The 14 Best Lines In The Mission: Impossible Series

The “Mission: Impossible” franchise has included many great actors over the years who have added poise and power to the series. The biggest get in “Fallout” is the great Angela Bassett, who brings her unparalleled gravitas to the role of CIA Director Erika Sloane. Sloane doesn’t trust Ethan and the rest of the IMF, so she brings along her right-hand man, Walker (Henry Cavill, of arm-cocking fame), to accompany Ethan on his mission. Sloane makes her dislike of Ethan clear, and she reminds Hunley that they wouldn’t be in the pickle they’re in had Ethan not let go of the plutonium. Hunley counters that Ethan’s entire team would be dead if he had done that, to which Sloane responds, “That’s the job.”

Were Sloane played by any other actor, “That’s the job” would be a forgettable, run-of-the-mill line. But this is Angela Bassett we’re talking about here, and she delivers the line with total austerity. She pronounces every syllable with perfect elocution while her expressive eyebrows go on their own journey.

Frankly, all of Sloane’s lines are delightful in large part because Bassett is the one speaking them. Earlier in the scene, she calls the IMF “Halloween” and describes the agents as grown men “playing trick-or-treat.” Later, she declares: “You use a scalpel. I prefer a hammer.” The reason “That’s the job” clinches a spot on the list is its bare simplicity. It gives Bassett a chance to show us her unmatched command of a script in just three words.