By Charles Pugh.
Created in response to the popularity of the James Bond films in the U.K., along with a range of other spy and espionage films and television shows like Charlie’s Angels, The Man from U.N.C.L.E, Bruce Geller’s Mission: Impossible 1966 tv series was a show that focused more on impossible heists and teamwork rather than having one man do everything himself.
After seven seasons of following the adventures of the IMF, the Impossible Mission Force and two seasons of a brief revival in the late 1980s, Paramount Pictures, which had owned the franchise for years, had long tried to make a film adaptation and were struggling to make it stand out, until they met Tom Cruise.
With his love for insane stunt work, filmmaking and a passion for the arts regardless of his own issues, Cruise transformed the franchise into one of the most successful action film series, which has lasted for almost three decades. With the story of his character, Agent Ethan Hunt finally concluded, it is time we lit the fuse and ranked all of his adventures from worst to best.
8. Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Directed by: John Woo
Written by: Robert Towne
Starring: Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandiwe Newton, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Rade Šerbedžija, Ving Rhames and Anthony Hopkins
Music by: Hans Zimmer
Rated: 15
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is given a new mission to prevent the spread of Chimera, a deadly virus, in which the only antidote has been stolen by a rouge IMF agent named Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott). With the help of his old friend, Luther (Ving Rhames), and a former flame of Sean’s named Nyah (Thandiwe Newton), Ethan must once again prove the impossible to stop the world from falling to the virus…
Face/Off director John Woo, much like what Brian De Palma did for the first Mission: Impossible film, brings his background in Hong Kong action cinema to life in the fast-pace editing and action setpieces in this first sequel, even if the plot does suffer from this as a result.
However, aside from Tom Cruise’s infamous stuntwork and a wonderful turn from the uncredited Anthony Hopkins as the head of IMF, the rest of the cast give such bland performances, that the only notable thing to say about it, was that Dougray Scott, thanks to reshoot dates for this film, couldn’t play Wolverine in the first X-Men film, which led to Hugh Jackman’s career being launched into superstardom.
Overall, Mission: Impossible II does have it’s moments, but the uninteresting characters and lack of plot, makes it the weakest mission that Ethan ever did.
Rating: 2.5/5
7. Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Written by: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and J.J. Abrams
Starring: Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, Maggie Q and Laurence Fishburne
Music by: Michael Giacchino
Rated: 12A
Retired to a married life away from the IMF, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is pulled back into action when a failed attempt to rescue a member of his team, leads to him coming face to face with Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the most ruthless and cruel enemy that Ethan must try to outwit, while protecting his teammates and his new wife, Julia (Michelle Monaghan)…
The third entry in the Mission: Impossible film series works best if one is willing to consider this film a transitional film from the earlier dated films, to the current critically praised ones. The plot does suffer from overcomplications at times, which isn’t surprising given that two of the writers would move on to other over-complicated messes like the Transformers sequels and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
However, the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman steals the show as the unhinged Owen Davian so much, that even the later films haven’t topped that aspect in how those films write thier villains. Also it’s great that Simon Pegg’s minor role in this film was greatly expanded in the following films, as his two scenes feel the closest in spirit to the original show.
Overall Mission: Impossible III is not the best film storywise, and the action setpieces aren’t that impressive when compared to the other films, but the darker tone, incredible villain and the debut of certain aspects that the later films would use to great success, helps make this mission, one of the most important ones that shaped the future…
Rating: 3/5
6. Mission: Impossible (1996)
Directed by: Brian De Palma
Written by: David Keopp and Robert Towne
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Henry Czerny, Emmanuelle Béart, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emilio Estevez and Vanessa Redgrave
Music by: Danny Elfman
Rated: PG
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), a young agent working for the IMF orgaization, has the worst assignment in his life when his mentor, Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), and the rest of his team are killed and he is blamed for their deaths. The only thing that can prove his innocence is a computer file heavily guarded by the CIA, so with the help of a master hacker named Luther Stickwell (Ving Rhames), and a pilot named Franz Krieger (Jean Reno), Ethan must devise a plan to retrieve the file before he is hunted down…
Although Paramount’s most critically successful film franchise contains some of the best reviewed action films of the 2010s, the Mission: Impossible films, much like the Fast and the Furious films didn’t start off that way.
The first film for example, coming of the influence of the 1960s television series that inspired these movies, angered longtime fans and the original cast over certain decisions regarding the treatment of the main character of that show, Jim Phelps. However as a film on its own terms, Mission: Impossible mostly succeeds thanks to Brian De Palma’s more stylized approach in production terms, when compared to the action-heavy focus of the sequels.
