Now, we reach the second phase of the franchise where both the story and spectacle ramp up, and the films start to feel more like pieces of a whole, rather than isolated stories. Like in the previous post, spoilers are possible. You’ve been warned.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
Director: Brad Bird
We’ve now reached the second phase of the franchise, where both the story and spectacle ramp up, and the films begin to feel more like pieces of a whole rather than isolated adventures. As in the previous post, spoilers ahead — you’ve been warned.
As noted in my series on Cruise’s career, his 2000s had more ups and downs than the stock market. After the disappointing box office returns for Mission: Impossible III and a string of public controversies — including the infamous Matt Lauer interview and that moment on Oprah’s couch — Paramount cut ties with him. For about three years, Cruise was persona non grata in major Hollywood studios. During that time, he and Paula Wagner tried to revive United Artists, releasing Lions for Lambs and Valkyrie.
But leadership changes are common in Hollywood. Thanks in part to his role in Tropic Thunder, Cruise regained some public goodwill. With a new regime at Paramount, the studio was open to revisiting Mission: Impossible. In late 2008, Cruise officially signed on for a fourth installment — this time without Paula Wagner as producer. About a year later, Josh Applebaum and André Nemec were hired to write the script.
According to the official plot summary: the IMF is shut down after being publicly implicated in a bombing at the Kremlin, forcing Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team to operate off-grid in a desperate effort to clear their names. Joining the team this time are Agent Jane Carter (Paula Patton), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg, now promoted to field duty), and CIA analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner).
While M:I 3 marked a turning point for the franchise, Ghost Protocol solidified it. Cruise and company learned a key lesson: when you raise the bar on stunts and spectacle, you must also raise the stakes emotionally and narratively. M:I 3 hinted at that, but it wasn’t fully realized until now.
Cruise had found a trusted collaborator in J.J. Abrams, and he hoped Abrams would return to direct. But due to his commitment to Super 8, Abrams stayed on as a producer only. The director’s chair was still open — and in a surprising move, Cruise offered the job to Brad Bird. Yes, the director of Ratatouille. It might sound absurd on paper, but Bird had also written and directed The Incredibles, which had the kind of sleek, emotional storytelling Cruise was looking for. As it turns out, Bird was the perfect choice to usher Ethan Hunt into the 2010s.
Previously, I mentioned that each Mission film has one standout set piece. With this movie, we’ve entered an era where each film has at least two. The ones that stand out here are the Kremlin bombing and the Burj Khalifa climb — the latter being arguably the most iconic sequence in the entire franchise. Cruise, of course, performed the stunt himself, scaling the world’s tallest building while strapped into wires that were later digitally erased. Inspired by his dedication, both Léa Seydoux and Paula Patton opted to perform their own fight scenes without stunt doubles.
Despite this being Brad Bird’s live-action debut, he directs like a natural. A huge proponent of theatrical exhibition, Bird insisted on filming key sequences in IMAX to maximize color range and visual immersion — and to showcase that it was really Cruise doing the stunts. Roughly 30 minutes of the film were shot in the format, adding to the scale and spectacle.
In true Mission fashion, the film went into production without a finalized script — something Bird, who had written all his animated films, was not accustomed to. Major set pieces were conceived first, with exposition written around them. As the story evolved, some scenes were reshot. Unsatisfied with elements of the original draft, Cruise brought in his Valkyrie screenwriter, Christopher McQuarrie, to do a rewrite. According to McQuarrie, “The script had these fantastic sequences in it, but the mystery was very complicated. What I did was about clarity.”
Perhaps McQuarrie’s most notable contribution was the final scene: it not only brings back Ving Rhames as Luther, but also reveals that Julia is alive and in hiding — giving emotional closure that M:I 3 left open. McQuarrie went uncredited, but this rewrite laid the groundwork for a creative partnership that would define the rest of the franchise.
The leap in quality is obvious, and in my opinion, the next two films would each build on this foundation and top their predecessors.
My Ranking: #5 out of 8
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
As I mentioned earlier, Christopher McQuarrie may not have received screen credit for Ghost Protocol, but he got something even better: the keys to the franchise.
Actually, I’m getting ahead of myself — we’ll get there. I promise.
