- The Entity's Establishing Character Moment has it manipulating the Russian submarine Sevastopol, equipped with its prototype stealth system that makes it virtually undetectable by anyone else in the world, into launching a torpedo at a phantom target, which then circles around and destroys the Sevastopol itself, killing everyone on board. A hell of a way to establish a powerful new villain.
- Ethan outrunning mercenaries through a sandstorm and then killing them with Ilsa's help when he reaches her hideout.
- Grace's Establishing Character Moment at the Abu Dhabi airport sees her pulling a sleight of hand trick on her target and even Ethan himself, managing to steal back one half of the Key while Ethan is distracted before making her escape on a plane to Rome. She even has a contingency plan of making a new friend with a stranger on board the plane en route to Rome and uses him as an unwitting courier to hide the key that she can grab later so it cannot be found on her person in the event that she gets detained by the Italian police (which does happen courtesy of Ethan).
- The fact that, in the entire world, despite all its power, the Entity considers Ethan and the IMF the only real threat to it, if only because it can't buy them off or control them.
- The car chase in Rome, where Ethan and Grace must flee from both police and Paris going after them in her van. The two of them managed it while still handcuffed to each other and thus having to share the wheel of the cars they're driving during the entire escape.
- In response to Gabriel's Sadistic Choice with Grace and Ilsa, Ethan delivers this Badass Boast in full Tranquil Fury mode:Ethan: If anything happens to either of them, there's no place on Earth where you or your God will be safe from me. There's no place that I won't go to kill you. That is written.
- While it ends in tragedy, Ilsa fighting Gabriel in Venice so that he will not kill Grace.
- Gabriel gets one during his fight with Ilsa and Grace. Remember in Fallout when Lane managed to No-Sell Ilsa's signature leg attack? Here, Gabriel not only shrugs it off once, but twice.
- Luther actually outwits the Entity by realizing the Batman Gambit it intended to pull on Ethan after the events in Venice, pointing out the actual reason why it ordered Gabriel to kill either Grace or Ilsa is that it hoped Ethan would be driven to kill Gabriel in retaliation, which means the purpose of the key they're hunting for will die with him and thus the Entity wins. He also points out that the Entity went out of its way to ruin Ethan's mission like this because it foresaw a scenario in which Ethan actually won and was deathly afraid. Ethan Hunt is just that awesome.
- The big stunt of the film sees Ethan riding his motorcycle off a mountain and then paragliding his way down onto the Orient Express. What's more, he crashes through the window into a mook before he can shoot Grace.
- Ethan fighting Gabriel on top of the train for the key, with Ethan single-handedly mopping the floor with Gabriel. Had this not been the first part, had Ethan not been told to spare Gabriel since he's the only lead to the Entity and knows what the key is for, and had Briggs and Degas not intervened, Ethan certainly would have finished him there and now.
- While it would have doomed everyone, it's still satisfying to see the smug look fall off Gabriel's face when he realizes that he bet wrong that Ethan wouldn't kill him.
- Ethan and Grace climbing through four falling train cars after the bridge explodes before Paris rescues them and pulls them both up. The whole sequence is heavily reminiscent of the legendary opening scene of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, which is often considered one of the most memorable video game openings of all time, so seeing Ethan and Grace doing it all in live-action is just a sight to behold.
- Despite this being a part one film, it does NOT end with The Bad Guy Wins, as Ethan has stolen the key back from Gabriel, leaving him to scream Ethan's name in rage. While it's obvious Gabriel and The Entity will remain a threat until Part Two, Ethan is already one step ahead of his nemesis.
