DVD Corner

Ranking The Mission: Impossible Films

Now that the long-running series has come to a close, it’s time for a new ranking of all 8 films. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to read on.

1. Mission: Impossible- Fallout- Easily the best installment AND one of the best sequels ever made. The plot payoffs, the action set pieces, and Tom Cruise are all in peak form here. Honestly, the series should have stopped here.

2. Mission: Impossible 3- J.J. Abrams completely turned the franchise around with a thrilling character piece that also contained the best villain played by the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman.

3. Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation- This 5th entry really gets better with time. Rebecca Ferguson and the airplane and motorcycle sequences are first rate. 

4. Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol- While a bit too comedic for my liking, this Brad Bird directed 4th film has some of the best moments (the building climb) and cast members (Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton).

5. Mission: Impossible- Brian DePalma’s summer blockbuster delivers in the action department, but the Jim Phelps storyline is still a dreadful creative choice that hampers the film as a whole.

6. Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part 1- The AI story is certainly relevant, but this bloated and poorly paced 7th installment is chock full of CGI, exposition, and bad story decisions (see the big character death). Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff crush it though.

7. Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning- Why isn’t this called Dead Reckoning Part 2? It’s one of the many blunders of this finale. Aside from an incredible climactic airplane sequence, the series goes out with a whimper here due to a cartoony villain, eye-rolling connections to past entries, and a script that ironically feels like it was written by AI.

8. Mission: Impossible 2- Aside from Thandiwe Newton, this over-the-top John Woo directed sequel is a goofy and forgettable action flick.

May 23, 2025 - Posted by nicklyons1 | List | Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible 2, Mission: Impossible 3, Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part 1, Mission: Impossible- Fallout, Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol, Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation, Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning, Ranking The Mission: Impossible Films, Tom Cruise