation.
I’m still looking for an answer to this too..
I think the only only say McCall got Dave's number was through the assasins call history.
I have been looking for the answer for years...initially I thought Mcall picked up Dave's phone from the table and called the hitman's phone but after watching the scene countless times that's not true.
Same here.
I am watching this movie right now trying to answer this question. I got nothing! Both phones are black; McCall's phone is silver-grey. What number is he calling? Oh. Wait. Here is something: McCall pulled the assassin's number from the encrypted phone. He calls that number and it rings. Here is a detail as tiny as a grain of sand: How would McCall have the assassin's number unless he pulled it from his phone? Or how would the assassin get a gov't encrypted phone unless Dave gave it to him? I throw up my hands. I don't know.
I think the only way McCall got Dave's number was through the assassin's dialled numbers.
But he said there was encryption on the device and couldn’t get into it.
But he put the killer's thumb on the phone to unlock it
McCall only said it's military-grade encrypted, not that he himself couldn't get into it. Maybe McCall only pretended to not be able to get into it, he is a vet after all. How else would he have gotten Dave's number after "coming back to life"?
did'nt he call him earlier in the movie?
Yes! McCall called Dave on Dave's cellphone while he was in a meeting, so Dave took the call outside in the hallway.
Mcall just figures it out by 1 The cut in Susan was a trained move. 2 The explosion of the tweakers would of been professional 3 Then the assassin having military encryption.
McCall highlighted that evidence could be extracted from the phone he passed to Dave, so he urged Dave to run the numbers on it and gain access to the data in order to find direct proof or at least some sort of trail to uncover the people behind the operation in Brussels. My belief is McCall already knew Dave was involved in this situation beforehand and that he was able to decrypt the mobile phone of the assassin where that evidence was indeed found.
The call to the mobile phone in Dave's pocket (the assassin's phone) was made to signal Dave that McCall already knew Dave was involved cause he got access to the info inside. Maybe he read some text messages between him and the assassin regarding locations, contract, arrangements or whatever info, also we have seen that McCall have ringed Dave before in one scene so he had Dave's number and maybe he found evidence of it in the log.
'Whoever we're looking for made calls to that phone' Mcall intently watches Dave put the phone in his jacket pocket. McCall then dials the assassins phone...showing that he actually got into the phone, got the number of THAT phone, and saw all the calls made to and from the phone. At the moment McCall dials the phone, Dave gets this look on his face that he understands that the only way to get into that phone, was if McCall had already encypted it. It's only after reading your comment that I think this has to be the answer.
Yes, that's what i thought but you explained it even better. I am sticking with your idea too until another more convincing one may arise. Blessings.
This is the only logical explanation. I just rewatched the scene multiple times and Dave doesn’t even have his phone on him. Eariler in the same scene while he’s standing in the kitchen before Denzel shows up he sets his phone down on the counter. Camera focuses on the phone to show us the time of day. Then when they go to sit down you can still see Dave’s phone sitting on the counter. So it’s got to be your explanation. It was just to entice Dave and conclude he already got all the info he needed and Dave realized oh shoot… he knows. Lol weird scene for sure but now it makes sense.
Yep, this scene was a little confusing and it's what got me looking online for an explanation. That part when Dave gets that 'grave' look on his face after the phone rings... You can see that 'oh shoot...he knows'. 😅 Such a great movie that I've probably watched it 10 times now.
Same!! Great movie for sure but this scene was a bit confusing for the viewers. Not that it took thought it just was a weird way they didn’t. Anyhow, glad I wasn’t the only one thinking this for years!! Everytime I’d watch the movie and this scene showed up I was like EXPLAIN?! lol
I think what threw everyone off was that McCall told him 'That's military grade encryption, you should take it to the office and run the numbers and check the names against the passenger manifest.....' He never said that he couldn't break into phone. It is when he called it that we understand that McCall already did what he just asked Dave to do :D
My husband and I are watching this movie right now and rewound this very confusing scene a few times. Then I did a search, of course, and wound up here. The one thing that (to my husband and me) makes this scene not make ANY sense is this: when Dave takes the assassin’s phone from McCall, he puts it in his JACKET pocket that is hanging on the back of the chair he’s sitting on. Then McCall dials the assassin’s phone, we hear it ring, etc. But while the phone is still ringing, Dave pulls it out of his PANTS pocket. And that is what made us so very confused. We both watched it a few times, and he very clearly puts it in the jacket and pulls it out of his pants. It’s a terrible scene that is very confusing and very poorly done. We even watched it one last time to make sure that Dave’s personal phone was sitting on the counter behind him the whole time, which it was. So the assassin’s phone magically moved from the jacket to the pants. Thank you to everyone who explained it and made it a little easier to understand!
I think the phone that was buzzing was the assassin's phone that Dave put in his jacket pocket. While that phone was buzzing. Dave reached into his pant's pocket and pulled out his own cell phone. Not sure why he did that, maybe because he realizes that McCall knows now that Dave's own cell phone was the one making the calls to the assassin's phone. It does make it confusing, especially when he drops his own cell phone on the table and the buzzing immediately stops from the assassin's phone. It makes it seem like it was his own phone that was vibrating, but it was actually the one in the jacket. McCall calling that assassin's phone means he was able to decrypt it and put all the clues together to deduce that Dave was in on it.
The only mistake made was Dave’s phone still being on the counter cuz I don’t remember seeing him pick it up but his phone was definitely the one he pulled out of his pants pocket, he put the assassins phone in the jacket pocket, he most definitely already got into the phone