It’s been twenty years since the first Mission: Impossible movie hit theatres, and quite surprising that all of the films are so consistently entertaining. With the release of Rogue Nation the MI series is officially serious competition to theBond series, and it won’t be surprising to see someone else take over the role of Ethan Hunt when Tom Cruise finally packs up. So here’s ranking the series from worst to best.
5. Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
This movie came out at the cusp of the 90’s and the 2000’s – pretty much the twilight of movie making that overlapped the wannabe coolness of the 90’s and the post modern Matrix-like CGI infused mumbo jumbo of the 2000’s. The result was a strange mishmash from director John Woo, who threw in everything including the kitchen sink and flying doves in slow motion. The film replaced the mysterious and dense narrative style of the original with flying motorbikes and Limp Bizkit. To its credit while the movie was not very good, it was never boring.
4. Mission: Impossible (1996)
The film that started it all had some of the most iconic scenes in action film history. No one could stop talking about the amazing upside down hanging sequence, or the glass wall burst, or the TGV train showdown in the climax. It also turned Cruise into the quintessential Hollywood action hero, and set the bar high for blockbuster filmmaking – because audience realized that having some intelligence along with the popcorn thrills adds a great deal to the experience.
3. Rogue Nation (2015)
Surprise– the latest film in the franchise is extremely good. A follow up to Ghost Protocol was not an easy task, and while it isn’t as memorable as that movie, RogueNation delivers something MI fans have never seen – dramatic character arcs and a realistic (kind of) plot. This movie also has the best female character of the series in the form of Rebecca Fergusson who kicks copious amounts of ass with her limbs and also with her acting skills. The best scene of the film has a throwback to MI2 where Cruise demonstrates how they messed up the bike scene in that movie and how it should be done. The big takeaway from the film is that a motorbike and Cruise are a match made in heaven, and also Simon Pegg should get his own spinoff movie.
2. Mission: Impossible 3 (2006)
Director JJ Abrams pretty much saved the series from certain doom. After the cartoonish MI2no one expected a movie so thrilling and fast paced to a point of breathlessness. From rolling ball mouse pad machine guns, to missile vomiting choppers on a crumbling bridge, to Cruise running through a Chinese slum in single long takes, MI3 brought back the visceral imagery from the original and added his own layer of action movie hardware and lens flare software. Not to mention the late great Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who turned out to be the best villain of the franchise despite having limited screen time.
1. Ghost Protocol (2011)
Hands down, the best film of the series for a variety of reasons. Director Brad Bird turned the seriousness of the franchise into a hilarious entertainer withPixar-like humour. The film was shot and displayed in glorious IMAX that showed off the heart stopping Burj Khalifa sequence, which pretty much made up for the bizarre India set in the finale. It also took a departure from the one man action hero style to an ensemble comedy thriller with fun characters. The scale was bigger but the quality was better. In fact it was so good Cruise was confident enough to grow his hair back to his MI2 length.
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