Cruise’s deadly pursuit for the Impossible stretches with The Final Reckoning: How far did he go this time?

“No one on Earth can do that,” director Christopher McQuarrie declared after watching Cruise’s latest airborne exploits. After three decades, it’s clear: when it comes to impossible missions, Tom Cruise is still the only man for the job.

The action megastar Tom Cruise has been in headlines for jaw dropping stunt performance since forever. But with his latest act in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, he once again set the bar for what it means to star in an action-packed franchise. At 62, Cruise is not just starring as Ethan Hunt, but is rather owning every angle and move of the cinematic spectacle, flexing his physical endurance and passion.

Cruise simply Cruising: 10,000 ft. above the ground

In The Final Reckoning, Tom Cruise touched the skies- literally. One of the film’s most shining moments shows him flying a 1930s Boeing Stearman biplane. In this moment, Cruise is completely alone, 10,000 ft. above the African landscape. Though, flying the plane wasn’t enough. In a further sequence, that has stunned even professional wing-walkers, Cruise jumps onto a wing mid-flight. At this point, his only supporters were the wind and his own willpower.


Director Christopher McQuarrie, who has worked with Cruise on several Mission: Impossible films, stated on how Tom became a one-man team during the wind-walking shot. He framed the plane for the perfect shot, and singlehandedly managed the lighting part by aligning the plane
with the sun. The sole communication with the team was via radio. And when experts warned him about the dangers of the stunt, he simply thanked them for their concern and swinged it anyway.

Prep for the big day

The risk of the stunt stretched beyond what the cameras or crew could decipher. Cruise mentioned that sticking his face out into the slipstream at around 120 mph meant there wasn’t even oxygen to breathe.

To perform in such conditions, he had to train twice as hard. He would also sometimes pass out due to lack of air before managing to back into the cockpit during training sessions.

“There were times I would pass out physically; I was unable to get back into the cockpit”, Cruise revealed, underlining just how gnarly the stunt was.

Why Cruise performs his own stunts?

For decades, Cruise has been affiliated for carrying out the deadliest of stunts on his own. He believes this process isn’t just for creating a cinematic marvel, but for authenticity on the upper hand. “I feel that (when) acting you’re bringing everything, you know, physically and emotionally,
to a character in a story”, he explained. Decades of hardcore training have leveraged him for such performances over the years.

A legacy redefined

Mission: impossible has always outdone itself and sculpted the legacies of an action franchise. It has laid down the principles of successful stunts and Tom Cruise has been noting but legendary. From climbing the Burj Khalifa to clutching onto the side of a flying cargo plane, Cruise has pushed boundaries and redefined what’s possible. In The Final Reckoning, director McQuarrie has promised stunts that “will melt your brain”, and Cruise delivered.