The Mission: Impossible franchise is one of the greatest action/adventure franchises in film history. Not only is each entry in the franchise a thoroughly enthralling spectacle, but each also delivers a solid film every time. With the upcoming release of the franchise’s finale, I thought now would be a perfect time to look back on the moments and movies that made this franchise the blockbuster that it is!
This list was hard to make, considering how epic each movie is. I did my research, came to my conclusions, and am here today to present you with the facts about the greatness of this series. Spoilers are going to be ahead, so tread lightly if, somehow, you have not seen any of these.
Instead of giving each movie a rating, I am going to try something different. I want to put down my favorite scene from each, because that might provide a better appreciative tone than a number scale. Your mission- should you choose to accept it- is to rank all Mission: Impossible films with me! I am Not Very Special Agent Nolen, and this is:
All Mission: Impossible Movies Ranked
#8: Mission: Impossible 2
Okay, so when I said this was going to be hard, the easiest decision to make was putting 2 down here. Scored by Hans Zimmer, featuring an original track from Limp Bizkit, starring Tom Cruise and Thandie Newton, and directed by John Woo, Mission: Impossible 2 somehow manages to be a mess.
According to IMDb, Woo originally had this movie around 3 hours, but the studio hated that length, so after some shortening, we got what we got. I am now campaigning for the Woo Cut, because with some more time think this could be phenomenal. Although this is the least entertaining of the franchise, there is still a bit of sauce on display here.
John Woo’s style is cool, but it did not match what Mission: Impossible was. I think even with that extra time, it still would not have changed the As unbalanced and mediocre as this film was, I will give it some credit in the way of its stunts and visuals.
Tom Cruise constantly moving in Woo’s slow motion was kind of awesome. Dougray Scott’s knife being mere centimeters from Ethan’s eye is cool. When Ethan and Sean rode motorcycles at each other, jumped off the motorcycles, and collided in midair, it was legitimately wild.
There is some cool-looking stuff here, but unfortunately, it gets lost in the sea of disconnect, AKA Mission: Impossible 2. So, for my favorite moment of the film, I had to go with when Ethan had broken into the Biocyte Lab from a helicopter, diving through panels on a timer, landing stealthily in the lab, and sending his cable back up to Luther in the helicopter above.
The cross-cutting between Sean and Luther talking over their plans is cool, the sound is minimal, the clock ticking does not help, and this is one slick scene. Credit where it is due- Ambrose’s plan is intelligent and I like how he seemed to be the only one to think like Ethan throughout this whole series. Even Woo’s direction here is good.
Even though much of the tone in this movie is uneven, this scene is quiet, tense, and pretty perfect for what Mission: Impossible is.
#7: Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation
The great thing about these films is that any of these movies can land in any spot depending on the day. Rogue Nation is by no means a bad movie, nor is it even a weak movie. If anything, this film is awesome and another great step towards the exciting conclusion we will soon arrive at.
In Rogue Nation, we get the debut of Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust, Ethan hangs on to the OUTSIDE OF AN AIRPLANE, and my favorite car chase of the series takes place. The settings are gorgeous, the music is as epic as ever, and I still think about the use of “Ready or Not” in the trailer. It is so good! It is hard to find a clip of it, but the score during the opening studio cards with building notes of the M: I theme is something I think about frequently. It is all cool stuff.
Rogue Nation is cool, and the biggest challenge the IMF has faced to this point. Sean Harris’s presence as the antagonist Lane is like a shadow around every corner, and it heightens the tension significantly. Rogue Nation is great, and I hate putting this so low on this list, but in the case of the M: I franchise, it is pretty impressive that a movie this entertaining only landed here.
For my favorite scene, I chose the tense, quiet, and prolonged scene of Ethan swapping out identity cards in an underwater safe to get Benji into a government facility. While most of the films feature a race against the clock for disarming a device or a bomb of some kind, this scene is one in which I can do the thing that they are doing.
I try to hold my breath for the length that Ethan does, I am super unable to last a few minutes, and then I can appreciate the nightmare of what Ethan has to do on top of not having oxygen. This scene is one mishap after calamity after disaster, but it all works out in the end. I do not like ranking this film low, ever, because it is so good. Each scene is so chaotic and well-made, it pains me to not be able to place it higher. Watch Rogue Nation!
