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Countdown to Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning! How every film built to Ethan Hunt's last mission
As Tom Cruise's iconic role as Ethan Hunt's last mission looms, every Mission: Impossible film becomes essential viewing before the Final Reckoning.
Nov 13, 2024
Tom Cruise in a still from Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning
The Mission: Impossible series has long been the gold standard for high-octane action and intricate espionage, with Tom Cruise’s iconic portrayal of Ethan Hunt at its heart. From the original 1996 film to the recent explosive additions, each installment raises the stakes, blending thrilling stunts, complex plots, and a roster of unforgettable characters. As the franchise builds towards its climactic eighth installment, Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning set to release on May 23, 2025, fans are eagerly revisiting Hunt's nail-biting adventures.
Here’s a look back at all the Mission: Impossible films that have led us to this final chapter, offering essential viewing for anyone ready to witness Ethan Hunt's ultimate showdown.
ALSO READ: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One review: The pinnacle of action films!
Mission: Impossible (JioCinema [OTTplay Premium]; Netflix; Prime Video)
David Koepp and Robert Towne wrote the 1996 action-spy thriller Mission: Impossible based on a plot by Steven Zaillian. Brian De Palma produced and directed the film, which starred Tom Cruise. This is the first film in the Mission: Impossible franchise, which is based on the 1966 TV show of the same name and its 1988 sequel series, canonically set six years after the original. Emmanuelle Béart, Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave, Jean Reno, and Henry Czerny are among the other stars.
In this explosive blockbuster, Tom Cruise sets the screen ablaze, keeping viewers riveted until the very end. The actor portrays the spy operative Ethan Hunt in the film, who faces false accusations of killing his colleagues. He is on the run from government assassins, breaking into the CIA's most secure vault and clinging to the roof of a bullet train as fast as lightning. Hunt is racing against the clock to stay ahead of his pursuers and uncover the horrifying truth.
Mission: Impossible 2 (JioCinema [OTTplay Premium]; Netflix; Prime Video)
John Woo directed the 2000 action-spy film Mission: Impossible 2 which featured Tom Cruise reprising his role as Ethan Hunt. As the second part of the Mission: Impossible film series, it follows on the heels of Mission: Impossible (1996). In addition to Rode Šerbedžija, Ving Rhames, Thandiwe Newton, John Polson, Richard Roxburgh, Brendan Gleeson, and Dougray Scott, the picture also features John Polson.
A rogue Impossible Missions Force (IMF) agent named Sean Ambrose—who was once in a relationship with Nyah Nordoff-Hall—holds a genetically mutated disease called Chimaera. Cruise's Ethan Hunt and Newton's professional thief, Nyah Nordoff-Hall, form a team to retrieve the pathogen. Reunited with the stunning Nyah Hall, the greatest spy in the world, Ethan Hunt sets out to prevent the release of a new terror by rogue agent Sean Ambrose.
Mission: Impossible III (JioCinema [OTTplay Premium]; Netflix; Prime Video)
J. J. Abrams, making his feature film directing debut, directed the 2006 action-spy thriller Mission: Impossible III from a script by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Tom Cruise produced and starred in the film, reprising his role as Ethan Hunt. The third installment in the Mission: Impossible film series, follows Mission: Impossible (1996) and Mission: Impossible 2 (2000). Miller, Maggie Q. Laurence Fishburne, Billy Crudup, Ving Rhames, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, and Philip Seymour Hoffman are among the other stars.
In Mission: Impossible III Hoffman plays the role of evasive arms dealer Owen Davian, introducing a whole new level of awesome! Billy Crudup and Laurence Fishburne, Ethan's agency superiors, stir him to action before facing his most formidable foe yet, the ruthless weapons dealer Owen Davian, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Ethan and his IMF team—Ving Rhames, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Maggie Q—swoop in to save an agent Keri Russell is holding captive and thwart Davian's plans to kill Julia, Ethan's wife—Michelle Monaghan—in a daring dash from Rome to Shanghai.
Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol (JioCinema [OTTplay Premium]; Netflix; Prime Video)
Based on a screenplay by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, who are also co-producers, Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol is a 2011 action spy film that Brad Bird directed in his live-action directing debut. Bryan Burk, J. J. Abrams, and Tom Cruise produced the fourth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series, which comes after Mission: Impossible III (2006). Starring Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, and Paula Patton, the picture also has supporting actors Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Josh Holloway, Anil Kapoor, and Léa Seydoux.
After the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) shutters due to public accusations of involvement in a Kremlin attack, the film follows Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his squad as they risk everything to defend their names. Following an explosion that links the IMF to terrorism, Hunt and his elite squad take cover underground. In their pursuit of justice, the group stumbles onto a nuclear war scheme. They will need to employ all technological means necessary to rescue the planet.
Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation (JioCinema [OTTplay Premium]; Netflix; Prime Video)
Christopher McQuarrie wrote and directed the 2015 action spy film Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation based on a story by Drew Pearce and McQuarrie. It follows 2011's Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol and is the fifth installment in the Mission: Impossible film franchise. Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, and Sean Harris are among the cast.
The story follows Ethan Hunt (Cruise), an agent of the Impossible Missions Force, and his team as they battle the Syndicate, a global organization of renegade government operatives following their disbandment and Hunt's pursuit by the Central Intelligence Agency. Get ready for the most incredible mission yet, full of adrenaline-pumping action and mind-blowing stunts. After the CIA disbands his elite organization, Hunt and his team—including Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, and Ving Rhames—are in a race against the clock to foil the plans of a sinister group of former operatives who have betrayed their country. In his most daunting task to date, Ethan must team up with a mysterious, disavowed agent (Rebecca Ferguson)—who may or may not be on his side—in order to foil their plans.
Mission: Impossible—Fallout (JioCinema [OTTplay Premium]; Netflix; Prime Video)
Mission: Impossible—Fallout is Christopher McQuarrie's 2018 action-spy flick. Part of the Mission: Impossible franchise, it follows 2015's Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation and is the sixth installment overall. Starring alongside Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Michelle Monaghan, and Alec Baldwin is the ensemble cast.
Two years after the events of Rogue Nation the plot of Fallout centers on a team of Impossible Missions Force agents led by Cruisey as they try to foil a nuclear strike plot hatched by the shadowy figure known as John Lark and terrorist Solomon Lane. Even the best-meaning actions can have unintended consequences. After a mission failure, Hunt and his International Missions Force (IMF) team are in a time-sensitive situation.
Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One (Prime Video)
Based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen, Christopher McQuarrie directed the action-spy film Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One in 2023. Mission: Impossible—Fallout (2018) was the previous entry in the Mission: Impossible film franchise, and this one is the seventh installment. It features an ensemble cast starring Henry Czerny, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Mariela Garriga, and Pom Klementieff, along with Tom Cruise (as Ethan Hunt).
Entity is a formidable renegade artificial intelligence that Hunt and his IMF team must defeat in the film. In their most perilous mission to date, they must prevent the acquisition of a terrible new weapon that endangers the entire human race. A dangerous race across the world starts as the world's destiny is on the line. When faced with an enigmatic and omnipotent foe, Ethan must decide that his goal is more important than anything else, including the lives of the people he loves.
Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning (releasing on May 23, 2025)
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie and written with Erik Jendresen, Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning is an upcoming action-spy film. This film is the eighth installment in the Mission: Impossible series and serves as a direct sequel to Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One (2023). Returning from the previous films are Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Angela Bassett, and Henry Czerny.
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