The Story behind the shot – Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning

by

In the Mission Impossible series, Tom Cruise has pulled off some truly remarkable stunts, as previously highlighted in ‘behind-the-scenes’ stories. However, the bi-plane sequence in Mission Impossible: Fallout takes breath-taking to a whole new level, especially when viewed on an IMAX screen. This thrilling feat was not something that happened overnight; it was years in the making.

 

As a toddler, Tom Cruise’s fascination with heights began as he marveled at birds soaring above the treetops. He would often scale trees and climb out of windows to gaze at the stars, dreaming of space travel and global exploration. The spark for this lifelong obsession was ignited when, on a weekend morning, he found himself alone in front of the family’s black-and-white television, captivated by the thrilling world of aviation depicted on screen.

Tom Cruise shares his fascination with aviation, recalling a television program he watched as a child about wing walking. He describes how the activity looked exciting to him, imagining himself both as the pilot flying the plane and the person on the wing. After a pause, he reflects on his thoughts, considering how he can share this experience through storytelling. He explains that for him, the act of experiencing something and not being able to tell the story about it is not worthwhile. This mentality has been characteristic of the boy who would grow up to become Ethan Hunt, the man behind the most daring, exhilarating, and creatively innovative action series ever made.

The central action in the airborne scene of The Final Reckoning involves Esai Morales’ character Gabriel taking off in an old Stearman plane, prompting Ethan to follow suit, attach himself to Gabriel’s undercarriage, and scale onto the wing to battle him. In reality, this thrilling sequence was filmed at an altitude of 10,000 feet, with Cruise facing hurricane-force winds, a pilot trying his hardest to dislodge him, not forgetting the local vultures or the fact that when the plane entered the clouds with Cruise on the wing, he was completely blind to his surroundings. “I’ve performed many aerial sequences throughout my career,” Cruise remarks, “but this is a truly iconic sequence, taking it all to another level. I had to develop a detailed plan for testing everything – the aircraft, the engine, the weight, the trust. The only way to accomplish this is by creating a step-by-step program that gradually builds your skill and confidence without overstepping any limits you can’t recover from.” … “It’s a bit risky, incredibly exciting, and visually stunning – something audiences have never seen before.

In their fourth aerial spectacle collaboration, Tom Cruise and writer-producer Christopher McQuarrie have once again crafted an exhilarating series of high-altitude thrills, following the edge-of-your-seat adventures in American Made, Fallout, and Top Gun: Maverick. However, according to Wade Eastwood, the stunt coordinator and second unit director for The Final Reckoning, this production was by far the most perilous. Filming took place across three distinct locations in South Africa:

1. The Blyde River Canyon, a 26km-long verdant gorge in Mpumalanga, served as the scenic backdrop for the beginning of the chase.
2. The Drakensberg mountains, located in KwaZulu-Natal Province, were utilized for the plane-to-plane transition and wing walking sequences.
3. Lastly, The Wild Coast, situated on the Eastern Cape south of Durban, provided the setting for Ethan’s dramatic confrontation with Gabriel within the cockpit.

Morales admitted he felt anxious during the initial stages of the chase, a pursuit that had Tom Cruise trained in flying and skydiving, as a precaution if something went wrong and they needed to eject. He was concerned about Tom coming into contact with water since his plane’s wheels were barely above it. If those wheels touched and the plane nose-dived, it could be catastrophic. He exclaimed, “Oh my goodness, I don’t want him to die.” The danger felt incredibly real.

It took a remarkable 4.5 months to complete filming this sequence, which had been envisioned by Tom Cruise over a lifetime and meticulously planned by the filmmakers for years. They organized numerous rehearsals at Duxford Airfield in Cambridgeshire, UK, during which they honed their skills, tested, adjusted, and fine-tuned the aerodynamics of four 1940s Stearmans – two yellow, two red. These specific planes were chosen by the filmmakers for their inherent beauty and elegance, and they were painted in contrasting primary colors to stand out against the vibrant blue South African sky. Special camera mounts with specialized lenses were custom-made and mounted on the bodies of these planes. The aircraft’s wings also needed reinforcement so that Cruise could move freely around them, necessitating significant alterations and constant upkeep.

