Ranking The Mission: Impossible Films

Well, now that I've gone and rewatched all of the films in the Mission: Impossible series, it's time for me to rank them.  Many people are saying that Fallout is the best film in the series.  Is that true?  Let's find out!


#6. Mission Impossible 2 (2000)



It should come as no surprise to find the second film in the series in dead last.  I believe that is the common consensus.  It's not all bad though, the 3rd act is incredible, with a great motorcycle chase that is ridiculously over-the-top, and John Woo's style is fun some of the time.  But the first half is very boring and the love story between Tom Cruise and Thandie Newton feels very forced.

 5/10: Meh 


#5. Mission: Impossible (1996)



It's pretty rare that the original film in a series isn't the best and it's bizarre that the original Mission: Impossible comes in at 5th place, but here we are.  The three major set-pieces are all awesome and the CIA raid is deservedly iconic.  Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames are both solid, but the plot is overly complex, the discovery of Jon Voight's character being behind everything simply doesn't work, there are some gaps in logic, and Claire Phelps is a very annoying character.

 7/10: Good 


#4. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)



Now we're getting into the good stuff and it gets much harder to rank from here on out.  The opera scene, the underwater heist, and the motorcycle chase are all top notch.  Simon Pegg gives a great performance and Rebecca Ferguson is an excellent addition to the series, but Jeremy Renner is underused and Ving Rhames is completely wasted, plus the idea of an evil-IMF isn't executed as well as it could and Solomon Lane is easily my least favorite villain in the series.  He isn't intimidating in the slightest.

 8/10: Really Good 


#3. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)



This may be controversial but I think Fallout is being overhyped.  Henry Cavil is a great villain, the action scenes are all awesome with some great technical aspects, the story is solid, and the Wolf Blitzer cameo is amazing, but the film is too long and has some subplots that don't go anywhere, there is far too much exposition in the dialogue, and the portions of the 3rd act that focus on Benji, Luther, and Ilsa simply aren't as interesting as what's going on with Ethan.  Plus Solomon Lane is still around and he can just go away.

 8/10: Really Good 


#2. Mission: Impossible III (2006)


The 3rd film is the first in the series to fire on all cylinders and get everything right.  Philip Seymour Hoffman is easily the best villain in the series and gives a phenomenal performance.  The action scenes are all equal to or superior to the best parts of the first two films and the performances are all amazing.  I love this movie and I used to think it couldn't be topped.

 10/10: Amazing 



#1. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)



Ghost Protocol did it.  It manages to top III.  It does everything right.  The action scenes are all incredible and surpasses everything else the series has done before or since.  It has the best team of the series and has a strong premise.  Nothing works.  The IMF is gone.  This team has nothing to rely on but each other and they are flawed characters themselves.  The team dynamics is what carries this movie to the top and their internal conflict is so strong that it allows me to overlook the forgettable villain.  This movie nails it and, although I said this about the 3rd film, I don't think Ghost Protocol can be topped.

 10/10: Amazing 



    


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