— Updated on 6 July 2023

‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning’ Features Tom Cruise’s Most Dangerous Stunt Yet

— Updated on 6 July 2023
Garry Lu
WORDS BY
Garry Lu

At the centrepiece of every Mission: Impossible instalment is a death-defying spectacle personally undertaken by the man behind IMF agent Ethan Hunt, Tom Cruise. In an interview with Empire conducted last year, the 60-year-old action star revealed his latest stunt featured in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part I is the “single most dangerous” he’s ever undertaken – a claim seconded by franchise director Christopher McQuarrie – topping the time he scaled the Burj Khalifa, clung to the side of a plane in motion, free soloed without a harness, and even that High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) jump.

While riding a motorcycle off the edge of a cliff might sound milquetoast after decades of being exposed to recreations of essentially the same thing in cinema, when Cruise breaks down the logistics behind the act, you come to realise the real deal is a completely different ball game. This particular instance required months of training and weeks of planning.

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“If the wind was too strong, it would blow me off the ramp,” explained Tom Cruise.

“The helicopter [filming the stunt] was a problem, because I didn’t want to be hammering down that ramp at top speed and get hit by a stone. Or if I departed in a weird way, we didn’t know what was going to happen with the bike.”

Cruise added: “I had about six seconds once I departed the ramp to pull the chute and I don’t want to get tangled in the bike. If I do, that’s not going to end well.”

From drilling the stunt’s individual components – i.e. 500 skydives, 13,000 motocross jumps – to running simulations of the physics and building all-new cameras to capture the moment, suffice it to say, nobody half-assed a damn thing this time around. The dedication was very real.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part I will be released here in Australia come July 13th of 2023 — go behind the scenes of the stunt in question above.

RELATED: Tom Cruise Confirms He’s Developing A ‘Tropic Thunder’ Spin-Off

Training day.
Day of shoot (I).
tom cruise mission impossible 7 stunt
Day of shoot (II).
https://youtu.be/frd5Ra6M41Y

Now read everything you need to know about Mission: Impossible 7 here.

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Garry Lu
WORDS by
After stretching his legs with companies such as The Motley Fool and the odd marketing agency, Garry joined Boss Hunting in 2019 as a fully-fledged Content Specialist. In 2021, he was promoted to News Editor. Garry proudly retains a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, black bruises from Muay Thai, as well as a black belt in all things pop culture. Drop him a line at [email protected]

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