I, being an admirer, affirm that those planes needed to be in top shape – mechanically perfect, just like a Formula One car before a race. Each one was thoroughly inspected, right down to the engine, wing struts, spans, and every other component. Every day, they were meticulously checked to ensure they started flawlessly and performed without a hitch. However, Tom Cruise, who scrutinized each aircraft daily, emphasizes that despite their fine-tuning, each plane demanded its pilots – myself included, along with John Romain, Lee Proudfoot, Steven Jones, and Jon Gowdy – to familiarize themselves with the unique characteristics of their respective machines.

According to Cruise, every aircraft possesses its unique character, especially vintage, timeless models. He clarifies that old doesn’t equate to unsafe, but rather each aircraft has its own quirks, which require time and effort to understand. When flying a plane, it’s crucial to be aware of these quirks, as they make you familiar with the aircraft, helping you bond with it. Many people assume that getting into a plane means they all function the same way, but this is not accurate. To excel in flying, one must comprehend each aircraft’s individual traits, so you can feel the aircraft and ultimately become one with it, allowing you to push its limits.

During the final stage of testing, The Final Reckoning crew dared to push these planes to their limits when they arrived in South Africa. Simultaneously, they were creating cameras that hadn’t been invented before for this project. McQuarrie explains, “Every aspect of filming was custom-made and continually innovated. The technology we started with, which was about the size of a suitcase, ended up being as small as a pack of cigarettes.” Cruise adds, “Adapting to how these planes functioned in Africa’s climate was crucial. The kind of photography we were doing had never been attempted. The cameras, our positions, the proximity between air-to-air cameras, and my interaction with the aircraft – you’ve never seen anything like it before. This is what will make it thrilling.

In the original “Top Gun” movie, Tom Cruise agreed to join only when producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson granted his demand to personally fly an F-14 jet for the film. Thirty years later, he taught himself to perform acrobatic helicopter flights for “Fallout.” “I’m always drawn to aerial scenes,” he admitted. “However, after each one I complete, I can’t help but wonder, ‘What could come next?’

With The Final Reckoning, there’s a debate about whether Tom Cruise has taken his skills to a level that surpasses any reasonable limit. He chose the Stearmans partly due to his nostalgic connection to an old aviation program, but also because he is incredibly familiar with them, especially their robustness. However, they do have their constraints. “I knew I could perform loops, rolls, and hammerhead maneuvers in them,” Cruise explains. “What I wanted to confirm was whether I could explore, experience zero gravity outside the wing, travel along the fuselage, and traverse the aircraft.” He also wondered, “How long can I hang upside down on this plane?” We gradually increased the duration until we were flying inverted with the engine off. Everyone was apprehensive about that moment, but we managed it. We flew inverted, held the position, then recovered. I would ask, “How many seconds did that last for?” Initially, it was only two seconds, then three. It was always a question of, “How long can we get these shots?” Even though I admired the old footage on TV, those planes were relatively slow and didn’t have to contend with the forces we would encounter.

The forces were quite strong, even underestimating them a bit. In the towering Drakensberg mountains, temperatures plummeted to freezing levels. Generally speaking, Cruise notes, “For every 1,000 feet you climb, it gets about three degrees Celsius colder.” It was rather cold, with all those air molecules brushing against your body. And that’s not even considering the speed factor. “We were accelerating to around 150-170 mph,” Cruise explains. “The forces I experienced while hanging onto the fuselage and trying to get my foot on the wing felt like doing the most intense squats possible. Up there, your body is constantly taking hits from molecules coming off that propeller, which are moving at the speed of sound at the tip.

