Mission: Impossible ranked from worst to best – how does Final Reckoning stack up?

The highs and lows of Tom Cruise's pre-eminent globetrotting action franchise

Tom Cruise again plays Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. Photo: Paramount Pictures

There’s no bad Mission: Impossible ranking. But which one is your favourite depends on what you value highest. Want character development and emotionality? Watch Ethan Hunt become a desperate husband trying to save the woman he loves in Mission: Impossible 3.

Want awe-inspiring thrills? See him scale Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Beautiful images? Director John Woo’s Mission: Impossible 2 is for you. Want shocking twists and turns? Throw on the first one.

Since the first film in 1996, producer and star Tom Cruise has willed his big-screen adaptation of a '60s TV show into a body of work that has justifiably come to define him as an actor.

In an era in which classic big-screen action filmmaking is increasingly like a relic of another era, the Mission: Impossible films are a haven for those who still chase the surprise and delight that can only be found in the shared theatrical experience.

With the release of the latest and possibly final instalment coming to cinemas on May 21 across the Middle East, here's how all the films – including Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning – stack up.

8. Mission: Impossible 3

It's hard to place any of these films at the bottom. And Mission: Impossible 3, directed by JJ Abrams, lands here despite boasting the best villain in the series (played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman) and the most emotions. The film turns Ethan from a hero largely without a singular identity into a loving husband pulled back into a deadly world against his will – who will stop at nothing to keep his wife safe. The Keri Russell cameo sequence is the best thing to be found here, and her final line is the most haunting in the entire franchise.

7. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Tom Cruise famously performed his own stunts on Dubai's Burj Khalifa for the fourth film in the Mission Impossible franchise. AP

While Cruise dangling inches above a white floor in the first film will remain the definitive image of the series, no image will define his legacy more than him hanging atop the Burj Khalifa in the fourth instalment.

But while the action in Ghost Protocol, directed by Brad Bird, is often gorgeous, jaw-dropping and balletic, it's also the thinnest, least affecting story in the franchise. And because it almost completely lacks emotion, it loses nearly all momentum after the still-thrilling UAE sequence.

6. Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning

If this is indeed the end, it's a worthy one. The action is the most tense Cruise and company have produced to date, and it's surprisingly emotional. Here, Cruise has pushed both the form and themselves to their absolute limits. But it's bogged down by too much exposition, particularly in the first hour, to pass its predecessors.

5. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning

Tom Cruise on the set of Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning - Part One in Abu Dhabi. Photo: Abu Dhabi Film Commission

There are two main reasons why the excellent Dead Reckoning was disappointing for many, despite boasting many strengths. One is that Fallout was an impossible act to follow. But more importantly, its marketing campaign, centred around a behind-the-scenes featurette, spent too much time showing audiences the central stunt that was supposedly the reason for buying a ticket. Finally seeing it in context later felt like something of an afterthought. But revisit it, and you'll find it's not only full of the franchise's trademark thrills, it's also the funniest film they've made to date.

4. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

After Brian De Palma, Cruise had trouble finding a director who could capture all the aspects that a masterful Mission film requires. Abrams could tell a tale on the page, but wasn't capable enough as a visual storyteller. Brad Bird increased the scale of the action, but the story fell flat. Christopher McQuarrie, meanwhile, put it all together in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, the most cohesive film since the first. It's no wonder Cruise has kept him connected at the hip ever since.

3. Mission: Impossible 2

Revisiting the entire franchise in preparation for Final Reckoning, it was a delight to discover that – despite a plodding first half and painful villain – the second hour is transcendent. It also includes some of the best purely visual storytelling in action filmmaking. John Woo may have made this his own too much for the franchise's own good, but it's a gem.

2. Mission: Impossible

Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible, the first film in the series. Photo: Paramount Pictures

The first film in the series does more than just lay the groundwork for what is to come. On its own, it's among the best spy thrillers ever made, thanks to a cracking and twisty script and De Palma working at the top of his game. Even nearly 30 years on, it's still endlessly rewatchable and each time better than you remembered it being.

1. Mission: Impossible – Fallout

Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible - Fallout. Photo: Paramount Pictures

For the sheer breadth and scale of what this series can achieve, there is no better example than Fallout. It's a flawlessly constructed film, featuring seemingly unstoppable momentum that builds to a breathtaking crescendo. The only film that comes close to its heights is Cruise's own Top Gun: Maverick.