Every Mission Impossible Villain Ranked From Worst To Best

The first film in what has ended up being one of the great action franchises worked so well thanks to its delicious array of twists that one genuinely didn't see coming. The best twist of all was that the wife of Jim Phelps, Claire, was actually a joint mastermind in a criminal operation designed to make millions through the selling of State secrets. What makes the twist work so well is the delicious performance of Emmanuelle Béart, whose super sweet portrayal gives zero indications of treachery, on first viewing anyway.

Claire comes across as a complex character, her feelings for Ethan clearly genuine even though she is clearly all on board with her husband's plans. While a first viewing of the film has Claire appearing to be all in on Ethan's plan to capture the mysterious villain names Job, a retrospective look at the movie displays her plotting throughout the film, including the hiring of Franz Kreiger and the deliberate seduction of Ethan.

In retrospect one wonders if the film would have benefitted from having Claire as the sole mastermind of the villainous plan. Having Claire shoot down her husband would have been a delightfully dark twist, while also leaving Jim Phelps legacy in tact. Her death at the hands of her husband was a justifiable end for her character though, her treachery finally catching up with her.