All Mission Impossible films, ranked!

Few franchises age like fine wine and vodka Red Bull in equal measure, but Mission: Impossible somehow pulls it off. Eight films deep, and supposedly now concluded (sure Tom...), Cruise’s turbo-charged saga remains a gleefully ludicrous, death-defying exercise in cinematic endurance, stitched together by face masks, rogue nukes, and the most committed man in Hollywood sprinting full-tilt toward oblivion.

But which entries stand tallest atop the Burj Khalifa—and which should stay buried in Langley’s archives? After a full-franchise rewatch, here’s how they stack up:

1. Ghost Protocol (MI4)

It’s not just the Burj Khalifa climb—though, let’s be honest, that sequence alone earns a podium finish. Ghost Protocol is a near-perfect action film: sleek, breathlessly paced, and surprisingly character-driven. Brad Bird balances wit and adrenaline like a Pixar-trained maestro. A high watermark for blockbuster cinema.

2. Fallout (MI6)

Christopher McQuarrie’s Fallout may be the most technically accomplished of the lot, with jaw-dropping set pieces and Cruise performing stunts with religious zeal. Henry Cavill reloads his arms mid-fight and somehow becomes the franchise’s second-coolest man. The ankle break still haunts us.

3. Rogue Nation (MI5)

By this point, the franchise knows exactly what it is: spy spectacle with a side of cheese. Sean Harris’s villain gives great gravel-voiced menace, and the opera house and underwater heist scenes are pure thrill. Still, one wonders how Hunt keeps his god complex intact after needing rescuing… twice.

4. The Final Reckoning (MI8)

Once it gets going, Final Reckoning dazzles—particularly with its staggering underwater sequences and breathless stunts. But the bloated, clunky first hour drags, a victim of its own self-importance. As The Guardian noted, the film “treats its lore with borderline reverence,” when a little levity might have helped. Still, newcomers like Tramell Tillman bring charisma in spades, and Lucy Tulugarjuk’s deadpan comic turn is a welcome jolt of weird.

5. Mission: Impossible III

J.J. Abrams injected a much-needed shot of emotional heft into the franchise with this entry, grounding the madness in Ethan Hunt’s personal life. Michelle Monaghan brings warmth and humanity, while Philip Seymour Hoffman’s villain is arguably the best in the franchise—cold, clinical, and utterly terrifying. As The New York Times remarked, he’s “a shark in a silk suit.” It's also the franchise’s darkest chapter, and for many, that’s a point in its favour.

6. Dead Reckoning Part One (MI7)

Despite its ~$290 million price tag and globe-spanning production, Dead Reckoning Part One feels oddly inert. It has all the pieces—train crashes, cliff jumps, digital doomsday threats—but none of the spark. Variety described it as “a sleek machine with a flickering engine,” and it’s hard to disagree. Even Hayley Atwell’s welcome presence can’t quite rescue the film from its own mechanical plotting.

7. Mission: Impossible 2

A slo-mo fever dream drenched in leather jackets and flamenco guitars, John Woo’s entry is deeply silly—but at least it’s self-aware. The plot barely holds, but it’s all style over substance anyway. Doves fly, motorcycles duel mid-air, and Tom Cruise somehow climbs a cliff with his bare hands and no harness. The Telegraph called it “the franchise’s most operatic failure,” but in a way, that’s part of the charm.

8. Mission: Impossible (MI1)

The original, directed by Brian De Palma, set the tone for sleek espionage and twisty deception. But while it introduced the iconic mask gags and the dangling cable sequence, the actual plot is borderline incomprehensible. Even The Hollywood Reporter conceded that it “sacrifices clarity for cool.” There’s atmosphere in spades, but coherence? Not so much.

Final Verdict

Across its nearly 30-year run, Mission: Impossible has evolved from murky Cold War paranoia to globe-trotting absurdist action opera—and that’s part of its unique alchemy. The stunts got bigger, the plots got sillier, and Tom Cruise somehow got faster. Whether you come for the spectacle or stay for the escalating mask reveals, this franchise is proof that sometimes, the most impossible mission is still impressing audiences after multiple films and multiple decades, a feat that Cruise and co. accomplish with panache.