Of course every Mission: Impossible movie has a bad guy, and some have been more memorable than others.

Today, I will rank the seven films in the M:I franchise based on their VILLAINS.

#7. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Kurt Hendricks

Michael Nyqvist is only two years older than Tom Cruise, but he looks like he could be his father. And that makes it thoroughly unbelievable when his nuclear strategist character has an extended fistfight with Ethan, or beats him in a footrace. Apart from the visual mismatch, Hendricks is just a boring villain with no sense of menace apart from his access to nuclear codes.

#6. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One – Gabriel / The Entity

The true villain of this film is an artificial intelligence called The Entity, but it uses an assassin named Gabriel (Esai Morales) as its henchman. When the human villain is essentially a puppet, he fails to convey a real sense of danger. The script tries to amp up his villainy by giving him a backstory in which he killed a woman Ethan loved before he joined the IMF, but that feels random.

#5. Mission: Impossible 2 – Sean Ambrose

Ambrose, played by Dougray Scott, is a former IMF agent who has gone rogue. As such, he has access to some of the same training and tools (including his own set of Ethan Hunt masks). That’s a nice concept and it makes for a few good encounters, but more often he engages in gunplay or ridiculous hand-to-hand combat scenes that feel like they belong in another franchise.

#4. Mission: Impossible – Jim Phelps

It was a controversial move to have the protagonist of the original Mission: Impossible TV series emerge as the villain in the first big-screen adaptation. I had no knowledge of or allegiance to the series, so the choice didn’t ruffle my feathers. It makes for a great bit of misdirection. Now, if a future reboot of this series turns Ethan Hunt into the bad guy, I’ll cry foul.

#3. Mission: Impossible III – Owen Davian

The best acting by a Mission: Impossible villain comes courtesy of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, whose Owen Davian veers from chillingly calm to frighteningly ferocious. I’m still not sure what the hell the “Rabbit’s Foot” is that he’s so intent on procuring, but his showdowns with Ethan are among the series’ most electric moments.

#2. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – August Walker

Henry Cavill is a decent Superman, but he’s a first-rate Mission: Impossible villain. His August Walker is an undercover disciple of anarchist Solomon Lane, and for a chunk of the movie we believe he’s on Ethan’s side. Even in those scenes, the two men clearly hate each other, and when they actually get to face off it’s a thrilling and ferocious showdown. Also, unlike everybody else on this list, Walker is more than a match for Ethan physically.

#1. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – Solomon Lane

As much as I love Walker, I have to give the top spot to his boss, Sean Harris’ Solomon Lane. With his icy stare and creepy-raspy voice, he’s in control even when trapped in a straitjacket. He’s the first M:I villain to bridge two films, and it’s not a coincidence that those are the franchise’s two best installments.