I think part of what makes the Mission: Impossible film series work so well (setting aside the most recent entry for a minute here) is how they completely sidestep this "It was his plan all along!" trope. NOTHING in the Mission: Impossible films goes to plan. It's a constant hire-wire act of Ethan Hunt desperately holding things together. People like to poke fun at the meme of Tom Cruise Always Running. But in the M:I films, he's usually running because Benny is incompetent, the gadgets break down, the dame has betrayed them, and the cocky upstart unplugged Ethan's oxygen hose just to be a dick! I think you can chart how good each film is based on just how annoyed Ethan Hunt is.
I think part of what makes the Mission: Impossible film series work so well (setting aside the most recent entry for a minute here) is how they completely sidestep this "It was his plan all along!" trope. NOTHING in the Mission: Impossible films goes to plan. It's a constant hire-wire act of Ethan Hunt desperately holding things together. People like to poke fun at the meme of Tom Cruise Always Running. But in the M:I films, he's usually running because Benny is incompetent, the gadgets break down, the dame has betrayed them, and the cocky upstart unplugged Ethan's oxygen hose just to be a dick! I think you can chart how good each film is based on just how annoyed Ethan Hunt is.