Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Shot Tom Cruise’s Bike Stunt Before Knowing The Reason For It
To say that IMF super-agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) likes to live life on the edge would be a literal understatement. The man has dangled off planes and high-rise rooftops, held his breath underwater for more than 5 minutes for the sake of a mission, and fought bad guys on a moving train several times. As we approach the seventh installment in the endlessly invigorating “Mission: Impossible” franchise with the highly-anticipated “Dead Reckoning – Part One,” expectations surrounding Hunt’s daredevil antics have only gotten more pronounced. Moreover, with Cruise intimately involved in the evolution of Ethan Hunt, combined with his unparalleled commitment to raising the stakes with every installment, it is fair to expect grander action set pieces and even more impressive stuntwork from the upcoming film.
Turns out, Cruise’s dedication to upping the stakes with every “Mission: Impossible” film is so intense that his insane, highly-publicized bike stunt for “Dead Reckoning” was filmed even before it found a purpose within the expanding story. Per an exclusive feature on “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” in the latest issue of Empire, even director Christopher McQuarrie was unsure as to why Hunt was endangering his life by driving a bike off a cliff, as they had not worked that part out into the story yet.
However, if that’s the case, why go through with such a laborious, and not to mention, dangerous stunt in the first place? The answer is simple: Cruise wanted to do it, and in the process, make an audacious statement about a franchise that did not flinch from soaring dizzying heights just to entertain its audiences. Judging by audience reactions to the bike-stunt footage alone, this risk-laden endeavor can be considered a success.