I rewatched the entire series before Dead Reckoning, and rewatched Dead Reckoning before The Final Reckoning.
For me, without question, Fallout is the best, and the only bonafide five star classic in the series. As others have said Ilsa Faust is the standout female lead of the series, and I liked the genuine personal stakes at the end with the reintroduction of Julia into the mix.
I’m a lot colder on the original than many - set pieces aside it’s merely passable rather than outstanding, and the plot is weakest in the original and the final two, where the Entity is a disappointing and frankly unbelievable ‘villain’. I had high hopes for M:i2 after enjoying John Woo’s Face/Off a few years earlier, but it is the worst of the series…
6>5>4>3>7>8>1>2
Mike Weston - 8 months ago
I voted Fallout, but haven't watched 8 yet (tentatively planning on Sunday). I have watched the first 7, in order, all in the last two weeks, having only watched the first two (in their original theatrical runs) before.
III is my second choice primarily because Phillip Seymour Hoffman is just such a great villain, though watching it right after II might have helped it (I actually like II more than most do).
My current ranking is 6 > 3 > 7 > 5 > 1 > 4 > 2.
Dave Allen - 8 months ago
Voted for MI:1 due to its excellent pacing, directing, and interesting camera shots. All hallmarks of a good Brian DePalma film. MI:3 is a very close second for me, though, with it's interesting pivot to Ethan's private life and an all-time great villain in PSH.
Adam - 8 months ago
JJ Abrams’ mission impossible gets my bite, mostly because it has the best villain in Hoffman’s Owen Davian, and it makes Ethan Hunt into a more fully realized character. Plus Maggie Q.
As for rankings of the whole thing, I go: 3, 5, 6, 4, 1, 7, 8, 2.
eric nelson (Racine) - 8 months ago
I’m not needed here, because Andy articulated the right answer perfectly, and I couldn’t agree more with Colton’s expansion on why Ghost Protocol edges out the others.
Thankfully, Colton (and Erin) tip their hats to M:i-2. Even so, because people so casually dismiss it, I want to enter a full throated defense into the Filmspotting Nation records.
M:i-2 deserves recognition for the very qualities that set it apart. Far from a misstep, it audaciously broke from De Palma’s masterful original, injecting the series with Woo’s energy and laying essential groundwork for the franchise’s evolution into a director’s playground.
As much as that precedent freed future directors Abrams, Bird, and McQuarrie up to play to their strengths, the film’s opening established the franchise’s through line: Cruise’s relentless charisma ooze while in pursuit of his physical limits. Without question, the Utah rock climbing sequence is the spiritual predecessor to every major thrill in the next six movies. (Can’t you just hear Tom saying, “The only way we can top those red cliff sides is by scaling the Burj Khalifa.”)
Even if you’re unconvinced of M:I-2’s frenetic joy, at least we can all agree that the Final Reckoning took a page from Rise of Skywalker, and made it easy for all franchise fans to be united on which film is the worst. Sadly, it’s the last entry.
Andy Bukaty (Kansas City) - 8 months ago
Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation, and Fallout are neck-and-neck-and neck for me. But I land on them in that order because Ghost Protocol gets the bump for being the one to launch what M:I really could be after the just okay renditions of 2 and 3 (Hoffman's villain is great but that doesn't make the movie he's in more than okay). Brad Bird took things in a new upward direction, which subsequently allowed McQuarrie to continue to fly. Bonus points as well for the Burj Khalifa scene remaining the action scene pinnacle of the 2000s, in a franchise that clearly has others in the running. The only downside to the film is that it did too little with Lea Seydoux and made sure she couldn't return to the franchise later.
Brett Merryman - 8 months ago
I vacillate between the two Ilsa Faust entries as if they’re Rushmore and Tenenbaums. I usually side with Fallout.
Yes there are at least 8 great Bonds. Interestingly every actor has at least one.
(Connery) FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, GOLDFINGER, THUNDERBALL
(Lazenby) ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE (also Chris Nolan’s favorite movie)
(Moore) THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
(Dalton) THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
(Brosnan) GOLDENEYE
(Craig) CASINO ROYALE, SKYFALL
Mission holds up because it’s such a recent franchise and the hit ratio is so high. But there’s no Mission without Bond, who is also so malleable
Rogue Nation wins it if only for Tom and Rebecca escaping the torture scene. And "The other door!"