Overall, this film may not have aged well in the use of CGI setpieces such as the climatic train sequence and fans of the show may not like the treatment of the source material, but Mission: Impossible is a good start to the film series that lauched Tom Cruise into superstardom and if nothing else works, at least everyone can agree that Danny Elfman’s version of the classic theme is the best one yet.
Rating: 3.5/5
5. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)
Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Written by: Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendreson
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Holt McCallany, Nick Offerman, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis and Angela Bassett
Music by: Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey
Rated: 12A
A few months after IMF Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) retrieved the key to stop the Entity, the evil AI has overpowered the world’s governments, causing mass worldwide disruption, with the aim of taking control of all nuclear weapons to trigger an apocalypse. Despite all the losses that Ethan has suffered over his near three decade long career, him, along with the likes of his teammates, Grace (Hayley Atwell), Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames),along with the now reformed Paris (Pom Klementieff) and Theo (Greg Tarzan Davis), one of the US agents originally sent to arrest him, must do everything possible to save the world one last time…
After three decades of insanity in stunts, adventure and cinematic scope, Tom Cruise’s biggest contribution to modern cinema, is finally coming to an end. While the now sixty year old pioneer will still inevitably do more stunt work to get that new Academy Award for Best Stuntwork due to take effect in the late 2020s, his most memorable character, IMF Agent Ethan Hunt’s story is set to conclude, nearly three decades after he was introduced in Paramount’s 1996 film adaptation of the iconic 1960s television show, Mission: Impossible.
While it is obvious that the original title for this last entry, Dead Reckoning Part Two, was the more accurate title, given how it directly follows up events from the previous film, concluding the open ended story that had Ethan take on both the timely threat of a Skynet-like AI and his own past, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, is a massive love letter to fans of this franchise, even if the ending could have been a bit more conclusive.
Even if The Final Reckoning sometimes has a bit more flaws than the last five films, with some really slow moments, odd editing choices and some missed opportunities to bring some non-deceased characters back, this last film does tie up some loose ends from both the first and third films, including two supporting characters that tie into the former, one which gives a joke background character a major emotional arc and the other that redeems one of the first movie’s original sins in a very unexpected way.
With the tone being a lot more sober than usual for these films, Tom Cruise gives one of his best performances as a more world-weary Ethan Hunt, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff and Greg Tarzan Davis’s characters are taken in emotional new directions, especially Ving Rhames’s Luther, a character that has been there since the beginning, who is given a very important role in the narrative. Even though Esai Morales’s Gabriel was one of the weakest characters in the previous film, it is made clear that he is second fiddle to the terrifying Entity AI, whose sheer power is made very intimidating.
Overall, despite being slightly more flawed than the last five films in the era that started with 2011’s Ghost Protocol, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is a very satisfying conclusion to this era of the franchise. With all the insane stuntwork that everybody loves about these films, great performances and a gigantic scope, it was truly an honour to be part of this mission.
Rating: 4/5
4. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Written by: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris and Alec Baldwin
Music by: Joe Kraemer
Rated: 12A
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has discovered the existance of a global criminal network called the Syndicate. With the IMF disbanded and the boss of the CIA, Hunley (Alec Baldwin), overseeing his allies William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) however, Ethan’s resources are limited until he encounters a former MI6 Agent named Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), who may hold the key to stopping the Syndicate in their tracks….
Coming of the massive success of the fourth film, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation had big shoes to fill and the first director to helm two Mission: Impossible films, Christopher McQuarrie, does an amazing job in creating a visual style that feels the closest to the TV show. This isn’t surprising, considering that the main antagonists of that show, the Syndicate, are finally brought into the film universe.
Although there aren’t as many death-defying stuntwork setpieces that defined the other films apart from a cool airplane sequence, much like Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, what sells this film the most is the comradeship of the team itself, as shown with the welcome return of Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Benji’s one-liners and the tense relationship between Ethan and William.
Overall, like the last film, the villian may not be that great, but Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is still another excellent action film that once again proves that Tom Cruise is one of the best stuntman-actor who ever lived.
Rating: 4/5
3. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023)
Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Written by: Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga and Henry Czerny
Music by: Lorne Balfe
Rated: 12A
The world’s governments, agencies and even the IMF have lost control of “The Entity”, an experimental artificial intelligence system, which has left Earth vulnerable to worldwide hacking. While Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) assembles his friends, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), to find a way to shut down the AI, a chance encounter with professional thief, Grace (Hayley Atwell) and a figure from Ethan’s past named Gabriel (Esai Morales), turns this latest mission, into a terrifying battle for the fate of the world….
Despite being around for over twenty-five years now, Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible films, based on the 1960s television series, is one of those rare action franchises, along with John Wick, that seems to get better and better with each instalment. While Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, does slightly break this trend by being not as good as the previous film, Fallout, it is only because it doesn’t tell a complete story, with the second part arriving two years later. Every other aspect of this film, is absolutely fantastic.