#6: Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol
Yet again, another instance of the M: I franchise being so full of greatness that one of the best movies of the respective year is placed in the middle of a list. Ghost Protocol is the exciting revitalization of the franchise after a 5-year gap between this one and its predecessor, Mission: Impossible 3. I am so ready to talk about 3, but first, some due love is needed for this film, because I think the real turning point for these films is this movie.
Each of the previous directors had their approach, and 2/ 3 were good movies featuring their signature flairs (pun intended), but from Ghost Protocol onward, that is where we get the consistent tone we still see in Dead Reckoning. Ghost Protocol mixes the light adventures with the tense espionage for one fantastic final product.
For my favorite scene, I had to go with the classic scene of Ethan running outside the Burj Kalifa while Benji, Jane (Paula Patton), and Agent Brandt (Jeremy Renner) prepare to steal information from their opposition.
With a sentence like that, how could I not choose that scene? Ethan runs on the exterior of the Burj Khalifa, loses power in his climbing gear, free solos the windows, and then jumps through a window. Man, it is so cool! It is a lengthy scene, but the tension never lets up, the problems continue to pile up, and the scene never stops being fun.
Everything that can go wrong does go wrong. A sandstorm looms in the distance, the mask maker machine malfunctions, Ethan’s aforementioned gloves fail, Ethan falls a few stories, and there is a race against time to get into the massive server room they need entry into.
This is awesome. Everything that happens in/on the Burj Khalifa is great – including Rihanna’s tenure of being projected onto it – but this moment is undeniably great in every way, just like Ghost Protocol.
#5: Mission: Impossible
For a while, this film was in the top spot, but after watching a few more, I realized I had the painful task of figuring out where Mission: Impossible fit into my thoughts. This hurts to place this only at number four, because there is still so much that holds up. This is the ultimate spy movie. Gadgets, foreign locations, Scooby-Doo masks, Jean Reno, and so much more. I joke, but there is everything here.
Brian De Palma’s direction gives way to a paranoid tone, suffocating tension, and cool characters. One performance that never seems to get the appreciation it deserves is Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge. Out of all of the films in this series, I have always felt that Kittridge was Ethan’s most personal enemy.
Spoiler alert- when they bring him back in Dead Reckoning, I could not have been happier. Although Kittridge is not the main antagonist of the film, his uneven relationship with Ethan made all of the drama all the more intense.
I almost picked the classic scene of Ethan dangling inches above the floor from the ceiling vents, which is already a perfect moment. I chose the opening sequence showing each member of the original IMF team meeting their untimely demise.
After the opening sequence showed us how talented this team is, I could not wait to see more of them, but Jon Voight had other plans. I am not typically a Jon Voight fan, but I liked him in this movie. Each time I watch this movie, this scene hits like an elevator to the face.
Most of my favorite scenes from these movies have a good ending, feature a cool stunt, or have a moment to allow you to breathe out. Not this scene, though.
There is something fantastic in how De Palma directs this catastrophic calamity that instantly grabs your attention in a way the series has not been able to replicate. Mission: Impossible is great. If this were the only film made with the Mission: Impossible title, then I would still love this movie for everything it is.
#4: Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning
The Final Reckoning was just released in theaters, and I still have a hard time comprehending that this franchise is complete. Everything has led to this. There is a lot to take away from this film, and Tom Cruise being the greatest movie star of all time is my own. Love him, hate him, or be indifferent towards him, Tom is so great at what he does. There have been mixed opinions on The Final Reckoning, but as a fan of the series, I can say I was pleased.
Since The Final Reckoning is still fresh, this is my chance to give a mini-review as well as place it in the franchise. My qualms with the film are few, but I do have a couple. There was a large portion of time when the focus was on the dialogue to set everything up. After a little while, I could feel myself becoming aware of myself sitting in a theater, rather than experiencing the peak of cinema.
Final Reckoning Negatives
The fan service was inevitable, so it came as no surprise, but there were a few tie-ins to previous films that didn’t do it for me. Shea Wigham’s character was revealed as the son of Jon Voight’s character from the first film, and that did not connect. The romance between Grace and Ethan was forced. There was nothing that indicated it needed to happen or remain a part of the story.
I am including this as a negative, but I also think highly of the idea that The Rabbit’s Foot from M: I 3 was The Entity, and Ethan was the one who released it onto the world. I like the idea, but the callback appeal was as clear as day.
