It’s now been 24 years since Cruise first took on the role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt, and what a ride it has been. The Mission: Impossible series not only has avoided falling prey to a bad case of sequelitis, it continues to grow and expand on the elements that made it good back in 1996, with every entry providing a bigger star-studded cast, more unexpected twists and of course, crazier action sequences that keep audiences on the edge of their seats.
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Perhaps one of the secrets to Mission: Impossible’s success is not to spread itself too thin. Unlike James Bond there is only one irreplaceable Ethan Hunt and its six films were put out in a way that never saturated the market’s demand for them. Whatever the case, there is no better way then to honor the legacy of Mission: Impossible and Hunt’s world-saving exploits than by taking a look at some of the series’ most amazing stunts.
CIA Heist | Mission: Impossible (1996)
First things must come first, but the action scenes of the original Mission: Impossible can look a little small since they lack the breathtaking landscapes of its sequels and the movie relies more on its espionage roots.
Sure, the final scene has explosive gum in it, yet almost everything else about it hasn’t aged that well. On the other hand, the timeless image of Cruise hanging from a wire in a white lit room screams Mission: Impossible. It’s spectacular because there are no special effects tricks, just impeccable camera work, brilliant sound mixing and enough tension to last decades. That drop of sweat gets us every time.
Rock Climbing | Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
M:Ie-2 is without a doubt the weakest link in the franchise, but even so, a thin plot that took the rubber mask face-swapping gimmick way too far is still carried by John Woo’s more action oriented approach.
The high-speed motorcycle chases are there, but those would end up being outclassed in later entries. The real treat here is the movie’s intro scene, featuring the first of many crazy Cruise stunts to come, rock climbing with only the absolutely necessary safety measures. All the jumping and hanging made the actor suffer a shoulder tear injury, but he was just getting started.
Shanghai Jump & Chase | Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Much to Cruise’s dismay J. J. Abrams , or the insurance company’s lawyers, wouldn’t let him jump off a real skyscraper in China, so instead the beginning of this sequence was shot in a studio with the help of a green screen.
As boring as that part sounds, most of the stunts that follow were shot and played out by Cruise in a much more realistic manner, including the one where he ducks under an incoming 18 wheeler, where the actor did exactly that. Also, the latter scene where Hunt is thrown against a car by an explosion got him two cracked ribs.
Climbing the Burj Khalifa | Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
Long before the crew from Fast & Furious headed to Dubai, the freshly inaugurated Burj Khalifa got its first Hollywood outing in 2011 as Ghost Protocol would make use of the skyscraper for the movie’s most iconic stunt. Benji hands Ethan a pair of magnetic gloves as real life Cruise climbs the tallest building in the world only hanging by a few security ropes. It’s scenic, jaw-dropping and just for a moment has the viewer thinking that maybe death will get the best of Hunt this time, everything needed for a great action sequence.
Literally Hanging off a Plane | Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
Another opener here, Rogue Nation kicks off mid-mission as the IMF team is out and about trying to prevent some chemical weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists in Minsk. Things don’t go according to plan and the result is mesmerizing.
Christopher McQuarrie flew Cruise 5,000 feet high strapped onto an Airbus A400M cargo plane 8 times before wrapping up the scene, yet the actor’s biggest fear was getting hit by any incoming objects that could have seriously hurt him. If that doesn’t raise the stakes enough, Rogue Nation also features Cruise almost drowning, fighting atop an Opera house scaffolding and improved motorcycle chases.
Helicopter Chase & Climax | Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
The series’ latest film has a serious claim to being its most polished entry, both from a narrative and action standpoint. Fallout’s stunts were so hardcore, filming had to be stopped when Cruise broke his ankle in a London pursuit scene and there’s little better than hearing all about it from him and McQuarrie.
Despite being packed with high adrenaline moments (like another great motorcycle chase in the streets of Paris), Fallout reaches its apex near the end as it hits the viewer with everything it has when it sets up a thrilling helicopter duel between Hunt and Lark, as the pair try to kill each other in the middle of Kashmir’s mountains. The scene was actually shot in New Zealand, but Cruise did learn how to pilot chopper, because of course, why not?
As if that weren’t enough, the movie goes out with a bang by pitting up the two men in a final hand-to-hand combat sequence, right on the edge of a cliff. Probably not that hard to guess what happens, but it’s worth every second watching it unfold.
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