For 30 years, Tom Cruise has risked his life to entertain the masses in the “Mission: Impossible" movies.
Based on the TV series, “Mission: Impossible” stars Cruise as Ethan Hunt, the highly skilled operative who works for the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) team. What started as an espionage thriller eventually turned into an action spectacle, as Cruise became Hollywood’s Daredevil and its most important movie star.
The eighth film in the franchise, “Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning,” is billed as Cruise’s swan song. While the “Top Gun” star will likely return to the franchise one day, “The Final Reckoning” feels like the end of an era. In honor of the film’s release, we ranked every "Mission: Impossible" movie from worst to best.
8. ‘Mission: Impossible 2’
After the success of “Mission: Impossible,” the franchise recruited Hong Kong legend John Woo to direct the sequel, “Mission: Impossible 2.” Woo injected his signature hallmarks, including slow motion, elaborate fight choreography, and white doves.
“Mission: Impossible 2” is undoubtedly a “John Woo movie,” but that doesn’t make it a good entry within the franchise. The nonsensical plot revolves around Ethan and his team racing to stop rogue IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) from unleashing a virus onto the world and profiting off the cure.
The motorcycle jump scene is worth rewatching this sequel, but it’s unquestionably the worst movie of the franchise.
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7. ‘Mission: Impossible 3’
If this list ranked “Mission: Impossible” villains, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Owen Davian would be at the top, full stop.
Davian is the ruthless arms dealer who pushes Ethan to his absolute limit. Davian is after the Rabbit's Foot, a biologically hazardous weapon that reappears in “The Final Reckoning.” Davian will do anything to find it, even if that means kidnapping Ethan’s fiancée, Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan).
Much of the criticism surrounding “Mission: Impossible 3” revolves around first-time feature director J.J. Abrams and how the movie feels like an extended episode of “Alias.” That’s a bit harsh. Cruise doesn’t do anything that resembles television, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is not something you’ll find on ABC.
Imagine if David Fincher hadn’t dropped out as the director. Davian would’ve put Ethan into the torture chamber even more.
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6. ‘Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning’
In “Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning,” Ethan needs you to trust him one last time. After the events of the previous film, Ethan has the cruciform key in his possession. Now, he must find the Sevastopol and destroy the Entity.
Your temperature may vary on “The Final Reckoning” depending on your propensity for nostalgia. The first act plays like a greatest hits album, with several flashbacks and callbacks to previous movies. Some viewers might be turned off by this approach.
If you hang in there, you’ll be rewarded with two of the best action set pieces of the franchise, including a jaw-dropping airplane sequence. “Mission: Impossible” will eventually return with or without Cruise. If this is the end, it was one hell of a ride.
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5. ‘Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning’
This is the one where Ethan battles AI. “Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning” pits Ethan and his team against a technological enemy known as The Entity, the sentient AI located on the Russian submarine, Sevastopol, at the bottom of the Bering Sea.
Whoever controls the Entity will become the most powerful person in the world. Ethan can’t let that happen, so he sets out to find and destroy it before it gets into the wrong hands.
“Dead Reckoning” is the first film where Ethan losing becomes a real possibility, a nice change from the happy endings of the previous entries. Hayley Atwell is a welcome addition to the franchise as Grace, the charismatic thief who becomes an ally to Ethan.
The set pieces in the Italian streets and on the train are genuinely spectacular, highlighted by Cruise’s motorcycle jump off the cliff. The only knock against “Dead Reckoning” is that it ends on a cliffhanger.
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4. ‘Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol’
“Ghost Protocol” might be the most important entry in the franchise. After the lukewarm reception to “Mission: Impossible 3,” “Ghost Protocol” zeroed in on the strengths of the franchise: practical stunts, a charismatic team and Cruise being Cruise. The scope, set pieces, and stakes were all raised in “Ghost Protocol.”
After being blamed for the bombing of the Kremlin, Ethan goes off the grid and teams up with other IMF fugitives to clear the agency’s name. This is Simon Pegg’s breakout movie in the franchise, as Benji becomes Ethan’s most important ally besides Luther (Ving Rhames).
“Ghost Protocol” also marks the introduction of Christopher McQuarrie, who completed uncredited rewrites on the script. Cruise also climbed the tallest building in the world, so there’s that, too.
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3. ‘Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation’
Speaking of McQuarrie, the writer-director made his official introduction to the franchise in “Rogue Nation.” With the IMF forced to assimilate into the CIA, Ethan goes, well, rogue to investigate the Syndicate, a powerful organization featuring former covert operatives who wish to tip the scales of global power.
“Rogue Nation” marks the first appearance of Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust, the disavowed MI6 agent who becomes the most important female character of the franchise. While most of the women in the franchise need saving, Ilsa is Ethan’s equal, who even gets the upper hand on the IMF agent.
“Rogue Nation” takes the formula of “Ghost Protocol” — set pieces and scope — and combines it with more espionage from earlier entries. The result is a thrilling spy adventure that paves the way for the No. 1 movie on this list.
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2. ‘Mission: Impossible’
All great things start somewhere. “Mission: Impossible” set the stage for what would become one of the best action franchises in Hollywood. Brian De Palma’s movie is the most grounded of the franchise and the one that relies heavily on espionage tropes: deceit, betrayal and deception.
After a brilliant swerve in the first act, Ethan (Tom Cruise) goes on the run after the murder of his mentor, Jim Phelps (Jon Voight). To prove his innocence, Ethan enlists the help of IMF agent Claire Phelps (Emmanuelle Béart), tech wizard Luther Stickell, and helicopter pilot Franz Krieger (Jean Reno) to steal a confidential file inside CIA headquarters.
Cruise hanging from a wire as he hacks into a computer will go down as the most important moment of the franchise. Just make sure not to drop any knives while watching.
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1. ‘Mission: Impossible — Fallout’
How many franchises can say that the sixth film is their magnum opus? “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” is the greatest action thriller of the eight entries. You know a movie is great when multiple action sequences — including the bathroom fight, halo jump, and helicopter chase — have legitimate claims for best of the series.
Ethan and Co. are after arms dealer John Lark, who plans to set off three nuclear bombs around the world. Ethan must form a reluctant partnership with the CIA’s August Walker (Henry Cavill), whose own agenda conflicts with the IMF.
It’s a movie of one-upmanship, moving from one unfathomable sequence to the next. “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” won’t be surpassed as the franchise’s top movie anytime soon.
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