Based on the popular TV series of the same name, Tom Cruise's 'Mission: Impossible' films have earned more than $4 billion at the box office and has become one of the most popular cinematic franchises of all time!
The series has been directed by such acclaimed filmmakers as Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, and Brad Bird, as well as current franchise director Christopher McQuarrie, who took over the series with 'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.'
Cruise and McQuarrie have revitalized the franchise with their elaborate stunts and action sequences, and their latest addition to the series, and possibly the last, 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning', opens in theaters on May 23rd.
In honor of the new film's release, Moviefone is ranking every 'Mission: Impossible' film ever made.
Let's begin!
8. 'Mission: Impossible II' (2000)
With computer genius Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) at his side and a beautiful thief (Thandiwe Newton) on his mind, agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) races across Australia and Spain to stop a former IMF agent (Dougray Scott) from unleashing a genetically engineered biological weapon called Chimera. This mission, should Hunt choose to accept it, plunges him into the center of an international crisis of terrifying magnitude.
7. 'Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One' (2023)
In 'Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,' Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan's past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.
6. 'Mission: Impossible' (1996)
When Ethan Hunt (Cruise), the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he's surprised to learn that he's the No. 1 suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.
5. 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' (2025)
Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and the IMF team continue their search for the terrifying AI known as the Entity — which has infiltrated intelligence networks all over the globe — with the world's governments and a mysterious ghost from Ethan's past on their trail. Joined by new allies and armed with the means to shut the Entity down for good, Hunt is in a race against time to prevent the world as we know it from changing forever.
4. 'Mission: Impossible III' (2006)
Retired from active duty to train new IMF agents, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is called back into action to confront sadistic arms dealer, Owen Davian (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Hunt must try to protect his girlfriend (Michelle Monaghan) while working with his new team to complete the mission.
3. 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' (2011)
Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team are racing against time to track down a dangerous terrorist named Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States. An attempt to stop him ends in an explosion causing severe destruction to the Kremlin and the IMF to be implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to disavow them. No longer being aided by the government, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks around the globe, although they might still be too late to stop a disaster.
2. 'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation' (2015)
Ethan (Cruise) and team take on their most impossible mission yet—eradicating 'The Syndicate', an International and highly-skilled rogue organization committed to destroying the IMF.
1. 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' (2018)
When an IMF mission ends badly, the world is faced with dire consequences. As Ethan Hunt (Cruise) takes it upon himself to fulfill his original briefing, the CIA begin to question his loyalty and his motives. The IMF team find themselves in a race against time, hunted by assassins while trying to prevent a global catastrophe.
