Action cinema has evolved significantly within the last few decades. Although franchises likeThe Fast and the FuriousandTakenhave strained their credibility after several disappointing sequels, theMission: Impossiblesaga is the rare ongoing series that seems to get more rewarding with each installment. Both Bond and Bourne were forced to take a backseat as Ethan Hunt proved to be the king of action movie heroes.
TheTom Cruise-fronted action saga has served as a great showcase for different directors, each of whom has brought a different perspective to the franchise.Cruise may risk his lifemaking theMission: Impossiblefilms, but it doesn’t make them any less entertaining. Here iseveryMission: Impossiblefilm, ranked by how rewatchable they are.
7’Mission: Impossible II' (2000)
Directed by John Woo
The infamous action directorJohn Woobrought an increased sense of absurdismtoMission: Impossible II. While the first film in the franchise had been rather stripped down and serious, Woo added cheesy one-liners, frequent setpieces, and a great deal of slow motion to the second installment in the saga. This doesn’t makeMission: Impossible IIa failure, but it doesn’t really feel like aMission: Impossiblefilm either.The campier elements simply didn’t mesh well with the more emotional groundworkthat the first film established. Cruise isn’t necessarily bad, but he doesn’t seem to be playing the same version of Ethan that audiences grew to love in the later installments.
The more immature elements ofMission: Impossible IIstand out in comparison to the other sequels upon rewatch. However, Woo is such a brilliant director of action that the film is still entertaining, even if it doesn’t really feel like aMission: Impossiblemovie. Strong performances fromThandiwe Newton,Sir Anthony Hopkins,andDougray Scottalso contribute to the film’s rewatchability.
Mission: Impossible 2
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6’Mission: Impossible' (1996)
Directed by Brian De Palma
The originalMission: Impossiblefeels like an outlier within the franchise that it inspired. While later films within the series would introduce increasingly ridiculous stunts, the first film is rather grounded.It’s less of an action thriller than it is a spy drama, as Ethan Hunt must clear his name after he is falsely blamed for the death of his entire team during the opening sequence.
While some of the technology (which looked cutting edge in 1996) hasn’t aged well, the death of Ethans’ team inspires him to protect his new partners in the film’s sequels. It’s one of directorBrian De Palma’s most intense moviesbecause of the anxiety that Ethan feels as he attempts to find who is really responsible for the death of his friends. Ethan’s loyalty to his team in the later installments can be traced back to his failure in the first film to protect who he cares about most.
Mission: Impossible
5’Mission: Impossible III' (2006)
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Mission: Impossible IIIdidn’t quite reach the heights of the later films within the series, but it did feature the franchise’s best villain. A recurring issue that the franchise has faced has been the lack of memorable bad guys, as few antagonists can match Cruise’s charisma. However,Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance as the ruthless arms dealer Owen Davian is simply terrifying. Davian’s appearance in the climactic opening scene added a sense of anxiety to the film that doesn’t end until it reaches its conclusion.
J.J. Abramswasn’t necessarily as skilled of a visual filmmaker asBrian De Palma, but he introduced a level of humor within the series that the later installments would also adopt. It’s incredibly impressive considering that it was also Abrams’ cinematic directorial debut. The film also had the important task ofintroducing Ethan’s wife, Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan).Ethan’s inability to keep Julia safe while saving the world would become a recurring theme within the later installments.
Mission: Impossible III
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part Onemay be monitored as the first half of a larger story, butChristopher McQuarrie’s 2023 sequel feels like a complete story. By this point in the series, Ethan had already pushed the boundaries of human achievement. It made sense that the new threat he would have to face off with was artificial intelligence. The notion of an artifical intelligence threat madeMission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Onefeel particularly timely, and in some instances, a little spooky.
Although the action is just as excellent as the other films that McQuarrie has directed, some flashbacks to Ethan’s past feel somewhat unnecessary within a film that is already nearly three hours long. The film may be subtitled “Part One,” but itdoes not feel like half of a larger story. While there are hints at how Ethan’s journey to save IMF could continue,the film doesn’t exist purely to set up future installments.It’s a satisfying story in its own right.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning
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3’Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol' (2011)
Brad Birdfelt like an odd choice to direct aMission: Impossiblefilm; his animated featuresThe Iron Giant, Ratatouille,andThe Incrediblesdidn’t have a lot in common with the other films within theMission: Impossibleseries. However, Bird’s style proved to be perfect forMission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol; the film has a sense of visual inventiveness and quirky humor that feels reminiscent of Bird’s work in animation. Although the film’s villains leave something to be desired,Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocolfeatures the franchise’s best musical score, courtesy ofMichael Giacchino.
Although Cruise does some of the best stunt work that he has ever done for the series (including scaling the tallest city in the world),Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocolworks as well as it does becauseit embraces the ensemble nature of the story.Although it was briefly suggested thatJeremy Renner’s characterWilliam Brandt could take over as the new franchise protagonist, Cruise proved why Ethan is still the hero and leader that the IMF needs.
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol
2’Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation' (2015)
Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nationwas the first film in the saga directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who had previously worked with Cruise on the underrated 2012 crime thrillerJack Reacher.Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nationmay have featured one of Cruise’s most incredible stunts (in which he literally hangs off the side of a plane), but the style feels more indebted toAlfred Hitchcockthan anyone else. That being said, the film certainly has no shortage of great action;an underwater sequence where Cruise held his breathbecame one of the most dangerous stunts in the franchise’s history.
McQuarrie delved into the spycraft element of the seriesthat felt reminiscent of Hitchcock’s mastery of espionage.Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nationis particularly rewatchable due to the introduction of Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), the one spy that may be Ethan’s equal. Her presence added a compelling relationship to Ethan’s life that strengthened the later films within the series.Rogue Nationalso introduced the evil Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), a villain who would benefit from appearing in the subsequent installment.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Ethan and his team take on their most impossible mission yet when they have to eradicate an international rogue organization as highly skilled as they are and committed to destroying the IMF.
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1’Mission: Impossible – Fallout' (2018)
Mission: Impossible- Falloutis the most emotional installment in the series. Ethan is faced with an impossible dilemma; will he be able to save the world and save his friends? Does serving the IMF mean he will have to sacrifice a relationship with his wife (Michelle Monaghan)?Mission: Impossible- Falloutquestioned Ethan’s mortality, and made him feel like a more vulnerable character. The film also underscored Ethan’s genuine compassion for his longtime allies, Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), and Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin). A villainous turn fromHenry Cavillas the antagonist Walkerprovided the series with one of its most brutal fight scenes.
Although Sean Harris wasn’t given much to work with when he was introduced as the villain Solomon Lane inMission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, his rivalry with Ethan feels more compelling inFallout. An insane terrorist hellbent on leveling cities, Solomon is as committed to destroying life as Ethan is saving it.Falloutis alsothe most emotionalMission: Impossiblefilm. Ethan has had to sacrifice a normal life in order to protect the world, and Cruise does a great job at generating emotion in some of the tender moments between Ethan and his team. Although it’s been interesting to see different directors try their hand at directingMission: Impossiblefilms, McQuarrie has proven himself to be the best ever to do it.
Mission: Impossible - Fallout
KEEP READING:‘Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One’ Beats the “Part One” Curse
