“Mission: Impossible” Recap: Every Movie Explained Before the Final ReckoningEverything That’s Happened in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ Movies

One of the biggest action franchises in movie history is set to come to a (possible) conclusion.

While star Tom Cruise hasn’t explicitly stated whether or not the series is kaput, “Mission: Impossible’s” latest effort is bound to be as exhilarating as ever. Over the course of eight movies, Cruise’s Ethan Hunt has been disavowed at least six separate times, lost a couple of loves and teammates, and has even gone rogue. 

But what exactly led us to the “Final Reckoning?”

Below, you can find a refresher of every “Mission: Impossible” movie. Who joined in what outings, their fates, what stunts made up the set pieces of the movie, and more.

“Mission: Impossible”

Director Brian De Palma helmed the first movie. The initial outing involved Hunt taking charge of an IMF team (Impossible Mission Force) after their original leader Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) is seemingly killed. The rest of the team is also picked off one after another. Hunt is tasked by IMF boss Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) to find the mole that leaked a list containing the agents’ names. Hunt teams with Franz Krieger (Jean Reno) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) as well as his previous team leader’s wife, Claire Phelps (Emmanuelle Beart), in order to get the list from the CIA. An intensely quiet wire heist leads to the team scoring the list. 

Using cryptic Biblical messages, the mole is revealed to be the not-so-dead Phelps. Krieger tries to betray Hunt; he fails. A showdown on a train leads to Claire Phelps being revealed to have been working with her husband the entire time. Both are killed during an action sequence. Hunt and Luther are reinstated in the IMF.

Team: Claire Phelps, Franz Krieger, and Luther Stickell
Mask Reveals: Four
Stunt: Hunt hangs by a wire

“Mission: Impossible 2”

John Woo took on directorial duties for a movie that doesn’t adhere to the traditional “Mission: Impossible” look. Hunt is tasked with taking down rogue IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) who is the sole owner of the cure to a bioweapon and the bioweapon itself that he’ll try to sell back to the pharmaceutical company that created them. 

Luther and helicopter pilot Billy Baird (John Polson) join Hunt and professional thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandiwe Newton) as they try to recover the viruses. Through a very messy honeypot situation – complete with betrayals, mask removals, and Woo’s slick yet adept 90’s action directing – Nyah injects herself with the bioweapon. Hunt fights Ambrose on a beach, almost takes a knife to the eye, and is able to save Nyah by giving her the cure. Hunt gets the IMF to clear Nyah’s past and the two enjoy a vacation together.  

Team: Billy Baird, Nyah Nordoff-Hall and Luther Stickell

Mask Reveals: Three

Stunt: Hunt free climbs.

“Mission: Impossible III”

J.J. Abrams takes charge of this effort, turning the franchise in a more approachable action direction. A retired Hunt is now engaged to Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan), a nurse who doesn’t know Hunt’s true past.. IMF director of operations John Musgrave (Billy Crudup) tasks Hunt to go on a rescue mission in order to save Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell) after she is captured by arms dealer Owen Davian (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), who is looking for an item call the “Rabbit’s Foot.” Musgrave has already pulled a team together for Hunt including Declan Gormley (Johnathan Rhys Meyers), Zhen Lei (Maggie Q), and Luther.0

 The team is unable to save Farris after Hunt delivers what he believes to be the real “Rabbit’s Foot” to the arms dealer. Davian then kidnaps Meade, who finds out Hunt is an IMF agent. Davian seemingly shoots Meade and leaves her for dead. Musgrave arrives to reveal he has been working with Davian in order to preemptively use the “Rabbit’s Foot” against terrorists. Hunt finds out Meade wasn’t actually shot. He escapes from Musgrave and tasks IMF technician Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) to help find Meade. After a fight that leaves Davian dead, Hunt free’s Meade before dying himself. She kills a henchman then Musgrave before bringing Hunt back to life with a defibrillator. The two get healed up at the IMF offices before heading off on their honeymoon.

Team: Declan Gormley, Zhen Lei, Benji Dunn and Stickell
Mask Reveals: Two
Stunt: Hunt slides down the side of a building.

“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”

After a fellow IMF agent with newly acquired nuclear codes is killed in action by assassin Sabine Moreau (Lea Seydoux), Hunt is extracted from his current mission in order to find out what happened. Joining him this go are William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), Jane Carter (Paula Patton), Dunn and Stickell. Hunt is framed for blowing up the Kremlin by Russian nuclear strategist Kurt “Cobalt” Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist). The team then has to initiate “Ghost Protocol” in order to find out why Cobalt is setting the IMF up to fail. They infiltrate the meeting where Cobalt’s henchmen and the assassin are set to exchange the codes for diamonds. But the machine that makes masks breaks, which leads to a teeth-gritting set of meetings in two different rooms. Hunt climbs the side of the Burj Khalifa before chasing a henchman who is revealed to be Cobalt in a mask into a sandstorm, and Carter kills the assassin.

Cobalt wants to start nuclear warfare by destroying San Francisco with a missile from a Russian submarine. The team is able to get the mission accomplished. Sticketll, who was on assignment, gets the lowdown of the entire ordeal before it’s revealed that Hunt and Meade are separated. He watches from afar as she enjoys a night out with friends.

