Action movies have always featured countless unforgettable scenes that thrill millions of viewers. Although, over the years, the risk of many scenes has been reduced with the help of special effects, many actors still do the scenes themselves in real life. Tom Cruise is one such individual, recognized for including risky and memorable stunts in which he put his life on the line several times. He’s so well-known for these endeavours he’s even become something of a mentor to other actors. However, after so many movie successes, some Tom Cruise stunts stand out as the most impossible ones he’s ever somehow pulled off.
5. Broken Ankle in Mission Impossible: Fallout
In one part of the movie, our star actor ran across the roofs of huge city buildings, scaffolding, and boards. However, at one point in the scene, Tom Cruise runs out of the road and makes a big jump of about 5 meters to the other building.
However, just as Tom jumps, he falls, catching himself on the ledge of the building and hitting himself in the abdomen. One thing that goes unnoticed in this scene is that Tom’s right foot is struck squarely against the concrete wall and bends at an abnormal angle. Tom Cruise still manages to climb up to the roof of the building and walk a few steps before finishing the scene and announcing that his ankle is broken.
This scene may not be the most flashy, at least for me, but it deserves to be among the most impossible stunts of Tom Cruise because this scene ended up in the movie. We can even admire his face, which is full of pain at the moment he breaks his ankle. Moreover, even with the broken foot, weeks later, he had to perform the HALO jump.
4. Climbing the Burj Khalifa in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
It was impressive to see Tom Cruise climb the tallest building in the world with only super high-tech gloves that allowed him to hold on to the glass. But what makes this one of the most memorable stunts is that in real life, Tom Cruise barely had any climbing cables to protect his life somehow. In the behind-the-scenes, there is no net underneath or a backpack for Tom Cruise with a parachute; he’s just hanging over a fall into the void. I could never dare to do anything remotely similar; just looking out the window of such a tall building would make me panic.
3. Motorcycle Jumping in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1
This stunt is considered one of the most dangerous of all the Mission Impossible saga. In the scene, Tom Cruise is on a full-speed motorcycle on an inclined part of the mountain, jumping directly onto a cliff. All this to catch up with a moving train on the other side of the valley.
This is another of Tom Cruise’s incredible stunts because of the extreme and meticulous timing control needed to execute it successfully. Tom Cruise had to ride at full speed on the bike, standing upright so that when he reached the edge, he could jump cleanly off the bike and not get tangled up. Then, within seconds, he had to be alert to open the fall stop when the bike was no longer dangerous because of the distance from Tom. The perfect execution is what I think makes this scene deserve this place.
2. Train Fight in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1
After the impressive motorcycle jump, Tom Cruise must confront the villain on the train, but the chase goes to a new level when they both end up on the train’s roof. Although the production team made a replica of a train for this stunt, the actors were choreographing the fight at high speed, fighting against the acceleration and the movement of the train. They also had to avoid obstacles and train signals without interrupting the sequence. All while only a couple of cables kept them “tied” to the moving carriage.
1. Helicopter Chase in Mission Impossible: Fallout
By this point in the movie, viewers already know that Henry Cavill is the real villain of this movie and that several bombs have been implanted. That’s why Henry Cavill flees in a helicopter while another escorts him. In a quick decision, Tom Cruise jumps out, barely hanging from the cargo of the escort helicopter. So, Tom must fight the helicopter’s movement, speed, and gravity to climb from the cargo on a rope to the helicopter’s cabin. He also has to fight against two men in the cockpit, only to get rid of the pilot, and the aircraft goes out of control for a few moments until Tom takes control.
From this moment on, when Tom starts piloting, it becomes an impossible stunt since he is not only maneuvering with a helicopter but is still in his role as an actor and becomes a cameraman as well, as the production attached cameras around the helicopter. If it wasn’t, Tom had just a couple of weeks to learn how to fly so he could do the maneuvers. So, Tom Cruise drives a helicopter for real in this scene by himself.