McQuarrie, who had directed Cruise in Jack Reacher, was announced as director in August 2013. Drew Pearce was confirmed as screenwriter, and the film was initially scheduled for a December 2015 release (later bumped up to July). Alongside Cruise, returning cast members included Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Jeremy Renner. Newcomers to the franchise included Alec Baldwin as CIA Director Alan Hunley, Rebecca Ferguson as mysterious MI6 agent Ilsa Faust, and Sean Harris as villain Solomon Lane.
The story picks up after the IMF has been disbanded. Ethan and his team are on the run from the CIA while tracking a shadowy terrorist organization known as the Syndicate — a rogue network of former agents that the government refuses to believe exists.
Like previous entries, the script was developed around major set pieces. While the motorcycle chase and Vienna Opera House fight are fantastic, two sequences stand above the rest: the underwater vault and the airplane stunt.
In the underwater sequence, Ethan must steal a ledger from a secure, pressurized chamber without using scuba gear or an oxygen tank. Thousands of gallons of swirling water, a rotating mechanical arm, and timed locks make the task nearly impossible. McQuarrie filmed this scene as practically as possible. A massive water tank was constructed, and Cruise — true to form — did the stunt himself. He trained with Navy SEAL consultants and learned to hold his breath for over six minutes, briefly setting a record that was later surpassed by Kate Winslet during Avatar: The Way of Water. McQuarrie later called it Cruise’s most dangerous stunt to date — and given the circumstances, that’s saying something.
Still, the most iconic moment of Rogue Nation comes at the very beginning: Cruise hanging off the side of an Airbus A400M Atlas as it takes off — no stunt double, no CGI. The plane was actually suspended 5,000 feet in the air. The crew had just 48 hours to get the shots they needed, and Cruise did eight full takeoffs to make it happen. The scene appears before the opening credits and immediately sets the tone for the film. It’s maybe the best cold open in the franchise.
One amusing behind-the-scenes story: during one of the takes, Cruise was struck by a small object midair. Fearing a serious injury, he refused to look right away. When he finally did, he discovered the source of the pain — a pebble. At that altitude, getting hit by one probably did feel like taking a bullet.
With five different directors over five films, each Mission installment had its own tone and style. That individuality was exciting — but it also meant the films sometimes felt disconnected. With Rogue Nation, and the return of McQuarrie in future installments, the franchise begins to develop a true sense of cohesion. These movies are starting to feel like chapters in an ongoing saga.
To be honest, my rankings for Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation are nearly interchangeable. But a few things nudged Rogue Nation slightly higher for me:
- The continuity and connective tissue it brings to the series
- The character dynamics — like the smugness of Baldwin’s Hunley, the rapport between Luther and Brandt, and the evolving friendship between Ethan and Benji
- And most importantly, the introduction of one of my favorite franchise characters: Ilsa Faust
My Ranking: #4 out of 8
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Now we arrive at my favorite film in the franchise: Fallout.
After the success of Rogue Nation, a sequel was greenlit almost immediately. Paramount wanted to fast-track the film, aiming to begin shooting in August 2016. For the first time in the then-22-year-old franchise, a director would return: Christopher McQuarrie. To his credit, McQuarrie hesitated. He wasn’t sure he could top the stunts and action of the previous film — and he also knew fans had come to expect a new director with each entry. Ultimately, it was Cruise who convinced him to come back.
To keep things visually fresh, McQuarrie brought in a new director of photography. In addition to directing, he joined Cruise, J.J. Abrams, and Jake Myers as a producer — and he was also the sole credited screenwriter.
While McQuarrie had final credit, he collaborated closely with Cruise to shape the story. Cruise was adamant about bringing Julia back, feeling her story had been left too open-ended in Ghost Protocol. Fans frequently asked what happened to her, and Cruise wanted to give her closure — and use her return as the emotional backbone of the film.
McQuarrie also wanted to explore Ethan’s inner life more deeply. In earlier films, Hunt had remained something of an enigma. In Fallout, McQuarrie aimed to reveal his fears and moral dilemmas. One early draft had Ethan assuming the villain Lark’s identity for most of the film, forcing him into ethically murky territory. But McQuarrie ultimately scrapped that thread. He felt it added intellectual weight at the expense of action, character development, and fan expectations.
