Mission: Impossible is the most underrated, dare I say, best movie franchise. I don’t just mean it’s the best among current film franchises, I think Mission: Impossible is better than other famous franchises like ‘The Lord of the Rings’, ‘Harry Potter’, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While ‘Mission: Impossible’ isn’t the most creative franchise, as it is limited to its genre and world, it has the most consistently great and smartest action movies in all of Hollywood. Not only are these movies subversive from the average “action movie,” they are also full of lovable, interesting characters.
The first great thing is the protagonist, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), who performs some of the greatest stunts in movie history while also being an interesting character. There are several scenarios throughout the movies where they force Ethan to make a pivotal choice, but his unpredictable decision-making earns him the title of ‘the living manifestation of destiny.’
As for the specific movies, there are seven current MI movies, with the eighth one on the way. The seven movies (Mission: Impossible, M:I 2, M:I 3, M:I Ghost Protocol, M:I Rogue Nation, M:I Fallout, and M:I Dead Reckoning) are almost all fantastic, but completely worth watching. What sets this franchise above others like the MCU and Lord of the Rings is the fact that there aren’t weak links dragging the franchise down.
The first two movies, sadly, are the weakest links in the entire franchise. The first movie has some thrilling moments and an interesting mystery, but it’s unfortunately slow and has a lot of outdated technology in it. M:I 2 is also known as the weakest link in the entire franchise, but thankfully, it’s completely fine if you skip M:I 2.
M:I 3 is where the movies start to shine. It has arguably the best villain in the franchise, is full of a lot of creative twists and turns, and has an incredibly engaging climax. This is one of the smartest M:I movies, and really serves as the first amazing movie in the franchise, even setting up important characters which are paid off later.
M:I Ghost Protocol is strangely the best M:I movie for beginners. It’s an amalgamation of everything to expect from the M:I franchise, while having the best pacing, making every second fun and exciting. I love Ghost Protocol because it succeeds in so many regards: the gadgets are creative, the characters are fun, the stakes are high, the tricks are smart, and the stunts are immaculate. It’s the best starting point in the franchise, and it made me fall in love with the M:I series.
M:I Rogue Nation is great because it’s very subversive to the other movies. While it has some clunky editing, it has the best emotional moments and has the most unique story. The action is also fast and breathtaking, no-doubtedly putting you on the edge of your seat. It’s not my favorite, but still completely worth the watch.
M:I Fallout is the best movie in the franchise and a great continuation of Rogue Nation. This is almost the perfect M:I movie, having great stunts, stakes, tricks and the best climax (it isn’t close). The best thing about Fallout is the fact that it isn’t just exciting and smart, but I think it has the best flow compared to the rest. The flow is perfect as it switches from action-scene, to espionage-scene, to character driven-scene, to emotional-scene, and webs all of these together to make the best movie in the franchise.
Lastly, M:I Dead Reckoning, is the newest film in the franchise, leading directly into the final movie, The Final Reckoning. This film is still fantastic, having a fantastically creative first act, letting the side characters have their moment, and also having one of the best scenes in the entire franchise within its final act, which really cements Ethan Hunt as one of the best action characters in all of cinema.
Don’t just take my word for Mission: Impossible being great. The Rotten Tomatoes scores for the movies range from all being positive, to straight-up near perfection and go as follows:
M: I – 60%
M: I 2 – 57%
M: I 3 – 71%
M: I Ghost Protocol – 94%
M: I Rogue Nation – 94%
M: I Fallout – 98%
M: I Dead Reckoning – 96%
Mission: Impossible is anything but your average action movie franchise, while also having great writing, directing, acting, and, of course, stunts. Also, while this isn’t a statistic, every person I’ve met who’s seen the MI movies also shows their passion for their series and explains how much they enjoy it.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning releases May 23, so please take the opportunity to watch this climactic spectacle of a film on the big screen, and give the other movies in the series a chance as well.
