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Ranking Mission: Impossible Films

Mission: Impossible is a spy action franchise which almost solely rests on Tom Cruise’s dedicated, crazy, risky stunts, dangerous situations and amazing action sequences. It is thinly plotted, but immensely entertaining for the most part and it’s one of the rare franchises where the quality of each subsequent installment goes up instead of down. So here is my ranking of all Mission: Impossible films released so far.

6. Mission: Impossible II

Even though the first movie is a weak one, this second entry is even worse and clearly the worst part of this franchise. It has annoyingly sexists overtones in it, very weak character development, including that of Ethan Hunt and even the action is boring and uninspired. It’s the dull and frustrating black sheep of the series.

5. Mission: Impossible

The first entry in the franchise was not a good way to start the whole series. Actually, it’s a rather mediocre movie overall with its only saving grace being Tom Cruise, some quite memorable action and that by now iconic score. But the characters are boring and the plot is particularly convoluted this time around.

4. Mission: Impossible III

Even though this movie is once again tediously plotted and most of the action fell flat, it is an obvious improvement over the previous two entries and the first okay film in the franchise. That’s because some of the plot points are pretty good and the villain is fantastic and played so well by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

3. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Fine in character interactions, memorable in action and some of the story beats, Ghost Protocol does have some annoying parts in it, but it’s still the first pretty solid Mission: Impossible film which is particularly impressive in its polished visuals. It’s a shame that Brad Bird’s live-action career did not work out eventually as he showed great promise with this movie.

2. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

Although definitely overlong and having a weak villain, Rogue Nation remains the first very good film in the series thanks in no small part to terrific action scenes, an amazing new addition of Ilsa Faust and a charming approach to telling its story. It’s such a glamorous, highly entertaining and polished flick.

1. Mission: Impossible – Fallout

This is the proof that franchises can sometimes go up when it comes to their quality. Yes, Fallout is the newest and by far the best Mission: Impossible film that we got. It truly is excessive in danger and tension with a couple of missed plot opportunities too, but Tom Cruise’s crazy dedication paid off the most here leading to many authentic feeling, crazy and unforgettable stunts. Henry Cavill’s terrific too. The action sequences are abundant and most are absolutely fantastic as is the old-fashioned score and absolutely gorgeous cinematography.