The 8 Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Performed By Tom Cruise In The Mission: Impossible Series

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12-06-2025

Jumping Between Biplanes - Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
I'm sorry, but I don't understand how Tom Cruise is still alive after all these years performing these death-defying stunts. With the climactic biplane chase scene in The Final Reckoning, Cruise and Company outdid themselves. Not only is Cruise hanging off a flying plane, but he must jump onto another flying one and get into the cockpit. Pure insanity, and we loved every minute of it.
Piloting and Falling Out of a Helicopter - Mission: Impossible - Fallout
By the end of Fallout, Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt should be out of breath. After all, the audience certainly is! Yet, here he is, climbing up to a mobile helicopter, flying it, and falling out of it in a thrilling chase sequence. This action setpiece was practically a victory lap for the M:I team in their most daring mission to date.
Free-Fall Motorcycle Jump - Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning
Although Dead Reckoning was relatively light on bonkers stunts, it slowly built up to one of the most harrowing set pieces in the franchise's history. In one of the most meticulously crafted stunts, one error could've derailed everything and potentially harmed Cruise's life. But of course, the star successfully vaulted from a moving motorcycle off a ledge. Even more impressive than the execution of the stunt is the breathtaking photography capturing Cruise's audaciousness.
Burj Khalifa - Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Anyone who experienced the IMAX aspect ratio shift when Tom Cruise steps out onto the ledge inside the Burj Khalifa in Ghost Protocol is truly blessed. More reliant on sweat-inducing thrills than visceral action (while also providing an unexpected amount of laughs), you feel like Cruise will plummet to the earth's crust at any moment. The actor and the filmmakers behind M:I never make it easy on themselves. Only they would think to perform a free-solo climb on one of the tallest buildings in the world.
Underwater Submarine Dive - Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
In a shocking change of pace for the series, The Final Reckoning's first major set piece features no dialogue or score. The audience is forced to sit with Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt as he submerges into the deep sea and searches through the ruins of a submarine. It's eerily claustrophobic and moody, and being a world-class super-spy never seemed so scary.
HALO Jump - Mission: Impossible - Fallout
Fallout gets to an incredibly fast start, and by the time Tom Cruise is performing a real HALO jump from an aircraft, moving through the clouds at breakneck speed, the film is officially shot out of a canon. It's almost amusing how much Cruise is willing to go to entertain us and push the boundaries for stunt performance in movies.
Hanging Off the Side of a Plane - Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
In a bold storytelling decision, Rogue Nation uses his signature stunt in the cold open, and what a way to grab the audience's attention. You can see it in his face--Tom Cruise is holding on for dear life as a plane takes off at full speed. It may not factor into the main plot of the film, but it captures the essence of M:I to a tee.
Free Solo Climb - Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible II is known for its dazzling style that doesn't always amount to substance. This impressive, while now relatively rudimentary stunt, speaks to the gaudy nature of the series' second entry. Tom Cruise is in pure movie star mode as he does a free-solo climb on a mountain. The minimalism of the stunt enhances the maximalism of the film's larger-than-life movie star, who hasn't lost a beat twenty years later.