Worshippers of The Entity was not a subplot that had enough legs to stand on, and it feels like it could have just been cut. Lastly, you will see how I feel about Dead Reckoning, but the end of this film did not feel like what all of that has been building towards. “Anti-climactic” is too harsh, since the end of this movie rocked, but this was not what I was hoping to see this world finish with.
The Final Reckoning Positives
This is the most negativity in an entry since M: I 2, but I promise I liked The Final Reckoning. I could sit and nitpick everything I had a problem with The Final Reckoning, but I would rather talk about how great the greatness in this film is. The performances are solid, the plot is dense, and there is strong emotion in every scene; this movie is fun.
Gabriel is the Joker to Ethan’s Batman. The sendoff for Ving Rhames’ character, Luther, was a tad underwhelming, but I am glad he got a spotlight on his importance to Ethan. Each performance in this movie is great, everyone has good chemistry, and this is a good crew to send off the series with. The settings and set pieces are awesome. Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey’s score is epic.
Once the film moves past the slow and dialogue-heavy segment, the pacing picks up and never stops. When I was in the theater, I remember thinking how much fun I was having, and at the end of it all, that’s what matters most. The Final Reckoning was rad, fun, exciting, and a good movie. I eagerly await revisiting this movie because there is some awesome and crisp filmmaking here. This brings me to my favorite scene.
The Final Reckoning Favorite Scene
While I loved the quiet, claustrophobic, submerged, and extensive survival for information in The Savastapol submarine, I had to go with Ethan’s fight for everything on a biplane. Good gravy, this is the stuff of legend and nightmares. Each life-or-death scenario in the previous films end with certain survival. They are going to make another film, so no, this can not be the end. Given that this is the finale, there was the uncomfortable question of “Is this how Ethan Hunt dies?” while he dangled from a plane. After seven films, this was the first time I had to ask myself if this is the end.
Cross-cut Benji and Grace’s stressful attempt to trap The Entity in a port, I couldn’t help but feel a bit more than stressed out, knowing that if they fail and Ethan succeeds in disarming Gabriel, then he is trapped in the air. Ethan needs to steal the power box from Gabriel in midair, while Benji and Grace need to trick an omnipotent artificial god into a box. Those are some unnerving stakes, to say the least.
Tom Cruise has done some silly stunts in his career, and this may be the wildest of them all. Tom is a madman, and this was not only the perfect stunt and scene to end the franchise with, but an unforgettable moment in the entire saga as well. Basically, Tom Cruise is keeping cinema alive. I avoided scores for the others, but since this one is out now, I want to give The Final Reckoning a whopping 8.5/10!
#3: Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning
The final three films on this list have sauce in spades and their unique ways. Dead Reckoning takes us on a whiplash-inducing, yet lengthily paced sensation. I have seen this film twice, and both times I could not wrap my head around how great it was. Tom Cruise is the man, and I think this is the movie I will look back on as his finest performance in the series.
Ethan Hunt is that guy. He has always been that guy, but in Dead Reckoning, Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie reinforce that Ethan always has been that guy. In Dead Reckoning, we meet Gabriel (Esai Morales), the evil counterpart to Ethan. Gabriel is smart, strong, capable, and everything that Ethan is. Pitting the intelligent good against the cunningly evil in a fight for control of super-intelligence is the whole reason we go to the movies.
Although the film is close to three hours, this movie flies by. The stunts are crazy, the action is nonstop, the stakes are constantly rising, and there are only a few moments of respite in between each insane set piece.
The cast for this movie is stupidly stacked, too. Esai Morales, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, and Carey Elwes join the franchise with returns from Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and the goat himself, Henry Czerny.
Picking my favorite scene from Dead Reckoning was like picking my favorite LCD Soundsystem song– it was nearly impossible, but I landed on one I love. The train derailment in the final ten minutes is the closest we will get to an Uncharted 2 recreation; it is epic, and it is a tense experience. After Gabriel blows up the bridge and tracks of the train Ethan is on, he and Grace (Atwell) have to move all of the passengers to the back of the train as well as try to escape the train themselves.
