Impossible 8’s “Brain-Melting” Stunts Sound Like a Trip

Why do people love the MIssion: Impossible movies so much? Lots of reasons, but the stunts are a big reason why, and the upcoming installment, The Final Reckoning, is going to go bigger than its predecessors.

Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie recently spoke with Empire Magazine for their cover story on the film, and they naturally hyped up the many set pieces wherein Ethan Hunt will just barely cheat death. (Or possibly die and come back, since that happens sometimes.) At least one involves Ethan hanging off a 1930s Boeing Stearman biplane, which you’ve seen in the trailer and a behind-the-scenes video Cruise posted. Being 10,000 feet in the air isn’t easy, and he described how going 120-130 miles per hour with his face out of an airplane meant isn’t exactly ideal. “There were times I’d physically pass out, and I was unable to get back in the cockpit,” he said. “I had to train myself how to breathe.”

Cruise has previously learned how to pilot a helicopter, hold his breath for several minutes, and inhale pure oxygen for prior Mission: Impossible movies, which just makes this another part of his skillset. For McQuarrie, though, it’s the tip of a perilous iceberg. He told Empire one particular stunt in Final is so bonkers, just talking about it makes him want to “puke thinking about the stress.” Whatever it is, it’s not the plane or an underwater maelstrom mentioned during the interview. Cruise has knack for “going out and doing something that topped anything he had ever done before,” and it sounds like this movie’s stunts will truly “melt your brain.”

Given everything Cruise and Hunt have experienced, this only makes the wait for Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning feel even longer. Is it May 23 yet?

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