With the release ofMission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, theMission: Impossibleseries totals out at 8 movies, all led by Tom Cruise, who dares to go above and beyond with each passing entry.Mission: Impossiblerivals the very best action and spy franchises, and with allMission: Impossiblemovies now available to watch, it’s a perfect time to look at them all and see how they rank.
With theMission: Impossiblefranchise spanning 8 entries across 30 years, it’s time to rank these Tom Cruise blockbusters to see which movie boasts the best action, spectacle, and heart, and showcase the adventures of IMF agent Ethan Hunt and the impossible missions to die in the shadows for those who we know and for those we never meet.
Mission: Impossible 2, unfortunately, but justly, scrutinized as a product of its own era, focusing on the popular tropes and signatures of early 2000s action with director John Woo’s style, which givesMission: Impossible 2a sharp edge and a cheesy bout of action.Mission: Impossible 2takes things to the extreme, but in a somewhat ridiculous manner that it becomes hard to take it seriously, even with a series filled with MacGuffins and creatively silly tropes.
Mission: Impossible 2suffers from a slow paceamidst the action, along with a villain that just doesn’t rank as a memorable threat to Ethan Hunt and his team, even if there are some standouts like the tense knife’s edge.Mission: Impossible 2is more about the action than the characters, and its lack of ground and emotion is what brings it down.
The first launch of Tom Cruise’s action franchise magnum opus wouldn’t be as big and bold as future entries, and that’s okay.Mission: Impossibleharks back to a simpler time, with a reinvention yet continuation of the 1960s TV series of the same name.Mission: Impossibledoesn’t lack its share of intrigue and action, along with interesting characters to engage audiences decades later, but it’s hard not to compare the originalMission: Impossiblemovie to what’s come since, as each entry has been bigger and better in scope and emotion.
That’s not to say thatMission: Impossibleis bad, as it’s still very enjoyable, and somewhat nostalgic to watch where it all started.Mission: Impossibleis snazzy, and at times, intense and mature, providing a great watch for those in the mood for a spy-thriller without the immense spectacle and danger that awaits future entries.
An often underrated entry in theMission: Impossibleseries isMission: Impossible 3, a movie that attempts to modernise the series with actual edge and maturity without being overtly cheesy, and it works. Part of the reasonMission: Impossible 3is as good as it is can be attributed to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays anintense and brutal villainthat further enriches Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. When the two share a screen, it’s a classic nemesis dynamic that’s captivating to watch as a menacing tyrant clashes with a boy scout.
Even outside of the hero/villain dynamic of Hoffman and Cruise,Mission: Impossible 3succeeds with action spectacle and spy extravaganza, never shying away from the fun aspects of thriller, yet never romanticizing the dangers that await the characters involved. Sure, it might be another MacGuffin story, but it works in all the right ways.
The potential finale to Tom Cruise’sMission: Impossibleseries, and the most recent release, is one that might have fans conflicted. By all means, it’s an epic finale, and the stunts are immense in both scope and tension. However, whereMission: Impossible – The Final Reckoningfalters is in its collision course with previous movies.Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoningdoes well enough to tie previous entries into its finale, but that comes at the cost of engagement, where the first half of the movie feels oddly out of place.
The first half ofMission: Impossible – The Final Reckoningfalters somewhat in an attempt to get to the meat of the movie, but thereal meat isn’t in the dialogueor the character emotion, but in the daring stunts that Tom Cruise gets up to. The entire submarine set piece is heart-pounding and intense, as is the plane chase, but there’s not much happening outside of these very intense and lengthy set pieces, and the conclusion will have fans hungry for more movies, making everything feel not-very-finale-like.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoningtries something new as a first part movie to an epic finale, but that’s where some issues start to arise.Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoningis still great – incredible, even, but it does have quite a lot going on, including a villain that might be too modern and sci-fi for a series that was mostly about fun spy gadgets and impossible missions, as Ethan Hunt must fight an AI (topical, right?)
Even so, a mustache-twirling villainous equal to Ethan Hunt provides high stakes, especially when it presents fear otherwise unseen on Tom Cruise as he fights his way throughaction set piece after action set piece.Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoningis a great watch, filled with the spectacle one has come to expect from the series, and so many set pieces are as memorable as the best from previous entries, which helpsMission: Impossible – Dead Reckoningshine even in its more somber moments.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocolknows how to have fun without sacrificing tension and drama among the characters and story. It’s witty, action-packed, anda great ride for all on board.Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocolalso gets bonus points for being Brad Bird’s first live-action movie, which is characterized by such style and pace to make for an immense thrill.
The excitement paves the way for the future of the series, as this is aMission: Impossibleentry that ticks all the boxes. From quirky character interactions, pulse-pounding stakes, gadget dilemmas, and extraordinary up-the-ante action.
A sequel that proves thatMission: Impossibleconstantly has life and vigor,Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nationdelights with action and patient moments of character development and intensity. There’s an elevation of the series here, with a network known as the Syndicate that will truly flip the franchise on its head to provide non-stop and heart-pounding sequences where danger is at every turn.
Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise become a dream team inMission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, and it’s clear this director and actor duo know it, since Christopher McQuarrie becomes the only director to return for not just the next installment, but the next 3. McQuarrie’s style and ideas are always fresh, andMission: Impossible – Rogue Nationis just the beginning ofa most intense adventurethat engages in exciting yet unique tropes of spy, action, and thriller genres.
Everything aboutMission: Impossible – Falloutworks in its favor to provide a thrilling and engaging experience from start to finish. If players aren’t hooked from the opening titles ofMission: Impossible – Fallout, then they’ve picked the wrong franchise to watch, because the ride just doesn’t stop from that point on. A daring and intense chase to stop nuclear fallout, Ethan Hunt’s mission is perhaps its boldest yet, witha perfect teamand perfect action set pieces to tie this movie into a masterpiece.
With Henry Cavill playing an impatient and methodical arm-reloading agent with motives of his own, audiences are in for a real treat asMission: Impossible – Falloutgrips them in every scene, and proves how great Tom Cruise is at performing to deliver breathtaking experiences to global audiences.
