In Mission: Impossible - Fallout, before plunging himself into a big action sequence, Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt tells his team, “I won't let you down.” While it comes as a result of Hunt’s desire to compensate for his past mistakes, few moments from Cruise’s career encapsulate the actor’s commitment to spectacle and entertainment like this one does. And considering his longevity as a major action star over the last few decades, it is fair to say that Cruise has seldom let the audience down when it comes to delivering bang for their buck. Here are some moments from the Mission: Impossible franchise where the actor has gone above and beyond to do just that.
Breaking into the CIA Vault (Mission: Impossible)
While Brian De Palma’s 1996 film that kickstarted the franchise is best known for its intriguing plot and rat-a-tat dialogue, it also has some breathtaking stunts, most notably the vault scene. Entrusted with the mission of breaking into the CIA's so-called ‘impenetrable’ vault and stealing a list of covert agents from a computer, Hunt must crawl his way through the HVAC system and enter the vault while suspended from wires. The catch here is to time the jump right, without any appreciable increase in body temperature or making contact with the floor so as to not let the alarm go off, making the mission that much more difficult. Even for Cruise, it necessitated more than one take as his head kept hitting the floor, which even made De Palma consider filming it in multiple shots. However, Cruise eventually used coins in his shoes to get his balance right and help come down into the vault in a way that he hovers just above the floor. Interestingly, it is a sequence that pays a hat-tip to the ‘stealing the dagger’ scene from 1964’s Topkapi.
The Train Stunt (Mission: Impossible)
The image of Ethan Hunt battling adversaries atop moving vehicles is a recurring thrill in the Mission: Impossible series, and the train stunt in the first film stands out. What makes it doubly exciting is the fact that Hunt must get out of the way lest he fall onto a train coming in from the other side. The anxiety on Hunt’s face makes him even more human. Shot practically on a moving train, the sequence utilised minimal CGI to depict the train's dramatic crash and fall into a ravine.
Climbing a Cliff (Mission: Impossible 2)
The opening scene in John Woo’s Mission: Impossible 2 itself sets the pulse racing, with Cruise casually climbing a steep cliff with his bare hands. He stops the endeavour midway through, closes his eyes and jumps off to another part of the cliff. The use of Zap Mama’s soothing song ‘Iko Iko’ in the background is in stark contrast to Hunt’s feat of derring-do on screen. Woo tried to dissuade Cruise from doing the daring stunt on his own, but the actor insisted on it. As Hunt makes his way up, he gets a self-destructing eyeglass explaining his next mission, should he choose to accept it.
The Knife’s Edge (Mission: Impossible 2)
Speaking of which, perhaps only Tom Cruise would agree to do this particular stunt from the climax of the second MI film. Amid a big physical altercation, Dougray Scott’s antagonist Sean Ambrose tries to stab Cruise’s Hunt with a sharp knife, and Hunt stops it a whisker away from his eyeball. Similar to many other stunts from the franchise, a lot could have gone wrong with this, but Cruise being Cruise did it with a real knife, shunning any element of CGI, because he wanted the film to be as thrilling and entertaining as possible for the audience. Remarkably, he remained unflinching.
The Roof Jump (Mission: Impossible 3)
Now, here is a stunt which the makers of the third MI film achieved with CGI. The portion comes at a pivotal point where Hunt goes in search of the mysterious Rabbit’s Foot, the MacGuffin element, in the film. Cruise jumped from a car parking space to achieve the effect of him leaping off one Shanghai building to another. Mind you, the stakes were still high enough, as there was danger of possible cable malfunction, among other potential pitfalls. The result is a dress rehearsal for what is to come in the Mission: Impossible franchise.
Scaling the Burj Khalifa (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol)
What would it be like to run along the glass panels of the tallest building in the world with safety harnesses? Ask Tom Cruise. Sunlight bounces off the skyscraper's facade as Hunt navigates its dizzying heights. Up there, it is just Hunt and the vast expanse of glass and steel. Courage is the only ground for Hunt. Come to think of it, according to Matt Damon, Cruise even had his safety personnel replaced because the crew member advised him against the stunt, as the risk involved was so high. As daring as the stunt might be, there is also a scary photograph online of Cruise sitting on top of the building with a big smile and with no safety equipment.
Hanging onto an Aircraft (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation)
The stakes kept going up with each new entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Take, for instance, the scene where Cruise’s Impossible Missions Force (IMF) agent clings onto the side of a moving Airbus A400M Atlas in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Despite the strong wind around and a high altitude, the aircraft would travel at a rate of knots even at cruise altitude. Considering the level of risk involved, it wouldn’t be too wrong to assume that Cruise got it done in one take. However, as the film’s Visual Effects Supervisor David Vickery says in a making video, the actor took eight takes instead, as though doing it once was not scary enough.
Leaping off a Cliff (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One)
Cruise executed a breathtaking motorcycle jump off a towering cliff in the seventh Mission: Impossible film. He launched the motorbike downwards, letting gravity do its thing, before deploying a parachute to ensure a safe descent. This remarkable stunt is particularly noteworthy. With no safety nets or harnesses, this scene underscored Cruise's dedication to performing his own high-stakes action sequences.
Will Cruise be able to top any of the above in the upcoming Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning? Considering Cruise’s reputation and that the eighth instalment in the franchise is reportedly his final film as Ethan Hunt, you would not bet against it.