Mission: Impossible Secure Trademark

On Friday, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation hits theaters. As we have written before, trademarks are important to blockbuster movies, a fact not lost on Paramount Pictures. Indeed, the studio has obtained six trademark registrations related to the Mission: Impossible franchise and has a pending application for Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. More like mission not so impossible.

We could go on-and-on about how business owners should be like Paramount Pictures and protect their trademarks, but you already know that. Instead, let’s rank the four Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible movies that have already infiltrated popular culture:

4. Mission: Impossible 2

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 58%

Does anyone remember M:I 2? Not that it exists, but what happened? Anything? Lowest Rotten Tomatoes Rating. More crushingly, lowest ranking on The Root.

3. Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%

Tom Cruise + Burj Khalifa = Hit movie

2. Mission: Impossible 3

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 70%

Most action movies follow the same formula. One that ends with the hero succeeding. The best ones make you question whether the hero will prevail. Thanks to the acting brilliance of Philip Seymour Hoffman (RIP) playing the lead villain, the stakes in this installment felt real. PSH’s performance plus this epic Cruise one-liner (at 0:36) earn M:I 3 our No. 2 ranking.

1. Mission: Impossible

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 62%

The masks, the Jon Voight, the return of the epic theme, and this iconic scene are enough to earn the 1996 blockbuster our top spot.

NR. Mission: Impossible The Television Series

NR. Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91% (as of posting)

You had us at Tom Cruise riding the side of an airplane. The Trust Tree team has high hopes for Rogue Nation. If you really want to get fired up for some M:I action, check out this version of the theme song by The Piano Guys and Lindsey Stirling.