Which Mission: Impossible film features Ethan Hunt hanging from a cliff at the opening?

Mission: Impossible 2 features Ethan Hunt hanging from a cliff at the opening.

The film begins with Ethan climbing and traversing a steep rock formation in Utah. The sequence establishes the character’s physical daring before the formal mission briefing arrives and remains one of the film’s most recognizable images.

The opening was designed as a standalone action introduction rather than a scene adapted from the television series. It also reflects director John Woo’s emphasis on athletic movement, suspenseful stunts, and visually stylized action.

Mission: Impossible 2 was released in 2000 and follows Ethan’s attempt to stop former IMF agent Sean Ambrose from exploiting the Chimera virus. The cliff sequence is sometimes confused with later franchise stunts, especially the Burj Khalifa climb in Ghost Protocol and the motorcycle cliff jump in Dead Reckoning Part One.