The Mission: Impossible franchise has some of the most quotable lines of the action genre and continues to improve with each new movie. If the James Bond movies set the formula for action movies, the Mission: Impossible films perfected it. Finding the perfect balance between iconic touch-and-go lines and effective punch lines, every entry in the franchise has one or two mic drops, three to five emotional statements, and a bucket of quips.
A major reason for this is the execution. Even the cheesiest lines are given proper context to make them epic or natural-sounding. With so many famous lines from Mission: Impossible, the action gets a whole new meaning. The movies aren't just about hand-to-hand combats and thrilling stunts: there's also plenty of thoughtful dialogue. The greatest quotes of the Mission: Impossible franchise are hilarious, brilliant, epic -- they reveal a lot about the characters who say them.
Updated on May 14, 2024, by Arthur Goyaz: Mission: Impossible remains one of the most consistent Hollywood franchises out there, determined to innovate with awe-inspiring stunts and anxiety-inducing sequences. Beyond the action, the franchise has delivered various memorable lines. This list was updated to add more exciting quotes from the Mission: Impossible franchise and to meet CBR's current formatting standards.
20 "Kittridge, You've Never Seen Me Very Upset"
Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible
Kittridge, you've never seen me very upset.
Mission Impossible Needs to Stop Its Revolving Door of Women
The Mission Impossible franchise's decades of blockbusters have one thing in common; they each fail to create female characters independent of Hunt.As the main character, Ethan is the greatest character in Mission: Impossible, but his fragile state of mind only gets worse as the franchise progresses. He's always willing to give his own life to save the ones he loves, yet somehow, he always ends up losing someone and surviving in the end. This trauma haunts the Mission: Impossible hero since the first movie, when he's the sole survivor of a mission that targets each and every one of his teammates.
One of Mission: Impossible's most famous lines is delivered in an intense dialogue between Ethan and Kittridge in the first movie. Not only does Ethan lose all of his friends, he's accused by his boss of betraying them. The anxiety-inducing scene at a diner is conducted using claustrophobic Dutch angles to intensify what Ethan and Kittridge say to each other. When Kittridge suggests that Ethan is upset, he retorts by claiming Kittridge has never seen him upset, implying that even after everything Ethan's been through, there's still space for more anger.
19 "A Nuclear Bomb is Something You Bother Me with Immediately"
Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
A nuclear bomb is something you bother me with immediately.
Humor has always been a recurring trademark of the Mission: Impossible franchise, often used to alleviate the tension in each film's most anxiety-inducing moments. In Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Ethan and his team go to Abu Dhabi International Airport in an attempt to retrieve the Sevastopol key, but the task turns out to be harder than they anticipated. Obstacles include an opposing thief, US agents, and suspicious targets.
In order to focus on his mission, Ethan asks not to be bothered, unaware that a nuclear bomb is threatening to blow up the whole airport. The punch line comes when Benji casually mentions the existence of the deadly device, and how they likely won't disarm it in time. The incident illustrates the strength of Ethan's position as a leader as seen by his peers, but also puts Ethan in a difficult position, bringing about the grave, yet hilarious quote.
18 "If You Care About Him, You Should Walk Away"
Luther Stickell, Mission: Impossible - Fallout
If you care about him, you should walk away.
Mission: Impossible - Fallout brings the franchise to a whole new level. This installment is no longer about the characters facing global-scale threats and saving the world, but also about saving themselves. The film opens with Ethan torn between stopping the Apostles, preventing thousands of lives from a tragic fate, or saving Luther, his long-time friend who's been around since the first Mission: Impossible.
The fact that Ethan chooses Luther over his mission adds an emotional depth to the Mission: Impossible franchise that hasn't been around since Ethan's wife Julia was introduced in the third movie. In a key moment of Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Luther and Ilsa talk about Ethan's fate and his relationship with Ilsa. This great Mission: Impossible dialogue is a welcoming breather from non-stop action to delve into the repressed feelings of the characters: Luther breaks down in tears trying to warn Ilsa that, if she loves Ethan, she should let him go. This line hits even harder after Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, where Ethan fails to save Ilsa in time.
17 "I Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny Details Of Any Operation..."
William Brandt, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
I can neither confirm nor deny details of any operation without the Secretary's approval.
Despite being a newcomer to the team, William Brandt shows his loyalty and commitment time and again. For example, when he's questioned during a Senate committee hearing in Rogue Nation, he merely gives the same diplomatic reply over and over. Despite the intense questions and the evidence being thrown at him, he refuses to spill the tea on his friends.
Brandt's dedication already makes this line memorable. What makes it awesome is the movie's ending. At another Senate committee hearing, he repeats the line one final time, not as a desperate man trying to protect his friends, but as a confident declaration. It's the perfect cherry to top an impressive victory, and makes fans miss Jeremy Renner's character in Mission: Impossible even more.
