The latest Mission: Impossible movie, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, drops May 25, 2025—and it’s your mission, should you choose to accept it, to catch up with Ethan Hunt and watch all the action-packed layers of espionage unfold over the entire film franchise.
Whether you’re a long-time fan or a curious newcomer, seeing Tom Cruise’s death-defying stunts (especially when you see behind-the-scenes footage) is nothing short of impressive.
I recently watched Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and was reminded of how many memorable scenes the series has given us over the years, and how the last few films have upped the ante in even more ridiculous ways.
So, let’s go over how to watch all the Mission: Impossible movies in order, and I’ll point out a few standout scenes—free of spoilers.
How many Mission: Impossible movies are there?
There’s a total of eight Mission: Impossible movies, with plenty of explosive action, mask-pulling, and double-crossing waiting for you to witness across its nearly 20-year franchise history. The spy story stars Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt throughout, following the notorious secret agent across a variety of villain-ridden adventures.
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How to watch the Mission: Impossible movies in chronological order
The Mission: Impossible franchise’s chronological order follows its release order, but you may get confused among the various unique titles following Mission: Impossible III in 20006. We’ll help make it easy for you.
All you need to do is follow the JustWatch.com links below to see where to stream, rent, or buy each of the Mission: Impossible movies with streaming TV services or video-on-demand (VOD) retailers such as Prime Video and Apple TV+.
If you’re hitting the theaters for the latest installment, you can buy tickets for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning through Fandango.
List of Mission: Impossible movies in order
- Mission: Impossible (1996)
- Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
- Mission: Impossible III (2006)
- Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
- Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
- Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)
Where to watch Mission: Impossible (1996)
Ethan Hunt, superspy, finds himself framed for a mission-gone-wrong. To clear his name, he goes rogue to uncover a mole inside the Impossible Mission Force (IMF), and pull off a risky heist, in style.
Setting the tone for the franchise, the first movie of the series features the most iconic Mission: Impossible image of all time: Ethan Hunt falls while dangling from a wire, barely avoiding contact with the floor (which is not lava in this case, but an ultra-sensitive alarm trigger in a CIA vault).
Shoutout to anyone else haunted in their youth by Emilio Estevez’s elevator scene—yeesh.
Where to stream Mission: Impossible
Where to watch Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
MI:2 opens with another memorable image of Ethan Hunt free climbing amongst monumental rocks before being located by the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) for another job stealing a deadly virus. In this installment, the legendary John Woo brings in some serious slow-motion and sweeping cinematic scenes alongside sunglasses exploding, sand fighting, and other sensational spy action (motorcycle-gunfight jousting, anyone?).
Plus, it’s the only Mission: Impossible movie featuring a Limp Bizkit song—automatically bumping it to the top of many fans’ rankings.
Where to stream Mission: Impossible 2
Where to watch Mission: Impossible III (2006)
J.J. Abrams directs the third installment of Mission: Impossible, and takes Ethan Hunt to darker places than the previous films. A major part of that darkness comes from one of the greatest actors ever to grace the screen, Philip Seymour Hoffman (RIP). Hoffman plays Owen Davian, an international arms and information broker who presses his luck when it comes to a mysterious, and dangerous, object called the Rabbit’s Foot.
Where to stream Mission: Impossible III
Where to watch Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
After a(nother) mission gone wrong, the IMF is disavowed and Ethan’s team must try to stop nuclear war all on their own. As far as memorable scenes go, this one’s famous for the Burj Khalifa skyscraper climb—which Tom scaled in real life.
The fourth installment also brings in the talents of Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, and Jeremy Renner for more team-oriented missions throughout the rest of the franchise.
Where to stream Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Where to watch Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
Who among us hasn’t tried to escape prison while being handcuffed to a pole by using our pure core strength to throw ourselves over the top of it? In addition, Tom Cruise also clings to a real plane taking off for a scene. You gotta hand it to the guy, that takes major gusto.
In this installment, Ethan takes on the ominous-sounding cabal called The Syndicate and is introduced to Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), another secret agent with uncertain motives.
Where to stream Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Where to watch Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
Possibly the best film in the series, Ethan finds himself wrestling with the consequences of his choices while trying to stop (another) nuclear disaster. Overall, it’s noted for its character depth and, ostensibly, its intense action.
Plus, this film is the source of the laughably cool scene where Henry Cavill decides to “reload” his arms like a shotgun during the bathroom fight. (Just try it.)
Where to stream Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Where to watch Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
The kickoff to the two-part finale, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning features Ethan and co. tracking down a new dangerous form of artificial intelligence before it falls into the wrong hands. We got knife fights, car chases through Rome, and the big, bad motorcycle cliff jump stunt (that Tom wanted to do his whole life). It’s a solid and sleek take that sets the stage for this year’s conclusive Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning.
Where to stream Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Where to watch Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)
The one to end it all, Ethan Hunt and team’s adventures culminate by facing their biggest challenge yet: an evolving artificial intelligence that can completely subvert global power structures and destroy mankind. With an uncertain future and loose ends to wrap up, the team sets out for their final high-stakes mission.
Though we may never see another Mission: Impossible with Tom Cruise after this, we expect to witness some of the biggest stunt spectacles in the entire franchise—and film industry—to date.
