You Should Watch Tom Cruise’s Underrated Mission: Impossible Movie Before It Leaves Netflix

Your mission, Tom Cruise fans, should you choose to accept it, is to watch one of the most underrated Mission: Impossible movies on Netflix before it’s removed from the streaming service in a few weeks.

The Mission: Impossible film franchise, which is based on the 1966 television series, began in 1996 with the Brian De Palma-directed movie. With all eight films in the franchise starring Cruise as Ethan Hunt, the first Mission: Impossible was followed by 2000’s Mission: Impossible 2, 2006’s Mission: Impossible III, 2011’s Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, 2015’s Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, 2018’s Mission: Impossible — Fallout, 2023’s Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, and 2025’s Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.

What underrated Mission: Impossible movie is leaving Netflix soon?

While there are no two identical rankings of the Mission: Impossible movies, one of the most underrated films in the franchise is undoubtedly Mission: Impossible III. The film is currently available to stream on Netflix; however, it’ll be removed from the streaming platform on April 30, 2026.

Mission: Impossible III received mostly positive reviews from critics at the time of its release. Having said that, it’s Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer score is 73 percent, while all the other sequels that came after it are in the 80s or 90s. It’s well-liked but not necessarily well-remembered, as many see it as just a taste of what’s to come in the later sequels.

The film, though, is quite good and offers a unique take that none of the other sequels dive into: Can Ethan be both a spy and have a happy home life? The ultimate conclusion that the movie arrives at is “no, he can’t,” but seeing him try to save the world and have some peace with Michelle Monaghan’s Julia Meade humanizes Ethan in a way we never really see again. It’s a unique take, and while Ethan then largely becomes more and more of a Jesus figure as we get into the Reckonings, J.J. Abrams’ take on the franchise is a refreshing one.

Of course, you also get that awesome sequence at the Vatican that just becomes more and more fun to watch over the years. Philip Seymour Hoffman is, without a doubt, the best villain we’ve had in a Mission: Impossible movie to date, with his “I’m going to hurt her” speech being some absolutely incredible and chilling delivery on his part. Simon Pegg’s Benji is also introduced in this movie.

There’s a lot to love about Mission: Impossible III, and Cruise fans are going to either want to watch it or rewatch it in the coming weeks before it leaves Netflix.

Source: Comingsoon.net