Mark Larsen - 8 months ago
Re SVH's question: There are at least eight Bond films as good as the eight M:I films (more like at least ten Bond films). Further, there are at least eight Bond films as good as the five M:I films that qualify as good.
Danny Hensel - 8 months ago
AMENDING MY COMMENT BECAUSE I REALIZED WOLF BLITZER IS IN FALLOUT. MY MISTAKE
Danny Hensel - 8 months ago
It's Rogue Nation for me. Three reasons: Wolf Blitzer, "Living Manifestation of Destiny," and "I am the disk!" It's the movie that gets the unique alchemy of the franchise - humor, stunts, ridiculousness - the most right.
Erin Teachman (Los Angeles) - 8 months ago
I am absolute sucker for this franchise, I will watch any of them at the drop of a hat (even Woo's weird rip off of Notorious). I revisited the original not too long ago and it is a great spy thriller, no question, even better than I thought it was when I saw it originally. But, for my personal satisfaction, where the series swerves and sticks the landing the absolute best, where character and stunts are wonderfully in balance, I have to go with our introduction to Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa, 2015's Rogue Nation.
The best Mission Impossible may depend on what you've watched most recently. Unless you just watched 2 or Dead Reckoning or Final Reckoning. But no matter what you're having a blast. On any given day that top slot could be a three way tie between the first, Rogue Nation, and Fallout. But then you think about Philip Seymour Hoffman and you think, Damn, maybe three is the best? It's not. But in any other action franchise it would be.
As a series I've always been a fan of, there were certainly ups and downs early in the series' run, but there's no stronger set of films for this franchise than what was delivered with entries 4, 5, and 6. Number 5, Rogue Nation, in particular, has easily remained the peak of the series thanks to its incredible balance of spectacle, story, and fun.
Moving the major stunt (Ethan hanging off a plane) to the prologue worked as a great misdirect. The standout opera sequence is not only a terrific display of Hitchcockian suspense in a blockbuster action series, but also further highlights what we're getting into with Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa Faust. A multi-tiered action setpiece involving an underwater stunt, a car chase, and then a motorcycle chase is everything one wants from the grand spectacle in the realm of Summer movies. And following that up with pure espionage-based plotting allows the film to finish on a strong note.
It's also a rare sequel that dares to scale back in size, rather than up the ante, and makes it work thanks to how adept Christopher McQuarrie is at balancing everything at play, as well as the talents of this supporting cast. This includes Sean Harris' villainous performance that is snake-like and properly calculated, which I'll take all day over a screaming Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was merely tasked with threatening women in front of Cruise for 10 minutes of screentime, as if the Mattress Man wanted revenge on Frank T.J. Mackey by way of cliched TV movie plotting.
Rogue Nation has more on its mind, and I haven't even begun to explore Alec Baldwin's highly entertaining portrayal of a character tasked with essentially explaining how Ethan Hunt embodies the role Tom Cruise plays in making his mission to entertain audiences in the best possible way. All of that said, as much joy as one may get from the lower-stakes nature of Brian De Palma's kick-off film or the epic nature of Fallout, let alone the sky-high thrills of Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation is the one where everything comes together properly, all of the pieces fall into place, and the film arrives as one of the decades' best action spectaculars. And did I mention Ilsa Faust?
Colton Butcher - 8 months ago
This is one of the most stable franchises we have. Even the "bad" ones are, at minimum, entertaining (I'm a M:I 2 apologist).
For me the series really nailed what I think it wanted be from the beginning with Ghost Protocol. The globe-trotting, the gadets, the quippy dialogue, and just stellar action set pieces. I know it's what I want in these movies.
I put so much of the success of this movie on the shoulders of Brad Bird. He has a real knack for action. I'm thinking The Incredibles and even Ratatouille's small-scale set pieces. He also brings in a joy and cartoon chaos to the action that feels really fresh in Ghost Protocol. Though I've enjoyed McQuarrie's as well, I wish Brad Bird would've been the one to really helm this franchise as director.
Also, the Burj Khalifa stunt is my favorite in the whole series, Cruise running across and scaling down the tallest building in the world will never not be breathtaking.
