Mission: Impossible – 5 Best Storylines In The Series (& 5 Most Hated)

Mission: Impossible has set a high bar for action franchises, and while some of the missions have been memorable, others are totally hated.

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You’ll need to search far to find films that are similar to Mission: Impossible. This series has managed to present multiple storylines within each film that serve as both subplots and character arcs. All these combined make for the overarching plot of the whole series.

The storytelling quality of the Mission: Impossible movies is pretty underrated, seeing as they’ve pulled off these angles very well with superbly executed payoffs. That’s not to say everything’s perfect, though, as there are multiple storylines that didn’t hit the high notes as the films would have wanted. Before Mission: Impossible 7 joins the fold, it’s worth checking these stories out.

10 Best: The Ghost Protocol

The reason why Ghost Protocol is rated as the best in the series is because of its fast-paced storytelling. This involved the Ghost Protocol situation, where Ethan and his small crew were disavowed and had to clear their names.

It was a hit with fans because it didn’t waste time in having Ethan chase MacGuffins or be in some melodramatic plot. Instead, each main character was highlighted as they had the mission of stopping a global catastrophe and the challenge of gelling together as a unit. A clean and simple story that paid off in spades.

9 Hated: Alan Hunley’s Prejudice Against The IMF

One way you could argue the series has gotten worse is the abundance of authority figures who are antagonistic toward Ethan. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation had Hunley at the IMF’s throats, an angle that was more infuriating than anything else.

This was because the audience knew how valuable Ethan and his team were, meaning Hunley’s prejudice just came across as a needless scenario since fans knew he was wrong all along. Having him be a constant thorn on the IMF’s side was very distracting to the main plot.

8 Best: Jane Carter’s Vengeance For Her Lover

There needed to be an added motivation for the new characters in the franchise during Ghost Protocol. Jane got her arc when Trevor Hanaway was killed, who was revealed to be her former lover. Not only did it tie in well with Hanaway’s opening death scene, but it also gave Jane the motivation to remain in the story.

Her character was instantly likable due to her emotional connection to the mission, along with making a link with the secondary antagonist in Sabine. It was a great arc that ultimately brought her peace when the mission was concluded.

7 Hated: Ethan And Claire’s Attraction

There was no need for a love interest for Ethan in the first Mission: Impossible. The film itself seemed unsure if it wanted any romance for him, seeing as Ethan was frequently seen having an attraction for Claire but nothing materializing from this.

It would’ve made sense had Claire shown any genuine feelings for him. Instead, she betrayed him like any other villain, and her odd indecision was pretty much pointless. The potential romance would’ve been passable had the story actually focused on it rather than simply bait the audience.

6 Best: Ethan Settling For A Married Life

While he didn’t ultimately stay in a domesticated environment, Mission: Impossible III’s story had to do with Ethan transitioning from full-time fieldwork into a stable position. This was a worthy angle at the time, as Ethan had been seen in way too much action during Mission: Impossible 2.

The story also developed Ethan further as a character, with the audience seeing how he had the capacity to love someone independent of his life as an IMF agent. The climactic confrontation involving Julia in the mix made for a good clash between Ethan’s agent life and his personal one.

5 Hated: Jim Phelps’ Betrayal

Considered by most younger viewers as a hidden detail in the first film, Phelps’ betrayal was actually a big bombshell. That’s because Phelps was a major character in the TV series, where it was established that he was a good man who wouldn’t betray his role as the IMF’s director.

Due to this, fans weren’t pleased when Phelps was made out to be the villain. Not only was he the baddie, his story saw him betray his own IMF team. This made his years’ worth of screentime in the TV series meaningless, a fact that doesn’t do good for continuity purposes.

4 Best: William Brandt’s Guilt

William Brandt is recognized as one of the most badass characters in the series. However, being cool alone wouldn’t have done the trick, as it would’ve made him a flat character. Ghost Protocol did splendidly by adding Brandt’s arc of trying to make up for Julia’s supposed murder.

Believing she died on his watch, Brandt spent the movie being a mysterious character whom the audience wanted to know more about. It also served as a hook for viewers to remain invested until the end to find out just what happened to Julia, and the payoff was definitely worth it.

3 Hated: Pursuit Of Lark’s Identity

Sure, the pursuit of Lark did result in many of the best stunt sequences in the series, but it was far too convoluted from a storytelling perspective. There was no shock value to be found here, as it was obvious from the start that August Walker would be the real John Lark.

The annoying part of it all was how the story tried to twist the reveal around, resulting in a totally lame sequence where multiple people were shown duping one another. Lark worked well as a villain, but the whole chase after him was unremarkable.

2 Best: Ilsa Faust’s Road To Redemption

Ilsa’s arc has served as a refreshing change for a female character’s arc. Rather than be presented purely as a love interest or a girl to be saved, her storyline from Rogue Nation to Fallout had to do with proving her true loyalties and clearing her name.

This extended plotline not only presented Ilsa’s background and justified her status as a triple agent, but also made her relatable to the audience through her need to redeem herself. Her love story with Ethan can be seen as a bonus, although Ilsa’s personal journey has been a bigger hit.

1 Hated: Ethan And Julia’s Divorce

One of the reasons why the sixth film is considered better than the fourth is because it brings Julia back in full. However, her story with Ethan, spanning all the way from the third to the sixth movie, had a poor payoff where it was revealed they had divorced.

This made the plot of Mission: Impossible III meaningless, along with ruining the weight behind the ending of Ghost Protocol. The storyline also didn’t benefit either character, as Ethan went back to what he was doing for years, and Julia could’ve been the doctor she was while still being married to Ethan.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/mission-impossible-best-storylines-series/