We Ranked All Mission: Impossible Movies, and the Results Will Surprise You
It is shocking that the first of Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible movies came out in 1996! For 4 decades he’s been kicking ass with the franchise, raising the ceiling for what can be produced in the action genre. Cruise claims The Final Reckoning closes the franchise so it’s the perfect time to revisit all of them and see how they stack up against each other.Â
This list counts them down on the basis of pure cinematic adrenaline and dives into what works (and doesn’t work) in each of them.
8. Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning (directed by Christopher McQuarrie)
Having watched the entire franchise, I must say, even the worst of the franchise is an okay experience. There are reasons why Dead Reckoning should be watched at least once, most of all being Cruise jumping off a cliff to get on a fast-moving train.
The action, however, under-delivers in comparison to the previous entry in the franchise, Fallout. The movie also has an intentionally convoluted plot about a rogue AI named ‘Entity’ that sets in motion its plan to destroy humanity. And worst of all, it kills off Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust, who is one of the most fascinating characters of the franchise. Whatever the writers were hoping to achieve from her death backfires, starting Hayley Atwell’s Grace on the wrong foot as well.
Dead Reckoning has a unique way of communicating with the audience: each character in the room completes the other’s sentence. It may work in some cases, but given that people don’t talk like that in the real world, it appears gimmicky. And it soon becomes ridiculous. Being too long with a nearly 3-hour runtime, Dead Reckoning is at the bottom of this list.
7. Mission: Impossible 2 (directed by John Woo)
After the huge success of the first Mission: Impossible, Tom Cruise doubled down with M: I 2. He got John Woo to direct the sequel, which sets it apart from the rest of the genre with Woo’s trademark stylized storytelling. Hunt’s entry in the movie (the free solo rock-climbing scene) is one of the most iconic moments for the star. Hunt is tasked to stop an ex-IMF agent (Dougray Scott as Sean Ambrose) involved in the sale of a virus that can kill the afflicted within 24 hours. While the dynamic between Hunt and Ambrose is interesting, the villain is ultimately unoriginal and undeserving of the screentime allotted.
The slow-mo action finale seemed cool back in the day, but it has aged poorly. In hindsight, the best parts of the movie are the two scenes with Anthony Hopkins as Mission Commander Swanbeck. The actor brings his usual finesse to the role, making Swanbeck emblematic of the distrust of authority Hunt exhibits throughout the rest of these movies.
6. Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning (directed by Christopher McQuarrie)
At a time when ‘going to the movies’ is an archaic experience, The Final Reckoning makes a worthy case for the pastime. With unbelievable action sequences and terrific visuals, the movie provides all the thrills expected from a spy-action movie. The almost 3-hour-long movie sure takes its time to get to the fun part, though. The complexity of the plot forced the filmmakers to invest the 1st hour in setting up the stage, which slows the movie down.
Once the stage is set and Hunt gets on his mission to destroy ‘Entity’, the movie is a non-stop action-fest that ends with the amazing sequence involving Cruise on the wing of a biplane, fighting the bad guys.
5. Mission: Impossible III (directed by J. J. Abrams)
Each M: I film is a product of its time. M: I III uses quick edits as was done in the commercial and critical hit, The Bourne Supremacy, that came out a year earlier. Supremacy is a landmark in film editing and stands the test of time. M:I III, however, lacks the latter’s efficiency in its editing, and the fight scenes lack urgency. The flaw with this technique is that with an actor like Tom Cruise, who performs his own stunts, quick edits aren’t necessary. Hence, from the standpoint of action scenes, this one’s the weakest of the franchise.
Having said that, it has the simplest and most powerful story of the franchise. The movie’s villain forces Ethan Hunt to choose between his wife and his world-saving mission. This one and only time, he chose the former, adding a human depth to Hunt rarely seen before or since. This is an incredible villainous performance by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman’s performance elevates this movie high on this list, falling slightly behind the next one.
4. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (directed by Christopher McQuarrie)
The plot follows Hunt, out to get The Syndicate, a rogue criminal organisation, while the IMF (the organisation Hunt works for) is decommissioned. Jeremy Renner returns as William Brandt, who attempts to buy time for Hunt to prove The Syndicate’s existence and defeat them. Rogue Nation introduces an intriguing love interest for Hunt in the form of Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust. Ilsa ends up saving his life, and just before the third act, out of nowhere, Ilsa offers Hunt to get away from his impossible missions and disappear with her. While Hunt barely gets time to think on the offer, she does make a strong case, and makes us and Hunt wonder ‘what if..’.Â
Tom Cruise, as usual, shines as Hunt and takes our breath away with the death-defying stunts. The scenes that don’t feature Hunt somehow help to build up his lore to make the impossible/ridiculous stuff he does on the screen believable and exciting. The scenes between Jeremy Renner and Alec Baldwin are especially entertaining, along with Ferguson’s career-defining performance.
3. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (directed by Brad Bird)
Ghost Protocol boasts Tom Cruise swinging across the tallest building in the world i.e., Burj Khalifa. But the movie has so much more to enjoy. Hunt is extracted from a Russian prison to infiltrate the Kremlin for some vital documents and ends up being framed for bombing the building. He then has to prove his innocence, catch the bad guys, and sabotage their plan.
The tension throughout the movie is taut, including exciting scenes featuring Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton. With the guy who directed Rattatouille and The Invincibles at the helm, the movie is fast-paced and thrilling, despite being low on action. Once again, the lack of complexity in the plot allows the audience to focus on the characters, and stay invested in their fate.
Bond Girl Lea Seydoux features as an assassin, and there’s a cool fight scene featuring her and Patton during the Burj Khalifa sequence. The team camaraderie that the franchise talks about in each movie, is represented best in this one.
2. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (directed by Christopher McQauarrie)
Fallout isn’t just the best the franchise offers but also, arguably, one of the finest action movies ever made. It has the perfect balance of character-driven drama and relentless action. They should’ve ended the franchise with Fallout.
Hunt has to stop a terrorist organisation from causing a nuclear war in Fallout. This time, Hunt is forced to work with a partner outside his usual team, Walker, played by Henry Cavill. Walker is the brute force to Hunt’s elegance. Much of the action and stunt work is a combination of Cruise’s bewildering imagination and the achievements of the recently released John Wick 2 (the entire nightclub sequence).
Age has not deterred Hunt as he jumps off a building, a plane and a helicopter in his pursuit of the bad guys. Ferguson returns as Ilsa, again, playing someone who may not entirely be on Hunt’s side. Vanessa Kirby plays an arms broker who’s feisty and enigmatic. The finale is riveting as Hunt has to choose between his loved ones and all of humanity, leading him to a tough road where his worst fears are realised. This is Tom Cruise at his best, and Fallout is a top-class action movie in a league of its own.
1. Mission: Impossible (directed by Brian DePalma)
The very first movie of the franchise is also the absolute best. In DePalma’s assured hands (being a huge fan of Hitchcock spy thrillers, he gets his moment to create his own), the movie looks gorgeous, with every image being full of purpose and intrigue. Here, the rookie Ethan Hunt’s world is turned upside down from the get-go. Losing his team and on the run from the authorities, Hunt has to find a mole in the IMF and clear his name.Â
The movie pays homage to the style and themes of classic Cold War spy thrillers. Back when the movie came out, it may have felt action-packed, but in 2025, it comes across as a methodical, tense and stylish thriller. The ratcheting tension of the CIA heist scene represents the pinnacle of Hollywood filmmaking. Mission: Impossible appeals to audiences of all ages, whether they are watching it for the first time or the tenth.
Unlike most of the franchise, Hunt here is a man who can make mistakes, who can be tricked, but he has the ability to adapt. He is human, unlike what the McQuarrie-directed movies would have us convinced. It all started here and was best executed – a complex yet rewarding plot, not knowing who to trust, an intense heist sequence, and death-defying action sequences.
Beauty lies in the imperfections, as is the case with the Mission: Impossible movies. With them, Cruise has etched his name in cinema as one of the greatest action stars.
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Do you agree with this list? Let us know which is your favourite Mission: Impossible movie and why.