Even though they had tested the sequence using dummies on the aircraft’s wing, it wasn’t until he was actually outside a real plane – one teetering on the brink of flight, according to Cruise – that they could truly gauge what would be physically achievable with absolute certainty. “What I was doing had never been attempted in the way we were executing it,” Cruise explains. “We knew the force would be immense, and any error could lead to trouble for me, so there were countless factors to take into account. I’m meticulous about such tasks, and as a pilot, I understand the dynamics at play while on the wing. However, we couldn’t be certain of the story we could tell until we were up in the air.

In the process, what he encountered surpassed his anticipations, placing Tom Cruise under immense pressure. As we performed those loops, rolls, and stunts, he admits, “I found myself being jolted back and forth inside the plane.” His concern extended to the aircraft’s structure as well as the possibility of him crashing through the fragile wing. Moreover, given that he wasn’t wearing a helmet, he had to shield himself from getting concussed. The impacts he endured on the wing and the immense forces he felt were so severe at times that he struggled to move.

Eastwood makes Tom Cruise’s experiences relatable by comparing them to something familiar: “You know when you stick your hand out of a moving car and feel the wind resistance? Imagine if instead, you were sticking your whole body out the window and pushing against gale force winds – that’s roughly what he was doing.” And let’s not forget, while he was doing all this daring stunt work, Cruise had to simultaneously locate his position on set for optimal camera framing, as well as deliver lines or engage in mid-air combat scenes.

Occasionally, during moments when the aircraft was tilting and we were experiencing Negative G forces, Tom seemed to be floating freely within the wings’ expanse, as if in outer space. However, once the plane regained its balance, he would plummet back onto the wing, losing all his air and hanging on for dear life before resuming his actions. This performance was highly realistic; keep in mind that he was actually getting hurt on that wing when you observe it.

As a film enthusiast, I’d put myself in Tom Cruise’s shoes when he decided to push the boundaries yet again for the best cinematic experiences. The director of The Final Reckoning had never ventured into such risky territory before our South African shoot. But during this initial sequence, he was about to have a life-changing conversation with his star and producer that would transform not only his perspective but his entire worldview.

Cruise shares an intriguing revelation: “I made Mc Q fly on the wing of the aircraft just to feel it,” he says. “He’d been in the helicopter guiding me, but we needed to figure out how I could move through and around the plane. We had to understand what the aircraft could handle, what I could handle, and only I knew about those extreme forces out there on that wing. So, I turned to him and said, ‘I can’t explain this to you any other way. You need to get up on the wing to truly grasp what I’m doing.’

McQuarrie chuckled and explained, “As soon as I exited the plane and stood on the wing, I realized the raw power of being there. The laws of nature we’re familiar with don’t quite apply.” Cruise guided his friend through the procedure, guiding him each step of the way. “I told him, ‘This is going to happen. Don’t worry about stepping out here. It will take your breath away. Remember to breathe because there’s such a powerful force coming at you that your lungs might struggle to get air.’ When he went up there and did it, I felt hopeful, but since he was my friend, naturally I had concerns,” he shared. “I made the experience as secure as possible – I didn’t let him hang out on the wing under the G-forces I was experiencing. I ensured his safety so he could step onto the wing and then return to the cockpit. He could feel for himself the intensity of that energy. I wouldn’t recommend anyone doing what I did, but I felt secure with him performing this act. I would never put him in a situation where I thought it was too risky. I simply wouldn’t take that chance.

Reflecting on that specific day, Cruise continues to be deeply impressed by McQuarrie’s boldness in carrying out his idea. “When I proposed it, he simply replied, ‘I’ll do it.'”. Although not entirely surprised, Cruise admits he is consistently amazed by McQ and respected his decision to proceed with the task, which he also enjoyed.

On Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise discloses, McQuarrie was seated in the back of a P-51 while Maverick piloted it. “He also flew along as I performed high G maneuvers and aerobatics, ensuring he experienced it firsthand.” What’s more astounding is that walking out onto an airplane’s wing wasn’t even the most impactful aspect of filming the aerial sequence for McQuarrie. Instead, that title goes to an encounter during the filming process that significantly altered his life perspective.

