Before Tom Cruise throws himself off another mountain (literally), it’s time to catch up on everything that’s happened in the Mission: Impossible series. Seven films, one relentless spy, and countless impossible missions, here’s the full story so far, leading up to The Final Reckoning.
Mission: Impossible (1996)
The series begins in classic ‘90s spy thriller fashion. Mission: Impossible introduces us to Ethan Hunt, an IMF agent working under the leadership of Jim Phelps. Their latest mission is simple on paper: stop a mole from stealing a secret list containing the identities of every undercover agent in the field. But it goes south almost immediately. Within minutes, Ethan’s entire team is wiped out in a brutal ambush, and he’s left as the lone survivor and the prime suspect.
Now on the run, Ethan must clear his name, and he does it the only way he knows how: with stealth, intelligence, and a little bit of impossible. He breaks into CIA headquarters in one of the most iconic heist scenes in film history: The silent vault drop. Ethan follows a trail of clues that leads to a shocking revelation. Jim Phelps, the man who trained him, is alive and behind it all. He faked his death, framed Ethan, and tried to sell out the agency. In the end, Ethan exposes Phelps, clears his name, and proves one thing: never underestimate Tom Cruise.
Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
The second film shifts gears, embracing slow-motion action and hyper-stylized stunts courtesy of director John Woo. Now operating solo, Ethan is tasked with stopping rogue IMF agent Sean Ambrose, who has stolen a genetically engineered virus called Chimera and its cure. Ambrose plans to unleash the virus and profit off the cure, making himself a billionaire at the cost of millions of lives.
To stop him, Ethan recruits Nya, a skilled thief and Ambrose’s ex to get close to the villain. In a desperate act of courage, Nya infects herself with Chimera to prevent Ambrose from unleashing it immediately. The story builds to a dramatic showdown filled with motorcycle duels, flying kicks, and beachside beatdowns. It’s the most over-the-top entry in the franchise, but beneath the flair, it reinforces one thing: Ethan Hunt is willing to risk everything for a single life.
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
With J.J. Abrams behind the camera, Mission: Impossible III grounds the series in emotional stakes and character depth. Ethan is now semi-retired, training new recruits and settling down with his fiancée Julia. But peace doesn’t last long. A terrifying arms dealer named Owen Davian emerges, and Ethan is pulled back in to stop him from selling a weapon known only as the “Rabbit’s Foot.”
The mission sends Ethan across the globe from a Vatican infiltration to a wild chase through Shanghai as he scrambles to stop Davian and protect Julia, who’s been kidnapped as leverage. Davian is one of the franchise’s most chilling villains: cold, calm, and methodically cruel. Ethan’s desperation to save Julia leads to some of the most intense sequences yet, including a daring rescue and an improvised surgery to deactivate a brain bomb. In the end, he defeats Davian, secures the Rabbit’s Foot, and reveals his secret identity to Julia opening up a new, more personal chapter in his life.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
After three entries, the series goes full blockbuster with Ghost Protocol, directed by Brad Bird. The story kicks off with Ethan imprisoned, only to be broken out by his new team for a mission that quickly spirals into chaos. The Kremlin is bombed during their op, and the blame falls on the IMF. The agency is shut down, and Ghost Protocol is activated meaning no support, no resources, and no margin for error.
Ethan and his team including tech expert Benji, field agent Jane Carter, and analyst Brandt are now rogue agents trying to stop a nuclear extremist named Kurt Hendricks. He believes triggering global war will lead to peace. The team chases him from Dubai to Mumbai, with unforgettable action set pieces along the way, including Ethan’s death-defying climb up the Burj Khalifa with failing suction gloves and a high-speed sandstorm pursuit. The stakes are global, but the mission is deeply personal. Ghost Protocol redefined the franchise with humor, style, and scale, while firmly establishing Ethan’s refusal to ever give up.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
With Rogue Nation, director Christopher McQuarrie joins the franchise and begins shaping it into a tightly woven, interconnected world. This time, Ethan faces the Syndicate, a rogue network of former spies who operate like a shadow IMF. Their goal is global destabilization through precision strikes and assassinations. But no one believes Ethan, and the CIA wants to shut down the IMF entirely.
On the run yet again, Ethan crosses paths with Ilsa Faust, a brilliant and mysterious MI6 agent whose loyalties are unclear. The two form a fragile alliance built on mutual respect, survival, and more than a little chemistry. The story culminates in a tense showdown where Ethan traps the Syndicate’s leader, Solomon Lane, in a glass chamber beneath the city. With its espionage twists, elegant choreography, and deeper philosophical questions like who holds spies accountable. Rogue Nation solidifies the franchise’s transformation into something more than just stunts and explosions.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
If Rogue Nation built the world, Fallout blows it wide open. After Ethan chooses to save Luther instead of securing stolen plutonium, three nuclear weapons fall into the wrong hands. The Apostles, a fanatical splinter group from the Syndicate are ready to unleash mass destruction. Solomon Lane returns, and joining the chaos is August Walker, a deadly CIA agent played by Henry Cavill, who may be more dangerous than the enemy.
What follows is a symphony of action: a high-altitude HALO jump over Paris, a vicious bathroom brawl, a nail-biting motorcycle chase through traffic, and a finale involving helicopters, cliffs, and a ticking nuclear bomb. At its core, though, Fallout is about Ethan’s code that no life is expendable, no matter the cost. Julia returns, and her life becomes collateral in the mission, raising the emotional stakes higher than ever. Ethan survives (barely) and saves the world once more, reaffirming why he’s the only man for the job.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
The most recent chapter, Dead Reckoning, introduces the most modern threat yet: an AI called the Entity. This isn’t just a villain it’s an evolving, invisible force capable of manipulating data, surveillance, and world governments. Every nation wants control of it, and Ethan’s mission is to stop it from falling into the wrong hands.
To do that, he must track down a two-part key that can unlock the Entity’s core. Along the way, he meets Grace, a clever thief played by Hayley Atwell, who becomes an unwilling ally. Ilsa returns, as do familiar IMF faces, but the danger is bigger than anything they’ve faced before. Gabriel a ghost from Ethan’s past is working with the Entity, and he’s as ruthless as they come.
From airport chases to sword fights on bridges, and from mind games to the jaw-dropping stunt where Tom Cruise drives a motorcycle off a cliff and lands on a moving train, this film is a rollercoaster. It ends on a massive cliffhanger: the key is still missing, the Entity is evolving, and Ethan’s fight is far from over.
The Final Reckoning Awaits
Seven films in, the stakes have never been higher. The lines between man and machine, truth and manipulation, are blurring. Every mission, every ally, every loss, it’s all been building toward The Final Reckoning.
Will Ethan Hunt finally stop the Entity? Can the IMF survive the world it helped shape? And most importantly… will Tom Cruise ever slow down?
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