Team: William Brandt, Jane Carter, Benji Dunn and Stickell
Mask Reveals: Two
Stunt: Hunt climbs the Burj Khalifa.

“Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”

Writer Christopher McQuarrie – who is credited with rewrites of “Ghost Protocol” – takes over the series from this point forward, giving the movies a singular voice and story that reverberate for the remainder of the series. Hunt and his team along with disavowed MI-6 agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) must take down The Syndicate, a secret team of rogue operatives from different agencies while working under the thumb of Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin). 

They’re led by Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) who wants to kill millions in order to create a more peaceful Earth. Hunt is captured by Lane’s men but Faust, working undercover, helps him escape. She’s trying to rob an underwater vault where Lane is keeping the names of all the operatives for The Syndicate. With the help of Hunt, she’s able to do it but she betrays Hunt in order to turn the list into MI-6 so she can have her life back. The plan doesn’t work but Benji was able to copy the data before Faust stole it. The file is revealed to actually by a monetary account with billions of dollars that Hunt believes Lane will use to fund The Syndicate. Lane chases Hunt through London before being trapped by the IMF and carted away to jail.

Team: Ilsa Faust, Brandt, Dunn and Stickell
Mask Reveals: Two
Stunt: Hunt hangs from a plane.

“Mission: Impossible – Fallout”

The Syndicate is now called The Apostles and they do terrorist work. Hunt fails to obtain three plutonium cores while managing to save Luther’s life. The CIA, led by Erika Sloane (Anglea Bassett), wants to keep an eye on the IMF disbanded against Hunley’s wishes. Hunt and CIA operative August Walker (Henry Cavill) must go to Paris in order to intercept the exchange of the plutonium. After a brawl in a nightclub leaves the buyer dead and Faust is revealed to be working on the same mission for MI-6, the three infiltrate a backroom where broker Alanna Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby) is set to purchase the nuclear items. 

Hunt assumes the identity of the buyer as Mitsopolis tells him that he will only receive the entire set if he’s able to rescue the Apostle’s leader, Lane, while he’s being transported by police escort. Hunt begrudgingly accepts but plans to betray the Apostles and Mitsopolis by kidnapping Lane with the help of Beji and Luther. The team brings Lane to London but are stopped by the CIA after Walker gives Sloane fake evidence saying Hunt really is the buyer for the plutonium and plans to use it. Waker goes on the run after betraying the CIA and IMF and runs off with the plutonium in order to use it for the Apostles. 

He and Lane plan to use the two bombs at a medical camp in Kasmir that happens to be where Julia Meade and her new husband, Erik (Wes Bently), are stationed. Luther, Benji and Faust must disable the bombs while Hunt goes after the detonator. With the help of Meade, Luther starts dismantling the first bomb. Lane tries to kill Benji and Faust but fails. The two then start working on the second bomb. Hunt fights Walker on the side of a cliff, gets the detonator, and saves the world.

Team: August Walker, Faust, Dunn and Stickell
Mask Reveals: Two
Stunt: Hunt performs a Halo jump

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”

An artificial intelligence named The Entity becomes sentient after coming online. Hunt goes to find the two keys that were used to turn it on as they are the only way to get to AI’s source code. While in the Arabian Desert, he finds one key and pretends to kill Faust, who is still disavowed and now has a bounty on her head. Later, Hunt infiltrates a U.S. Intelligence Community meeting where he gets former IMF and current CIA director Eugene Kittridge to admit he put the bounty on Faust’s head. Benji and Luther help Hunt track down the second key at the Abu Dhabi International Airport. The key is revealed to be a fake as thief Grace (Hayley Atwell), steals the first key from Hunt while Benji and Luther disarm a fake nuclear bomb. A ghost from Hunt’s past named Gabriel (Esai Morales) who works for The Entity causes the team to abort their mission. 

The CIA – led by Jasper Briggs (Shea Whigham) and Theo Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis) – chases Hunt and Grace before Hunt reconnects with his team as Grace escapes on her own. Faust returns and she and Hunt go to confront Mitsopolis who hired Grace to steal the keys in order to sell them. Failing to get Mitsopolis to not go through with the sale to Gabriel, everyone escapes the tense situation. The Entity tricks Hunt, leading Faust to her death at the hand of Gabriel. Hunt is pursued by assassin Paris (Pom Klementieff), who is Gabriel’s hired muscle. Hunt spares her in a fight. 

While on The Orient Express, Mitsopolis is set to sell the keys but she is taken out by Grace who impersonates her. The disguised Grace negotiates the sale to none other than Kittridge before pickpocketing the keys and running away with the money. The train goes off the rails as Hunt boards using a parachute. Hunt is informed by a dying Paris what the keys do. He and Grace escape the train as the CIA closes in on the two. Gabriel is then pickpocketed by Hunt during a fight and the IMF operative sets off to destroy The Entity.

Team: Grace, Faust, Dunn and Stickell
Mask Reveals: Three
Stunt: Hunt takes a leap of faith off of a cliff and onto a moving train

The post “Mission: Impossible” Recap: Every Movie Explained Before the Final ReckoningEverything That’s Happened in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ Movies appeared first on EntertainmentNow.