Ranking the Mission: Impossible Movie Stunts
How Many Times Can Tom Cruise Hang Out of a Plane?
Now that the Mission: Impossible franchise is wrapping up, I took the opportunity to revisit an article I wrote way back in 2018. The idea was to look at all the stunts of the Mission: Impossible movies and apply some kind of rank to them. It’s a goofy exercise, mostly because each one of the movies has a spectacular stunt that helps cement its status in the franchise. Having seen all 8 Mission: Impossible movies, I’m still convinced there is no such thing as a bad movie in this franchise. There are certainly ones that aren’t great (here’s looking at you, Mission: Impossible 3), but each has its merits.
Below are ten of my favorite stunts from the Mission: Impossible franchise. Let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree, I’m interested to know what stunt you believe is the greatest in Mission: Impossible history.
10. Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation
Hanging on a Jet Plane
It doesn’t make much sense for Ethan Hunt to climb the side of a plane; he has to hang off of it. While there are people who believe that Cruise doesn’t do his own stunts, make no mistake, he was hanging on the outside of that plane.
9. Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol
Parking Garage
The finale of Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol finds Ethan Hunt chasing the villain to an incredible parking garage. It is a giant game of keep-away villain who just tries to hold out long enough for the warhead to explode. Tom Cruise hops into a free-fall to the bottom floor. It is equal parts ridiculous and amazing.
8. Mission: Impossible 3
Bridge Rescue
After Cruise has successfully captured arms dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Davian decides he has had enough of imprisonment. Not only does this scene showcase one of the few times that the IMF cares about safety, but Cruise has to fight a helicopter.
7. Mission: Impossible 2
Motorcycle Battle
When I first watched Mission: Impossible 2, I found it ridiculously silly. That’s mostly because I wasn’t familiar with director John Woo. I appreciate it more these days, and this finale has Tom Cruise doing some extremely ridiculous stunts, and the whole sequence ends up with a fistfight on the beach.
6. Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation
Opera House
Ethan Hunt has continued his investigation into the Syndicate, and it leads him to the Opera House. Three different shooters, a fantastic destination, and some excellent fight choreography, the Opera House sequence has it all.
5. Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning
Motorcycle Cliff Dive
Many of the clips above I decided to share the actual sequences. For this Dead Reckoning stunt, I wanted to share the BTS video Paramount made of Cruise preparing. The stunt itself isn’t that long, but the preparation that went into it is crazy. Dead Reckoning is one of my least favorite entries in the series, but this stunt makes it worth resisting.
4. Mission: Impossible Fallout
Helicopter Battle
Ethan Hunt chases after John Lark (Henry Cavill) in a helicopter. Cruise prepared for the sequence for over a year and did all of his flying. It is just another example of how Mission: Impossible always ups the ante when it comes to death-defying stunts.
3. Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning
Biplane Battle
While I was watching The Final Reckoning, I kept waiting for this spectacular stunt that the posters promised. It comes in at the finale, and what a spectacle it is. This is probably the craziest stunt in the franchise, but the other two above this are there because of nostalgia and importance to the Mission: Impossible history. If you have a chance to see this in IMAX, I’d certainly make it a priority.
2. Mission: Impossible
CIA Headquarters Wire Drop
To clear his name, Hunt must steal a list that contains the cover aliases for spies around the world. Tom Cruise hanging from hacking a computer is one of the franchise's trademark visuals, and the tenseness of the sequence hasn’t aged a day. This is the sequence audiences remember most fondly from the Mission: Impossible series, and although it isn’t as death-defying as many on this list, it’s certainly worthy.
1. Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol
Burj Khalifa Climb
In true Mission: Impossible fashion, the level is raised once again as Ethan Hunt must climb the world’s tallest buildings. Watching this sequence in IMAX is thrilling, and it remains the most thrilling action sequence in the entire franchise.