Over the years, the pre-credits action sequences have become a staple of the Mission: Impossible franchise, with Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) often performing his boldest and most daring stunts during this window. Although some movies have taken this period to introduce the film’s overarching narrative more directly, there’s always some action sequence or subtle trick that immediately hooks the viewer in. The best Mission: Impossible movies even throw Hunt into these stunts without any warning, reminding audiences why these action films have remained so engaging throughout the years.
For those who’ve been catching up by streaming the Mission: Impossible franchise before The Final Reckoning, these pre-credits action sequences really stand out upon a rewatch. While more daring stunts like scaling the Burj Khalifa in Ghost Protocol or skydiving into a thunderstorm in Fallout may be more memorable, the pre-credits sequences have the added benefit of existing in isolation from the rest of the film. They don’t have to always “make sense”; they’re just an excuse for Mission: Impossible to do what it always does best.
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Mission: Impossible II
Ethan Goes Free Climbing
The opening sequence of Mission: Impossible II certainly deserves credit for essentially starting the tradition of putting Cruise in increasingly dangerous scenarios, but there’s no denying that it lacks the excitement of the later entries. There’s something very tense and atmospheric about seeing Hunt climbing the mountains without a harness, even if Cruise was actually strapped very securely into position. However, the sequence isn’t as fast and action-packed as some others. It feels slightly tamer than Mission: Impossible’s other great stunts and that’s partly because of how slowly and methodically it’s filmed.
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John Woo does an excellent job of creating a sense of awe and scale in this opening sequence, even if it’s not quite as nail-biting as it could have been. Certain moments stand out, such as Hunt’s free jump across cliff faces, but they’re slightly too few and far between. There’s certainly no bad pre-credits scene in the entire franchise, but this one simply doesn’t stand out as much as the others.
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Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
The Submarine Explosion
The introduction of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One immediately sets this installment as the most high-stakes entry in the franchise so far, with the threat of nuclear warfare immediately on the table as a group of scientists faces an incoming threat in a deep-sea submarine. The sequence does a brilliant job of gradually building tension and ensuring the audience knows what’s happening, but it doesn’t quite match the franchise’s previous opening scenes, primarily due to its lack of Tom Cruise.
Cruise is the biggest selling point of this entire franchise, and it’s difficult to rank this scene among the series’ best when he doesn’t actually make an appearance. Although it doesn’t take long for Hunt to join the fray when he infiltrates the CIA and reunites with Agent Kittridge, this is technically a different scene and feels very separate from the submarine explosion.
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Mission: Impossible
The Staged Interrogation
The pre-credits scene of Brian De Palma’s original Mission: Impossible doesn’t actually include a major stunt or action sequence, but it does an excellent job of establishing the series’ unique tone from the very beginning. The scene follows Emilio Estevez’s character Jack Harmon watching a recording of somebody extracting information from a person of interest before it’s revealed that the exchange is happening in real-time, and the figure is a disguised Ethan Hunt.
However, the scene is ultimately outshone by other stunts in 1996’s Mission: Impossible (such as the aquarium explosion and the Langley heist), which feel even more exciting in comparison.
What’s so brilliant about this opening sequence is that it doesn’t need action to immediately get audiences on board with the film’s over-the-top storytelling. It introduces key features like the IMF’s facial disguises and Hunt’s willingness to bend the rules for the truth, which become key motifs for the rest of the series. However, the scene is ultimately outshone by other stunts in 1996’s Mission: Impossible (such as the aquarium explosion and the Langley heist), which feel even more exciting in comparison.
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Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Budapest Rooftop Chase
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’s pre-credits sequence may be the shortest of the entire franchise. The scene introduces a handful of new characters, including Léa Seydoux’s deadly Sabine Moreau and Paula Patton’s Jane Carter, who play massive roles in the rest of the film. This feels like a much more linear and traditional spy movie prologue than Mission: Impossible is used to, but it works really effectively in contrast to the more sensationalized stunts of the later sequels.
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Still, Ghost Protocol’s pre-credits sequence is still very exciting. The scene follows a new group of IMF agents as they search for an unnamed target, which is later revealed as the nuclear codes acquired by Moreau in the scene’s conclusion. It sets the scene for both Hunt’s return to the field and Carter’s revenge subplot, all while presenting the audience with the tightly choreographed action sequence that they’ve come to expect from the series.
3
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
The Plutonium Exchange
The pre-credits sequence of Mission: Impossible – Fallout is the longest and most plot-driven one yet, but it does an excellent job of providing audiences with a general overview of the story while offering that signature charm and humor that the franchise is so beloved for. The sequence follows Ethan, Benji, and Luther as they infiltrate an exchange of three plutonium cores, which they spend the remainder of Fallout chasing down to prevent nuclear war.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout is widely considered among the best action movies of the 2010s, and bold sequences like this plutonium exchange prove why. It may not have been as dangerous to film as some other stunts, but it’s a perfect display of the franchise’s ability to weave high-octane action with grounded character work, as Hunt risks everything to keep his friends alive. This emotional core makes Fallout such a compelling sequel, and it’s perfectly executed here.
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Mission: Impossible III
Mission: Impossible III’s pre-credits sequence is a masterclass in foreshadowing. The scene actually takes place during the story’s conclusion; it’s a flashforward to the end of the film when Hunt faces off against Davian for the last time. However, the audience doesn’t know any of the context at this point, and that makes this interrogation sequence so intense.
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The sequence immediately sucks the audience into this story, taking its sweet time before it eventually catches up with the flashforward and provides all the answers they’ve been searching for since the beginning. It’s the only time Mission: Impossible has done such a blatant flashforward to create tension, but the intense dynamic between Cruise and Philip Seymour Hoffman makes it one of the franchise’s most engaging scenes ever despite the lack of stunts.
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Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Ethan Hangs From A Plane
Few stunts immediately come to mind when thinking about Mission: Impossible, and the airbus sequence at the beginning of Rogue Nation is a perfect example. This stunt marked a huge step forward for the franchise, pushing the limits of what Cruise was willing to do for these action movies.
Rogue Nation features some of the most dangerous Mission: Impossible stunts of all, and opening with the film’s most daring set piece was a very bold move that certainly paid off. This is exactly the right way to get the audience on board right from the beginning, and the sequence also stands out thanks to its use of comedy; Ethan’s repeated “open the door” and his expression when he’s caught in the cargo hold are some of the film’s funniest writing.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will be released on May 21, 2025.
Mission: Impossible
- Created by
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Bruce Geller, David Koepp, Steven Zaillian, Robert Towne, Christopher McQuarrie, Tom Cruise
Summary
The Mission: Impossible franchise is an American action spy series that began with the 1996 film Mission: Impossible and has since become one of the most successful and long-running franchises in Hollywood. The films follow Ethan Hunt, an agent of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), as he takes on various high-stakes missions around the world, often involving intricate heists, double-crosses, and death-defying stunts. The franchise is renowned for its intense action sequences, particularly those performed by Tom Cruise, who insists on doing many of his own stunts.