Casey Linzmeier - 8 months ago
M:I 3 was my first drive-in movie experience! Really enjoyed it for both Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance and J.J. Abrams theatrical directorial debut!
I rewatched the entire series before Dead Reckoning, and rewatched Dead Reckoning before The Final Reckoning.
For me, without question, Fallout is the best, and the only bonafide five star classic in the series. As others have said Ilsa Faust is the standout female lead of the series, and I liked the genuine personal stakes at the end with the reintroduction of Julia into the mix.
I’m a lot colder on the original than many - set pieces aside it’s merely passable rather than outstanding, and the plot is weakest in the original and the final two, where the Entity is a disappointing and frankly unbelievable ‘villain’. I had high hopes for M:i2 after enjoying John Woo’s Face/Off a few years earlier, but it is the worst of the series…
6>5>4>3>7>8>1>2
I voted Fallout, but haven't watched 8 yet (tentatively planning on Sunday). I have watched the first 7, in order, all in the last two weeks, having only watched the first two (in their original theatrical runs) before.
III is my second choice primarily because Phillip Seymour Hoffman is just such a great villain, though watching it right after II might have helped it (I actually like II more than most do).
My current ranking is 6 > 3 > 7 > 5 > 1 > 4 > 2.
Voted for MI:1 due to its excellent pacing, directing, and interesting camera shots. All hallmarks of a good Brian DePalma film. MI:3 is a very close second for me, though, with it's interesting pivot to Ethan's private life and an all-time great villain in PSH.
JJ Abrams’ mission impossible gets my bite, mostly because it has the best villain in Hoffman’s Owen Davian, and it makes Ethan Hunt into a more fully realized character. Plus Maggie Q.
As for rankings of the whole thing, I go: 3, 5, 6, 4, 1, 7, 8, 2.
I’m not needed here, because Andy articulated the right answer perfectly, and I couldn’t agree more with Colton’s expansion on why Ghost Protocol edges out the others.
Thankfully, Colton (and Erin) tip their hats to M:i-2. Even so, because people so casually dismiss it, I want to enter a full throated defense into the Filmspotting Nation records.
M:i-2 deserves recognition for the very qualities that set it apart. Far from a misstep, it audaciously broke from De Palma’s masterful original, injecting the series with Woo’s energy and laying essential groundwork for the franchise’s evolution into a director’s playground.
As much as that precedent freed future directors Abrams, Bird, and McQuarrie up to play to their strengths, the film’s opening established the franchise’s through line: Cruise’s relentless charisma ooze while in pursuit of his physical limits. Without question, the Utah rock climbing sequence is the spiritual predecessor to every major thrill in the next six movies. (Can’t you just hear Tom saying, “The only way we can top those red cliff sides is by scaling the Burj Khalifa.”)
Even if you’re unconvinced of M:I-2’s frenetic joy, at least we can all agree that the Final Reckoning took a page from Rise of Skywalker, and made it easy for all franchise fans to be united on which film is the worst. Sadly, it’s the last entry.
Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation, and Fallout are neck-and-neck-and neck for me. But I land on them in that order because Ghost Protocol gets the bump for being the one to launch what M:I really could be after the just okay renditions of 2 and 3 (Hoffman's villain is great but that doesn't make the movie he's in more than okay). Brad Bird took things in a new upward direction, which subsequently allowed McQuarrie to continue to fly. Bonus points as well for the Burj Khalifa scene remaining the action scene pinnacle of the 2000s, in a franchise that clearly has others in the running. The only downside to the film is that it did too little with Lea Seydoux and made sure she couldn't return to the franchise later.
I vacillate between the two Ilsa Faust entries as if they’re Rushmore and Tenenbaums. I usually side with Fallout.
Yes there are at least 8 great Bonds. Interestingly every actor has at least one.
(Connery) FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, GOLDFINGER, THUNDERBALL
(Lazenby) ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE (also Chris Nolan’s favorite movie)
(Moore) THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
(Dalton) THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
(Brosnan) GOLDENEYE
(Craig) CASINO ROYALE, SKYFALL
Mission holds up because it’s such a recent franchise and the hit ratio is so high. But there’s no Mission without Bond, who is also so malleable
Rogue Nation wins it if only for Tom and Rebecca escaping the torture scene. And "The other door!"
