The Mission Impossible film franchise has been running for 27 years now. Number seven is releasing this July, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1.

The franchise has come a long way from the grounded spy thriller to basically a vehicle for Tom Cruise to attempt increasingly dangerous stunts.

Tom went from wanting to work with interesting and well-established filmmakers to finding his man Christopher McQuarrie and sticking with him.

Tom seems to be afraid of risk, which is why he’s gone from Brian De Palma and John Woo to Staying with McQuarrie for three Mission Impossibles in a row.

It’s definitely if it ain’t broke don’t fix it mentality. McQuarrie and Cruise’s partnership have made Mission Impossible a must-see in-theater experience. The bigger the better, the stunts will be real with CGI as needed.

It’s why the promos for Dead Reckoning are all about pulling off the stunt and not about the actual film, but, it’s why so many people are excited and going to see the film.

With that in mind, because I am personally excited for the seventh installment in the franchise, I wanted to highlight the ten best moments/sequences in the Mission Impossible franchise so far.

 

10. The Helicopter/Train fight sequence – Mission: Impossible

These films have come a long way since its humble beginnings. The first film is a much more scaled-down spy thriller, closer to the TV show. However, the ending and its final sequence elevated it to true movie status.

It’s the first time we get to see Ethan Hunt defy all human expectations as he grips and fights on top of a moving train.

He narrowly avoids an oncoming train and almost gets his throat cut by helicopter blades.

The one reason this doesn’t rank higher on this list, it’s the CGI. Starting with the fourth Mission Impossible the CGI was scaled way back in favor of practical effects and real stunts.

This sequence is blended pretty well, but it is 27 years old and the CGI was not where it is now.

So re-watching this film in 2023 its impact is not as significant because moments look like a video game.

However, this franchise’s endings never seem to be as great as some of the sequences earlier in their respective films. But De Palma knew to keep the thrill for the end, which is why it sits here at 10.

 

09. Ethan Hunt takes a plane ride. – Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

We go from a great ending to a great beginning. Not only is it a great beginning to the film, but it is a prosperous beginning for McQuarrie/Cruise relationship. Rogue Nation proves to be a step up from the previous film and all other films in the franchise.

The stunts are bigger, and the set pieces are bigger, making the entire film feel greater. They show this from minute one of this film.

This scene sets the tone for the next four films in this franchise. Where the promotion of the film will be centered around the stunts rather than the film itself.

Ethan Hunt and his team are needing to stop a plane with some kind of chemical weapon from taking off. As the plane taxis down the runway, Ethan runs onto a hill and jumps onto the plane.

As it beings to take off he grabs onto a door on the side of the plane and holds on while Benji attempts to open the door.

It’s an exhilarating sequence that was awe-inspiring to see in a big theater. If this were CGI it’d still be an exciting sequence but it wouldn’t be as memorable as it is knowing Tom actually did this.

Of course, he was strapped to the side of the plane, but the shots leave no doubt that Tom is actually on the outside of a cargo plane as it is flying in the air. It’s not higher on this list only because this scene is quite short.

 

08. Motorcycle Fight – Mission: Impossible II

Widely considered the weakest film in the franchise. After re-watching all six films for this exercise it’s the weakest by a mile.

But if it has one thing going for it, it’s the director John Woo. Woo going his start in Hong Kong cinema.

He’d been working since the late 1960s in Hong Kong and eventually caught the eye of Hollywood producers. In the early 1990’s he was lured to Tinsel Town and made some iconic action films of the 90s.

So, it made sense he’d be the one to helm a sequel to the original Mission Impossible. However, this film doesn’t feel like John got to cut loose.

Instead, audiences are treated to a great opening sequence and a great motorcycle chase, which Tom does himself of course.

In the climax, Ethan chases Sean Ambrose, both on motorcycles. Then with the help of a complex wiring system, they drive toward each other like knights in a joust.

The motorcycles slam together as Ethan and Sean jump into each other’s arms attempting to kill one another. It’s a brief flash of what makes John Woo a great action filmmaker.

 

07. Kremlin Infiltration – Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Brad Bird had only really worked in the world of Animation. So it was a bit of a surprise when it was announced that he was helming the fourth Mission Impossible film. Any skepticism went away the minute anyone saw this film.

The opening Russian Prison break almost made this list. Brid sets the tone in that scene for the rest of the film, a perfect blend of action and comedy. Cruise and Pegg’s chemistry is humming in this scene and for the next three films.

Sometimes bringing a comedic actor into an action film can be deadly because they can be annoying. But Simon Pegg fits right into Hunt’s team. Instead of the prison break, I went with the next Russia scene, Hunt and Benji having to infiltrate the Kremlin.

The scene contains everything you want from a Mission Impossible scene: Cool gadgets, high stakes, a seemingly “impossible” mission, and some humor.

Then, when it doesn’t seem like the stakes could get higher the Kremlin explodes and Ethan Hunt is framed. Brad Bird laid the groundwork for the new direction of the franchise with this scene.

 

06. HALO Jump into Club Bathroom Fight – Mission: Impossible – Fallout

Just when you think Tom Cruise has peaked, he finds another peak to ascend to. Fallout contains three of the biggest stunts of the franchise yet.

So many good sequences in the franchise that Ethan’s ride against traffic around the Arc De Triumph didn’t make this countdown.

In this scene, however, Ethan and C.I.A. Agent Walker need to perform a Halo jump to get into a nightclub to find a black market arms dealer.

A HALO jump is a High Altitude – Low Opening jump performed by military personnel. Today civilians can do these as a skydiving exercises.

