Mission Impossible Series - Ranking

I had an absolute blast re-watching the previous five films in the Mission Impossible series leading up to Fallout – all of which made it easier to see which really was the best. I am more convinced than ever now that this is the best action series going – and really, one of the best we have ever seen.

 

6. Mission: Impossible III (2006) – Yes, Philip Seymour Hoffman is the best ever villain this series has ever had – and it has less overt problems than Mission Impossible II – but I’ll take flawed but going for it over less flawed, but less inventive.

 

5. Mission: Impossible II (2000) – This film goes for it, and yes, it’s all over the map, and wildly over the top, and the villain is bland – but Thandie Newton is terrific, and the action sequences in the back half are as good as they possibly could be. I don’t care if I’m the only one in the world who doesn’t rank this as the weakest entry, I’m still right.

 

4. Mission: Impossible (1996) – It’s really kind of insane that a major studio gave Brian DePalma the reigns for a blockbuster like this in 1996 – and basically allowed him to make a film that at the very least is visually very much a Brian DePalma film. It’s probably too confusing, and the love interest doesn’t work, but I loved it way more than I remembered loving it when I watched again. Not only is the Langley robbery sequence Riffifi level genius, the reveal of what really happened is Hitchcock worthy. Still, nowhere near DePalma’s best – but this is great just the same.

 

3. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015) – This probably has my favorite set piece of any of the films – the Vienna opera house attempted assassination, and I absolute adore Rebecca Ferguson more than any other love interest, apart from Thandie Newton. I think it ranks below Ghost Protocol simply because it isn’t quite as jaw dropping – or have quite as much fun. But it’s so close, who cares?

 

2. Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011) – The visual imagination on display from Brad Bird here really makes the film spectacular. This is as close to live action animation as you can get, but also has elements of silent cinema as well. And the whole thing is just so damn much fun. Truly one of the great action movies ever – and even if this series continues to be great.

 

1.Mission Impossible – Fallout (2018)

After re-watching all five previous films in the series leading up to Fallout, I wonder if the series could really top itself – or if perhaps I would be a little sick of this series. It was, and I wasn’t – as Mission Impossible Fallout really is the best of the series – the most viscerally exciting from beginning to end, with the best performances, and the film that makes you care about these characters – at least as much you need to for a film like this. One of the great action films ever made.