With Mission Impossible: Fallout quickly approaching, it prompted me to take look back at why the franchise is one of my favorites. It didn’t take long for me to realize it was Tom Cruise. The second reason was Tom Cruise running and the third is the phenomenal chase scenes. Each installment has a heart pounding sequence that involves Ethan Hunt doing something crazy, and subsequently Tom Cruise risking his life doing a very dangerous stunt. Here’s a list of my Top 5 Mission: Impossible chase scenes.

5. Mission: Impossible 2 – Motorcycle Chase (2000)

This scene has everything you’d want in a blockbuster chase scene. Ethan Hunt is flying down a road at full speed while firing a gun back at another guy on a bike with pinpoint accuracy. The editing for this sequence isn’t the best (thank you early 2000’s) with the bizarre cuts and random slow-motion.  This whole sequence ends with  an intense game of chicken that and a warm embrace. 

 

4. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – Marrakech Car Chase (2015)

This car chase is intense but also the chase scene with the most comedy. Benji is along for Hunt’s crazy car chase and provides all the comic relief – he’s as scared as anyone would be in that situation. Hunt’s being trailed by a group of armed motorcyclists (again) and evading them through small alleys. The crazy spin the car does in the alley is the reason these movies are so much fun to watch. The scene could’t be more ridiculous until ends with Hunt’s car doing more flips than an Olympic athlete.

 

3. Mission Impossible 3 – Bridge Attack Scene (2006)

The bridge attack is great because Hunt and his team are being chased and they had no idea. It’s the first on my list that features a Tom Cruise run and he’s outrunning an explosion this time. Hunt has to take down some drones and stop Owen Davian from making his escape.  This scene is Hunt desperately trying to stop something from happening but he’s all of of tricks and can’t get there in time.

2. Mission: Impossible – Tunnel Chase (1996)

This was the scene that started it all. Hunt should’ve died 1,000 times but he manages to hang on, literally. He jumps from a speeding train onto a helicopter that’s following him, plants an explosive on the helicopter and uses that explosion to catapult himself back onto the train. Well done!

 

1.  Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Sandstorm Chase Scene (2011)

This scene is peak Tom Cruise [kisses fingers]. This scene is why you pay money to see Tom Cruise movies. He outruns a sandstorm only to get lost in it. Blind, he only has the GPS on the phone to track the man he’s chasing. This leads to Hunt getting hit by the car and taken for a ride through the storm. Hunt eventually steals another car to chase the other car down. He even ghost rides the whip into another car at the end. This whole scene feels like Mad Max meets Days of Thunder.