Tom wanted to do this for real because he knew it would look better than CGIing the entire sequence. It’s exhilarating to watch their free fall for what seems like an entirety. Then if this wasn’t enough they top this scene off with an incredible bathroom fight.

The best hand-to-hand fight in the franchise. Coordinated by Wolfgang Stegmann, who was the flautist assassin in Rogue Nation during the Opera scene which was regrettably left off of this list.

In Fallout Wolfgang coordinates a superb fight scene which this franchise could insert more of in future films.

 

05. Opening Interrogation – Mission: Impossible III

After the misfire that Mission: Impossible II was the franchise needed someone that could inject life into the franchise. J. J. Abrams has made a career of reinventing film franchises.

He did it here, with Star Trek, and Star Wars. He was the perfect filmmaker to get this back on track, if it wasn’t for him we might not have gotten the best films in the franchise yet.

Of course, another reason this film is great is Philip Seymour Hoffman as the baddie. For a good action film to work, you need a memorable heavy. What better way to make your heavy memorable than place a great actor in the role?

Owen Davian (PSH) Is the evilest and most vile villain in all of the Mission films. This is never better exemplified than by the opening scene.

Owen is holding a gun to a woman’s head and counting to ten, with Ethan Hunt completely distraught sitting across from the woman.

At that point, we do not know who she is, but one thing is for sure, it’s incredibly captivating. This film grabs you and never lets you go.

Plus this scene comes back around and we have the context as it plays out again. Giving a whole other level to this scene. It’s incredible and perfectly acted by Hoffman and Cruise.

  

04. Power Plant Heist to Car Chase to Motorcycle Chase – Mission: Impossible –Rogue Nation

We’re going back to the fifth installment for this entry. Here Ethan and Benji with the help of Rebecca Ferguson’s Agent Faust, break into a power plant to get their hands on a digital ledger to find proof of the Syndicate.

To do this Ethan has to go into a liquid-cooled torus-type structure to replace essentially a sim card to allow Benji to slip security. It’s an impressive stunt because Tom Cruise did most of it for real, holding his breath for over five minutes.

Some of the moments inside the tank are obvious CGI and this stunt wouldn’t be as impressive if it was the other sequences this leads to.

Agent Faust must save Ethan because it took too long and he begins to drown. Once saved Faust steals the ledger and leads Hunt and the rest of the team on a car chase through Casablanca.

The car chase is non-stop thrilling with a few moments of impressive stunt driving. Mixed throughout are some of the best comedies of the franchise.

Even after all of this, Hunt and Benji’s car crashes, and Ethan pursues Faust on a Motorcycle leading to another impressive chase stunt. This is 10-15 minutes where your eyes do not leave the screening, popcorn movie-making at its finest.

 

03. Burj Khalifa Climb – Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Here the team finds themselves in Dubai to stop nuclear launch codes from getting into the wrong hands. Of course, just like every other Mission film, nothing goes according to plan, so Ethan has to do what he does best, improvise.

This calls for him to scale the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Using special electronic gloves allowing Ethan to stick to the wall he begins to climb, but one of the gloves malfunctions and he has to use his bare hands.

The hard part comes at the end when he needs to get back into his hotel room he doesn’t have enough slack on the rope and he has to jump let go of the rope and jump into the room. It’s a truly death-defying stunt that leaves everyone breathless.

There is a great breakdown from SreenRant on how they pulled this entire stunt off. Knowing that Cruise did his own stunt and being able to clearly see that by the IMAX footage from 130 stories in the air makes it equally thrilling and nauseating to watch, but endlessly enjoyable.

 

02. Helicopter Chase Ending – Mission: Impossible – Fallout

If there is a gripe to be had with these films it’s the endings. The most memorable sequences happen inside of the film or at the beginning, but the film has to end, they wrap the stories up, but it’s never an exciting sequence except for the first film.

Finally, in Fallout, that all changes. McQuarrie and Cruise knew they needed to elevate this film from the previous entries, and to do that was to have a truly climatic climax.

Here Hunt and his team are in the northern part of India on the border of China, needing to disarm two nuclear bombs.

Turns out his “Ex” wife is there working for a WHO-type organization. They also learn to diffuse the two bombs they must take out the ignition pin in the remote ignition before the bombs are diffused.

If all of this were not high enough stakes, the bad guy with the remote ignition is escaping in a helicopter and Ethan goes after him in another helicopter.

If it wasn’t for one iconic scene in this franchise this would be number one on this list. Watching Cruise dangling from a helicopter for real, then actually flying the helicopter.

He performs a hazardous corkscrew maneuver towards the ground which he actually did. It’s the most exciting stuff in the six films and comes at the end of the film, pitch-perfect ending. I don’t see how they top something like this in Dead Reckoning.

 

01. Ethan Hangs Around Langley – Mission: Impossible

The most indelible image of this entire film franchise is Tom Cruise hanging from a couple of wires next to a computer. It’s not the most impressive stunt ever.

Nor the most action-packed set piece. But, after 27 years it’s still the most iconic image from all six films.

De Palma takes clear inspiration from Jules Dassin’s Rififi. A French heist film from 1955, in the middle of the film there is a heist that has to be completely silent, any noise will set off the alarm. Instead of Dassin pumping in tense music, there is none, letting the scene play out in complete silence.

It makes the experience completely immersive, making the audience as tense as the characters. Every bit of sound is like a jump scare because, at any little thing, the heist will fall apart.

The same goes for this scene, except for just sound it’s a tiny drop of sweat, or a rat in the air duct, or a knife falling from the ceiling.

It’s an incredible set piece pulled off by a genius filmmaker in Brian De Palma, and a movie star at the height of his powers.

Even if they put out 50 Mission Impossible films, there will never be a scene as iconic or memorable as this one.