Before Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning was released, Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie teased that they were upping the ante when it came to stunts for the film. Anyone who has seen the latest M:I installment knows they more than delivered. The set pieces in the film are astonishing, with one particular plane sequence that truly needs to be seen to be believed. Apparently Cruise performed the aerial stunt without a parachute because it would’ve been too dangerous for him to have one, and I can’t believe he pulled this thing off.
The Biplane Stunt In Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
The stunt in question happens at the very end of the film. Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt has to hunt down Gabriel to possess the poison pill needed to destroy the Entity. Gabriel hops in a biplane to get away from Hunt and his teammates, and Hunt hijacks a biplane to follow Gabriel into the skies. The whole sequence features a stunt where Cruise has to climb around the first biplane while it’s in the air to get to the cockpit, and then has to climb from one biplane to the one Gabriel is flying above him. Hunt eventually gains control of the plane Gabriel was flying and Gabriel dies in the struggle. Eventually Hunt flies to safety.
The scene is absolutely riveting. Cruise as Hunt successfully climbs around both planes from the wheels to the pilot seat, and even makes the transition from one plane to another. Despite the intense wind resistance that you can see Cruise experience in real time, he also is able to carry out the performance piece of the Mission: Impossible scene while simultaneously executing an unbelievable stunt.
How The Stunt Was Executed Without A Parachute
The Mission: Impossible franchise has arguably had some of the most dangerous stunts committed to screen, from Cruise climbing the Burj Khalifa in Ghost Protocol, to riding a motorcycle off of a cliff in Dead Reckoning. However this aerial sequence in Final Reckoning may just take the cake. Apparently, Cruise didn’t even have a parachute strapped to him while he climbed around each of the biplanes. The movie star said that the parachute actually would have made the stunt more dangerous, as it going off would have ensured sudden death. He explained in a recent Instagram video:
No, I had no parachute. It would have been too dangerous to have a parachute on this. It was because… say it deployed…it would have- the airplane would have crashed. It would have killed me.
The actor did however have a thin piece of wire that strapped him to the plane. It was thin so he was able to easily move around the plane while also having some semblance of safety. Being able to see Cruise moving around the plane was essential, and is what makes the scene so epic and unbelievable. While undeniably dangerous, you can still tell Cruise and the stunt team put an immense amount of thought into the scene, and how to protect Cruise as much as possible. In the end, it was definitely worth it, making for a cinematic achievement that begs to be experienced on the big screen.
You can check out the stunt sequence for yourself by seeing Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning now in theaters nationwide. Fans of the franchise can also revisit the previous Mission: Impossible films now with a Paramount+ subscription. For more information on more exciting blockbusters heading to cinemas this summer, make sure to consult our 2025 movie release schedule.
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