Tom Cruise, despite his ego and past issues, should be celebrated for being one of the most passionate towards keeping the theatrical experience alive, as along with 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, Dead Reckoning features even more insane set-pieces and stunt work than ever before, from a car chase in Venice, to an incredible climax on the Orient Express. While most of the new villain characters, apart from Esai Morales’s Gabriel, don’t get a lot to do, it is Cruise, along with his relationships with Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames and Rebecca Ferguson’s characters that really sells the funny and emotional moments. Hayley Atwell makes for a fun new addition as Grace the thief, and returning for the first time since the original film from 1996, Henry Czerny finally returns as the uptight Kittridge, getting some of the biggest laughs of the film.
Overall, with even higher stakes than before and a timely message on the dangers of AI, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, is another fantastic and epic mission from Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie. Despite being an incomplete adventure, much like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, although Paramount only just managed to stick the landing for The Final Reckoning , they still have one of the best action-adventure franchise in the world!
Rating: 4.5/5
2. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
Directed by: Brad Bird
Written by: Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Josh Holloway, Anil Kapoor and Léa Seydoux
Music by: Michael Giacchino
Rated: 12A
When the IMF is forced to disband after a failed mission leads to the bombing of the Kremlin, Agents Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and an intelligence analyst named William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), go off the grid in order to recover stolen nuclear codes, that could result in World War III in the wrong hands….
Although there was no doubt that animation legend Brad Bird, fresh off of directing The Incredibles and Ratatouille for Pixar, could breath new life into the Mission: Impossible franchise, no one was expecting the fourth film to outshine the first three films. But 2011 was a year of surprise hits from the likes of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: First Class and this film.
Aside from the outstanding IMAX stunt-work in the Dubai scenes, what made Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the best film in the franchise at that point in time, is that it fully commits to the show’s formula of the team being the main focus and how their strengths and flaws carry out the missions, rather than focusing entirely on one person, as in the first three films.
Although it’s amazing that Tom Cruise is still doing stuntwork at his age and how he saved his sinking career with the success of this film, the team aspect of the film is what carries this film, with Simon Pegg, Paula Patton and Jeremy Renner’s characters getting as much one-liners, character development and their own action setpieces, as Cruise himself.
Overall, aside from having a less impressive villian than before, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is not only an excellent live-action debut for Brad Bird, but it is one of the best action films of the 2010s that proved that there was life in the old Cruise yet and that along with the other suprise hits of that year, that any belated sequel/prequel/reboot has the chance of being outstanding on its own terms.
Rating: 4.5/5
1. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Written by: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Michelle Monaghan and Alec Baldwin
Music by: Lorne Balfe
Rated: 12A
When three plutonium cores are stolen by a new incarnation of the Syndicate called “The Apostles”, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames) are forced by the CIA to allow the presence of one of their own assassins, August Walker (Henry Cavill), to make sure that the IMF recovers the bombs. With the help of Ethan’s ally, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), Ethan’s team must prove to their violent new teammate, that the IMF can be relied upon again…
Of all of the Mission: Impossible films, what sets the sixth film in Tom Cruise’s most successful franchise apart from those films, is that it breaks the treads of having a different director for each film and having a story that directly follows up from the last film by having Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation director Christopher McQuarrie, come back as director for this film to continue where he left off at the climax of Rogue Nation. This is made apparent with the return of that film’s main antagonist, Soloman Lane (Sean Harris), as a supporting villain, bringing the fan-favourite character of that film Ilsa Faust back to complete her story-arc and the new antagonists, the Apostles, mostly consisting of former Syndicate members. Along with some other references to the first and third films, Mission: Impossible – Fallout , feels like the first true sequel as the narrative builds on characters and traits introduced in the other films, rather than ditching them for new characters.
Much like the last two films that helped relaunch the fading Mission: Impossible film series, what this film gets right is the team dynamic that made the TV series unique from other spy themed shows. Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg all get their moments to shine in terms of comedy, character development and action set-pieces, and although one does wonder if his moustache was worth ruining Justice League for, Henry Cavill’s August Walker is a great new addition whose brutality makes him an interesting new counterpoint to Ethan’s more swave style of doing his missions.
Overall, Mission: Impossible – Fallout ‘s darker story that questions the role of Ethan and the IMF, the incredible last 30 minutes and the masterful job Christopher McQuarrie has done in giving each character a moment to shine, makes this not only the best film in the franchise, but also one of the best spy/action films of the 2010s alongside the last two films.
Rating: 5/5
Chaz’s Cinematic Odyssey 