Re SVH's question: There are at least eight Bond films as good as the eight M:I films (more like at least ten Bond films). Further, there are at least eight Bond films as good as the five M:I films that qualify as good.
AMENDING MY COMMENT BECAUSE I REALIZED WOLF BLITZER IS IN FALLOUT. MY MISTAKE
It's Rogue Nation for me. Three reasons: Wolf Blitzer, "Living Manifestation of Destiny," and "I am the disk!" It's the movie that gets the unique alchemy of the franchise - humor, stunts, ridiculousness - the most right.
I am absolute sucker for this franchise, I will watch any of them at the drop of a hat (even Woo's weird rip off of Notorious). I revisited the original not too long ago and it is a great spy thriller, no question, even better than I thought it was when I saw it originally. But, for my personal satisfaction, where the series swerves and sticks the landing the absolute best, where character and stunts are wonderfully in balance, I have to go with our introduction to Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa, 2015's Rogue Nation.
Four words: Henry. Cavill. Arm. Reloading.
The best Mission Impossible may depend on what you've watched most recently. Unless you just watched 2 or Dead Reckoning or Final Reckoning. But no matter what you're having a blast. On any given day that top slot could be a three way tie between the first, Rogue Nation, and Fallout. But then you think about Philip Seymour Hoffman and you think, Damn, maybe three is the best? It's not. But in any other action franchise it would be.
As a series I've always been a fan of, there were certainly ups and downs early in the series' run, but there's no stronger set of films for this franchise than what was delivered with entries 4, 5, and 6. Number 5, Rogue Nation, in particular, has easily remained the peak of the series thanks to its incredible balance of spectacle, story, and fun.
Moving the major stunt (Ethan hanging off a plane) to the prologue worked as a great misdirect. The standout opera sequence is not only a terrific display of Hitchcockian suspense in a blockbuster action series, but also further highlights what we're getting into with Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa Faust. A multi-tiered action setpiece involving an underwater stunt, a car chase, and then a motorcycle chase is everything one wants from the grand spectacle in the realm of Summer movies. And following that up with pure espionage-based plotting allows the film to finish on a strong note.
It's also a rare sequel that dares to scale back in size, rather than up the ante, and makes it work thanks to how adept Christopher McQuarrie is at balancing everything at play, as well as the talents of this supporting cast. This includes Sean Harris' villainous performance that is snake-like and properly calculated, which I'll take all day over a screaming Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was merely tasked with threatening women in front of Cruise for 10 minutes of screentime, as if the Mattress Man wanted revenge on Frank T.J. Mackey by way of cliched TV movie plotting.
Rogue Nation has more on its mind, and I haven't even begun to explore Alec Baldwin's highly entertaining portrayal of a character tasked with essentially explaining how Ethan Hunt embodies the role Tom Cruise plays in making his mission to entertain audiences in the best possible way. All of that said, as much joy as one may get from the lower-stakes nature of Brian De Palma's kick-off film or the epic nature of Fallout, let alone the sky-high thrills of Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation is the one where everything comes together properly, all of the pieces fall into place, and the film arrives as one of the decades' best action spectaculars. And did I mention Ilsa Faust?
This is one of the most stable franchises we have. Even the "bad" ones are, at minimum, entertaining (I'm a M:I 2 apologist).
For me the series really nailed what I think it wanted be from the beginning with Ghost Protocol. The globe-trotting, the gadets, the quippy dialogue, and just stellar action set pieces. I know it's what I want in these movies.
I put so much of the success of this movie on the shoulders of Brad Bird. He has a real knack for action. I'm thinking The Incredibles and even Ratatouille's small-scale set pieces. He also brings in a joy and cartoon chaos to the action that feels really fresh in Ghost Protocol. Though I've enjoyed McQuarrie's as well, I wish Brad Bird would've been the one to really helm this franchise as director.
Also, the Burj Khalifa stunt is my favorite in the whole series, Cruise running across and scaling down the tallest building in the world will never not be breathtaking.
M:I 3 was my first drive-in movie experience! Really enjoyed it for both Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance and J.J. Abrams theatrical directorial debut!