Each morning, we’d hold a safety meeting to discuss what targets we would approach later in the day. One time, at the end of this gathering, the safety officer asked, “Does anyone have any worries?” It seemed no one did, as everyone looked puzzled. In aviation, a worry is any apprehension, anxiety, stress, or negative emotion about what’s coming up.

McQuarrie later inquired from the safety officer about the term ‘worry.’ The officer explained that it was because “it’s not the lion that gets you, but the many ducks that pick away at you.” In other words, it’s not one major issue that causes accidents, but rather the accumulation of numerous small concerns or negative feelings among a group of people that can lead to disasters. If everyone isn’t fully focused, their remaining attention becomes a recipe for disaster.

During a pivotal moment, McQuarrie recognized his role as both the director and supervisor demanded a reduction in stress levels. He recollects, “I had to eliminate stress from my foundation.” This was an emotion he was forbidden to experience. He could not feel fear, anxiety, or anger. Instead, he had to disregard such thoughts. He explained, “If you harbor any apprehension, that’s when things will go wrong.” That evening, McQuarrie spoke with his wife, Heather, who was temporarily grounded in the U.S. due to the pandemic. He shared his concern, saying, “By the time I reach Africa, I must not have any emotional strain or anxiety, as someone’s life could be at stake.” His wife understood his predicament and provided strong support. She shielded him from everyday stresses and allowed him to focus on a mindset of complete tranquility and disregard for worry and fear. McQuarrie added, “Once I took off and was in the air, everyone was trained – and the plan could not be altered. Even if I had a brilliant idea, I couldn’t suggest it. I couldn’t worry about an accident because if I did, one would occur.” He had to perform his duties without regard for life and death. “And you know what? After months of doing this, most negative feelings disappeared. It’s not that they no longer exist; it’s just that you realize they are wasted emotions,” McQuarrie concluded.

Throughout the entire airborne scene, there were consistently four individuals inside the helicopter trailing Cruise: the pilot of the camera helicopter, Will Banks, the camera operator, Mc Quarrie, and his first assistant director, Mary Boulding. As for the shot where Tom appears to be skimming the canyon water at a mere five feet, our helicopter was slightly lower in altitude, allowing Mc Quarrie to observe him from below as Cruise’s wing almost scraped the cliffside. Essentially, we were flying in sync with him. This is how Mc Quarrie described it: “When you see Tom flying through that canyon, five feet off the water, we were in a helicopter flying just a bit lower than him, so I could see him under the wing when his wing was almost brushing the rocks. We were essentially flying side by side.

In the hustle of The Final Reckoning’s production, McQuarrie found himself requiring an extra pair of eyes, overseeing the helicopter pilot, as well as both plane pilots. He needed to monitor air conditions, speeds, altitude, fuel usage, while ensuring everyone’s safety and capturing the perfect shot. Mary Boulding was McQuarrie’s trusted ally in this complex task. As McQuarrie put it, “Mary Boulding is truly exceptional, unparalleled in film.” Her role was crucial in maintaining order from ground level. Boulding initially crossed paths with McQuarrie and Cruise on Edge of Tomorrow in 2011, where she started as a Production Assistant (PA). Climbing the ranks within the AD department, she took over as the floor 2nd assistant director for Dead Reckoning. Just a few months into this role, the current first assistant director, Tommy Gormley, decided to produce. “That’s when Tom and McQ promoted me to first AD,” Boulding recalls.

Boulding characterized the leap in responsibility she experienced as “enormous, equivalent to a career advancement spanning 20 to 30 years and a trial by fire.” McQuarrie stated that she seized this opportunity and excelled to an unprecedented extent among first assistant directors he has worked with. During The Final Reckoning, Boulding’s duties encompassed arranging a complex timeline of evolving storyboards, making sure aircraft were dismantled and reassembled overnight for early morning shooting, communicating from within the helicopter when two planes in the air returned to have others ready for immediate takeoff.