Production was delayed due to script issues, pushing the start of filming to January 2017. In the meantime, returning cast members Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Alec Baldwin, Sean Harris, and Michelle Monaghan signed on. With Harris’ return as Solomon Lane, this marked the first time a villain had recurred in the series. New additions included Vanessa Kirby as arms dealer “The White Widow” and Henry Cavill as CIA agent August Walker.
Filming was delayed again due to a salary dispute. Cruise wanted more than the $13 million he received from The Mummy — and he eventually got it, plus a percentage of the box office. One notable absence was Jeremy Renner, who was committed to Avengers: Infinity War — a film he ended up being cut from entirely.
Principal photography began in Paris in April 2017. Things mostly went smoothly — aside from two notable incidents:
- Cruise broke his ankle while performing a rooftop jump between buildings. His foot hit the side of a wall, bending backward. Ever the professional, he finished the shot and limped out of frame before acknowledging the injury. He later joked about it on The Graham Norton Show, where he showed the footage in slow motion. That shot stayed in the final cut. Though filming was scheduled to pause for three months, Cruise resumed work just eight weeks later — still not fully healed.
- The infamous mustache saga. Cavill was called back for Justice League reshoots, which required him to shave. McQuarrie was willing to let Cavill do it — for $3 million to cover delays and CGI costs. Warner Bros. declined, leading to the now-infamous CGI removal of Superman’s mustache in Justice League.
Fallout features not one, not two, but three major action sequences:
- The HALO jump: Cruise became the first actor to perform a high-altitude, low-opening jump on camera. He trained for a year and did over 100 practice jumps. A camera operator with a digital rig jumped first to capture Cruise mid-air. A special helmet was designed to provide oxygen while keeping his face visible for the shot.
- The bathroom fight: Though the fight only lasts a few minutes onscreen, it took four weeks to film due to the intense choreography and multiple angles. The set was padded for safety but designed to look like a real tiled bathroom. It’s a brutal, physical sequence — and Cavill is fantastic in it.
- The helicopter chase: To increase authenticity, Cruise learned how to fly a helicopter and performed all the aerial stunts himself. Despite his skill, a safety helicopter trailed him at all times during the six-week shoot in case of emergency.
Between these sequences and the tight pacing, Fallout is action filmmaking at its peak. It’s not only my favorite Mission movie — it’s also the highest-rated entry on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 98% score.
There’s a lot I love about this one. I was thrilled to see Ilsa back in the mix, and it was satisfying to watch Hunley fully on Ethan’s side after their clashes in Rogue Nation. Angela Bassett is excellent as CIA Director Erika Sloane — she’s cold, calculating, and at times, downright unlikable, which makes her late-in-the-film shift all the more satisfying. And Vanessa Kirby is magnetic as Alanna Mitsopolis, a callback to the original film (she’s the daughter of Max from Mission: Impossible 1 — something I didn’t catch until Dead Reckoning).
But the best addition by far is Henry Cavill as August Walker. He’s the anti-Ethan. Where Ethan is careful and principled, Walker is brash, brutal, and efficient. Ethan kills only when necessary. Walker doesn’t hesitate. Ethan is agile; Walker is brute force. Their differences become a key point of tension throughout the film. For the first two acts, you think they’re on the same side. When Walker’s true allegiance is revealed, he instantly becomes one of the franchise’s most compelling villains. I’d put Cavill’s performance up there with Philip Seymour Hoffman’s in M:I 3. Hoffman was cold and menacing; Cavill is ruthless and feral. He might just be my favorite one-off character in the whole franchise.
When I first heard Jeremy Renner wasn’t returning, I was disappointed and wondered how they’d address Brandt’s absence. As it turns out, they didn’t — and they didn’t need to. The film works so well without him that his absence barely registers. Later, I found out that Renner was offered a cameo — just to be killed off in the opening. McQuarrie wanted to kill an IMF member early on but didn’t want to touch Benji or Luther. Renner declined, and honestly, I’m glad. This means Brandt is still alive somewhere out there — and I’d love to see him (and Jane Carter from Ghost Protocol) return someday.
Fallout did the impossible — it topped its predecessors. While Dead Reckoning comes close, it doesn’t quite dethrone this one (more on that later). As we enter the 2020s, it’s time for Ethan Hunt to face a reckoning.
My Ranking: #1 out of 8