The lack of score, the scale of the danger, and everything happening is scary stuff. Ethan and Grace running on top of the train, dangling inside the train, and climbing the vertically capped train was wild. A massive honorable mention goes to when Ethan jumped off a cliff on his motorbike, parachuted to the moving train, crashed through the window, and took henchmen out. It’s awesome stuff! Dead Reckoning has so much sauce, and it is unreal.
#2: Mission: Impossible 3
It had been a while since my previous M: I 3 watch, and my god, I can not believe I let it go so long without rewatching it. All of these films have a good rhythm, but 3 is an electric speedball of unrelenting fury that never lets up. I noted how each director of the first trilogy had some of their flair in each one. J.J. Abrams’ flair happened to be explosions, lens flares, and the pacing of an actual lunatic.
I mentioned how there was seldom any respite in Dead Reckoning, but once 3 gets going, there is not even a second of air. Mission: Impossible 3 feels like an angry energy drink that gives you Tom Cruise’s cardio. The pacing is great, you get it, but why else is M: I 3 so great? The performances are phenomenal, the cast is stacked from floor to ceiling, the direction is great, and this is the most unique film of the franchise.
The performances in each film are good, but when your main antagonist is Phillip Seymour Hoffman telling you in a matter-of-fact tone that he will hurt your loved ones, there is nothing better. PSH was the man! A good protagonist is only as great as their antagonist, and Owen Davian is The Joker to Ethan’s Batman. Owen’s evil resourcefulness brought out the best (and the worst) of Ethan’s physical and mental abilities. Awesome stuff.
I liked Phillip Seymour Hoffman, you get the picture, but I also mentioned the stacked cast. Laurence Fishburne, Billy Crudup, Maggie Q, PSH, Keri Russell, Michelle Monaghan, Eddie Marsan, and Aaron Paul all make their Impossible appearances, which marks the official debut of Simon Pegg’s character Benji Dunn. Look at those names. Everyone wanted a piece of this movie, and I do not blame them.
Any time I talk about this film, I have to mention how much of a madman J.J. Abrams was for his direction on this film. This is J.J.’s official film debut after he directed a few episodes for Alias, Felicity, and most famously, Lost. If you saw the Lost pilot, then you know J.J. has sauce.
Abrams came out swinging like a bat out of hell or a feature film debut. J.J. made a solid name for himself with this film, and he gave us a memorable action/ espionage film in the process. The closest tone, pace, and energy to 3 is the first film, and that movie is more reasonably paced. There is nothing else like this movie in the franchise, and I love it.
Mission: Impossible 3 Favorite Scene
For my favorite scene from Mission: Impossible 3, I had to fight choosing the entire movie. I settled on the bridge attack. After successfully subduing Davian, the crew managed to contain him in an armored truck, but that lasted about as long as it takes to count to five.
Before you know it, the bridge they are crossing is under attack from all angles. Explosions, missiles, gunfire, and helicopters all swarm and barrage the team while extracting Davian. Aside from the deeply uncomfortable interrogation scene, which just barely missed its spot here, this bridge attack is the first thing that comes to mind whenever I think about Mission: Impossible 3.
The shot of Ethan sprinting for his life as a missile lands a few feet from him is top-tier stuff. The bridge attack is the scene that made me realize how much sauce his movie had and how cool Abrams is. ANy way, here is the interrogation scene, because it is too good.
Mission: Impossible 3 has sauce in spades, but there is one more Mission that has sauce with an additional side of marinara. That would be:
#1: Mission: Impossible- Fallout
This club has everything- world-ending bombs, helicopters, Parisian bathroom fights, code names, Ving Rhames, Scooby-Doo mask reveals, Angela Bassett, and Henry Cavill cocking his arms, like guns, while brawling in a bathroom. I would say this is in the top three greatest espionage films of all time. The action is visceral, the set pieces are huge, the performances are sharp, the characters are all so well written, the stakes are as dramatic as they come, and everything connects perfectly.
I do not know where to begin with dissecting this movie. How about the performances? I like Henry Cavill, I always have, and after his performance in Fallout, I was swooning for him. Sean Harris returning as Solomon Lane was cool.
Rebecca Ferguson is awesome, and I can not imagine this series without her, despite being in three films out of eight. She fit right into this franchise with such ease. The Fallout cast is perfect. Without jumping the gun, picking my favorite scene from Fallout was the hardest decision, because this movie could get its solo ranking of the best scenes.