In every film production, people often wonder if the crew members are afraid. Tom, for instance, has consistently answered that he’s not bothered by fear, but rather finds comfort in it. Lawrence Kasdan, however, didn’t quite grasp this until later. He now understands that it’s not about being indifferent to danger; you have to be aware of it because if you completely eliminate fear and don’t acknowledge your mortality, the situation can become precarious.

During their helicopter rides, each member knows that effective communication could mean the difference between life and death. If the communication becomes too chaotic or unclear, it could lead to a dangerous predicament. The atmosphere in the helicopter needs to remain extremely calm for this reason. Mary, the assistant director, is responsible for maintaining this tranquility. She manages all the scheduling, coordinates our shot list, and ensures everything runs smoothly. This way, I can concentrate on the creative aspects during filming, while she handles all the logistics. She’s simply remarkable.

Despite the fact that Boulding was also tasked with evacuating the cast and crew from an elevation even higher than 6,000 feet twice during filming due to extreme weather conditions, her primary focus throughout the production was always on Tom Cruise. As she recalls, “My most vivid memories of the South African shoot were feeling anxious about Tom’s safety. Watching him perform those stunts was absolutely terrifying.” She further adds, “This project consumed five years of our lives. At times, it felt like an entire day could pass up there.”

Before Cruise and McQuarrie developed the sign language they used, communication at high altitudes was challenging, with the director initially relaying instructions via his headset to Banks, who then passed them on to both the planes.

McQuarrie explains that while Will was excellent at translating his words for another pilot to comprehend, it felt much like attempting to repair a pocket watch wearing boxing gloves – not as efficient as direct communication. The only method for McQuarrie to communicate directly with Tom was by flying alongside his plane, opening the door at 10,000 feet and stepping out onto the skid so he could be seen. As Tom had no radio, hand signals were developed as a shortcut. As long as McQuarrie could manage Tom’s expectations, Tom could manage his energy levels.

Following his removal from the wing, the acrobatic squad would escort Tom Cruise to a heated tent for rest and warming up, as his body gradually adjusted to ground-level temperatures and rejuvenated. In his own words, “We continued executing specific aerobatic moves, figuring out how I could adjust my body according to the aircraft’s capabilities. With all my years of flying experience, I understood that the plane could be manipulated to allow for certain maneuvers. I always thought it was achievable, and we were able to discover the right way.” – Tom Cruise explains this.

Cruise found it extremely challenging to perform on that specific stunt for extended periods. “It was so tough that I couldn’t do it for long stretches,” he recalls. “Once I finished, they would escort me into a tent, where I’d lie down for two hours, asleep. Then they’d rouse me, we’d review the footage, and then we’d start again.” McQuarrie expresses his concern by shrugging his shoulders. “I did advise him to rest more,” he says. “But you know Tom. He’d sleep for only two hours at a time, then wake up. And the first thing he’d ask was always, ‘Did we get the shot?’

Inquire any of Tom Cruise’s fellow actors about their boss and mentor’s extraordinary feats in the skies above South Africa, and you’ll receive an assortment of glowing testimonials. Among them, Henry Czerny puts it succinctly: “What Tom does up there is something that will stay with you forever.” However, Shea Whigham’s memory seems particularly vivid. He recalls traveling from Los Angeles to South Africa for the filming, and his experience remains etched in his mind.

In the helicopter, we watched as Tom prepared for takeoff and then took off himself. Following closely behind, we observed him walking on the wing of the aircraft. All I could do was watch in awe, glancing at Mc Q occasionally, but unable to utter a word. My thoughts were filled with gratitude, thinking ‘What an incredible privilege it is to witness this! How fortunate are those who will soon get to see this spectacle too?’ Indeed, Tom was generously sharing an extraordinary moment with many.

Read More

2025-05-23 02:25