16 "Not 'In' the Plane, 'On' the Plane"
Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Not 'in' the plane, 'on' the plane.
A signature feature of the Mission: Impossible franchise is the life-threatening stunts Tom Cruise undergoes, including dangling on the outside of a plane as it takes off. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation springs into action right in the opening scene as Ethan and his team resort to desperate measures to intercept a shipment of nerve gas addressed to the Syndicate.
Technology has saved Ethan multiple times in Mission: Impossible, but Ethan is frequently forced to take matters into his own hands when things don't go as planned. As Benji fails to hack the plane's system in time, the Syndicate's Airbus 400 sets off and Ethan clings to the plane door. The moments before the door opens feel like an eternity, and Ethan leaves his team on the brink of despair when he explains that, as the plane leaves the ground, he's still "on" the plane.
15 "Mission Accomplished!"
Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Mission Accomplished!
What Mission: Impossible Can Learn From James Bond
Mission Impossible's Ethan Hunt is almost a perfect counterpart to James Bond, but his movies lack one key ingredient that make the 007 films thrive.The climactic fight of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol ends with Ethan crawling out of a crashed car to the button that will disarm a nuclear missile. He pauses a moment before declaring, "Mission accomplished!" and smacking the button. Later on, Ethan and his team laugh about the corny line.
Given that this line was a staple in the old Mission: Impossible TV series, it's amazing that the filmmakers made three movies before using it. The payoff, however, was excellent. If the filmmakers had tried to force it, it would've come off as cheesy. Instead, they waited for the perfect context to use it, which resulted in an epic one-liner and a welcoming nod to the TV series that inspired the Hollywood franchise.
14 "I'm Jumping Out A Window!"
Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible - Fallout
I'm jumping uut a window!
It wouldn't be Mission: Impossible without an intense chase scene. The chase scene in Fallout takes Ethan Hunt over rooftops as he tries to follow his team's directions. When the chase takes him out a window, however, Ethan pauses. This prompts his team to ask what the holdup is, and Ethan shouts, "I'm jumping out a window!"
This line is both relatable and funny because Ethan's reaction is very human. He's going to do it, but he needs a moment to build up his courage. What makes it better is that Ethan's doing it in front of a group of horrified office workers who have no idea what's going on. What follows is one of the countless great sequences of Ethan running unbelievable distances.
13 "I Am the Storm."
Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible - Fallout
I am the storm.
Mission Impossible - Fallout opens with Ethan Hunt being given a new mission. An unknown agent knocks on his door and recites the beginnings of a passcode: "Fate whispers to the warrior, a storm is coming. And the warrior whispers back…" Ethan finishes the passcode with "I am the storm" and brings his face into the light.
This is one of the most chilling openings of the entire franchise for many reasons. Ethan's nightmare before receiving the mission, the grimy, rain-soaked night and the cold, harsh light of the projector in the dark room all create an ominous atmosphere. Ethan's epic delivery of this line, however, tops it all. No matter how strong evil is, he's always ready to bring the thunder.
12 "What's Done Is Done When We Say It's Done"
Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible - Fallout
What's done is done when we say it's done.
Unlike many other action movie franchises similar to Mission: Impossible, Tom Cruise's protagonist is both a fighter and a planner. Although Ethan Hunt is a tough fighter, he's also a master strategist. He's nailed some of his best victories just by using his wits. Audiences are treated to one such victory in Mission: Impossible - Fallout.
The interrogation of Debruuk, a man linked to recent nuclear attacks, is tense and emotional. Ethan desperately needs information and has no choice but to give in to Debruuk's demands. Debruuk laughs, saying that it won't help and that what's done is done. Except, it isn't. Ethan reveals that the entire scene had been a ruse and declares, "What's done is done when I say it's done." Ethan is not a man anyone wants to play poker with.
11 "Human Nature. My Weapon of Choice"
Solomon Lane, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Human nature. My weapon of choice
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation introduces Solomon Lane, one of the most memorable villains in the franchise. Lane is the antagonist who comes the closest to accomplishing his evil goals, even returning as a secondary villain in the next movie. He's ruthless, crafty, and single-minded in his goals. He also has some great lines in the movie, but his best is "Human nature. My weapon of choice."
The line is a perfect mix of arrogance and cynicism. Solomon Lane views human nature as inherently faulty and easy to predict and manipulate. Lane's villainy is part of what makes Rogue Nation one of the highest-rated Mission: Impossible movies of the franchise. At the same time, he puts himself on a pedestal, seeing himself as being above human weakness. This arrogance becomes Lane's downfall when he proves just as easy to manipulate as any human.