Ethan and Agent Walker’s (Cavill) botched Halo jump is masterful tension-building. Ethan’s opening nightmare featuring Lane and a returning Michelle Monaghan is disturbing. Wolf Blitzer’s cameo was hilarious. Tom Cruise breaking his ankle after a messy jump between buildings, while that shot is kept in the final product, is legendary, and further adds to this film’s greatness.
Henry Cavill punching a guy to the beat of the Mission: Impossible theme is one of the craziest bits of sound mixing and fight choreography this world has ever seen. All of these moments are only a few of many other equally amazing scenes. Are you kidding me?
I mentioned how there was sauce in M: I 3 and Dead Reckoning, but there’s nothing like this film. There is sauce and style in the fight choreography, the editing, the direction, and the sound. There is no score in at least three of the most epic scenes of the film. We are left with the elements and the chaos, which heighten everything drastically. For a lesser movie, the amount of quick cuts would cheapen the value of the action, but Fallout is not that.
One thing I do not see enough love for is Cruise and Cavill’s chemistry. In the scenes they work together in, they have fun, sort of rude, back and forth that turns to a mutual appreciation for the other’s abilities. After it is revealed that Walker was Lark the whole time, the dynamic may have changed, but Cruise and Cavill still work so great as enemies.
Owen Davian will always take the cake for the best M: I antagonist, but for my money, Agent Walker/ John Lark is also an elite tier villain. Writer/Director Christopher McQuarrie and Casting Directors Mindy Marin and Toby Whale deserve all of the credit in the world for assembling a cast with instant chemistry.
Fallout Favorite Scene
For my favorite scene, I had to fight myself numerous times before I was satisfied, but I think it makes the most sense to go with one of the best fight scenes in recent memory. When my choices included a fight sequence on a cliff while two helicopters dangle by a wire, a helicopter chase, a botched jump from the heavens, any scene with Henry Cavill, baiting Agent Walker into revealing himself as John Lark, or the freeing of Solomon Lane, then my choices seem impossible.
Despite all of that, there was one very clear answer above all of this. The handicap brawl in the bathroom of a Paris nightclub is everything you need.
A two-on-one fight is a little unfair, but Liang Yang more than held his own against the different sizes and speeds of Tom Cruise and Henry Cavill. With a mix of crisp and technical striking, a suffocating pace, creative uses of the environment, unique weaponry, and perfect camerawork, this scene is clean violence. There are so many ridiculously awesome small moments in this fight that will keep it alive forever.
The lack of score is eerie, but allows all of the punches and blows to land louder. The initial brawl, beginning in a stall before exploding into the rest of the room, is glorious. Cavill throwing Yang through the mirror to the other side of the room is insane. Yang briefly subdues Cavill, and then nearly pierces Cruise’s throat with a sink pipe, which rocks. Let me repeat that Cavill cocks his arms like guns before he unloads on Yang, while each punch and grunt match the beat of the M: I theme song (Skip to 3:19). Henry Cavill is fast, strong, bad, and scary man in Fallout.
Are those not the craziest sentences you have ever read? Is this not the most chaotic scene you have ever witnessed? All of this takes place in just under 90 seconds. There are 90-minute movies that can not comprehend an ounce of that much sauce. Believe me, this movie does not plateau there.
The final fight between Cavill and Cruise is a helicopter fight that ends with Cavill getting dragged off a cliff by said helicopter. Mission: Impossible Fallout does not end in the Paris bathroom, but there is nothing like it anywhere else in this film or any other. Placing Mission: Impossible Fallout in this top spot was easy.
Between Rogue Nation, Fallout, Dead Reckoning, and The Final Reckoning, you will need to know some story points to know everything going on. SO, if you have not seen any M:I film, I would recommend at least watching Rogue Nation or any film before it (Not 2) as a jumping-off point, but when you get to Fallout, you will be rewarded with greatness.
The Mission: Impossible Movies Ranked by Nolen Kelly
After all of this, I can not wait to see Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning. This franchise has so much style, action, and uniqueness that there will never be anything else like it. All you need to do is have fun. You do not need to know any source material, have any prior knowledge of anything, or know the full lore of this world. It is a lot cooler if you do, but the purpose of the Mission: Impossible films is to entertain you.
Have fun, enjoy yourself, and go see Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning in theaters now! For more reviews and lists, stick around here with Respect My Region.
