![]() ![]() The audacity to even attempt the stunt is stunning. He also needs to scramble back down-or, as he improvises when his cable isn’t long enough to reach, he needs to run along the side of the building, then launch himself out into the open air in a graceful arc that carries him to the window where his friends wait to catch him. And the entire time, I couldn’t find a single reason.īecause Ethan doesn’t just need to climb up 11 stories of the tallest building in the world from the outside while contending with failing technology and an approaching sandstorm. The entire time, I was wondering if I’d find a reason to bump the Burj Khalifa stunt in Brad Bird’s film from the top spot on this list, where it slotted in my initial brainstorm. I spent the last week rewatching the first six M:I movies, then watching Dead Reckoning Part One. ![]() Burj Khalifa climb, Mission: Impossible–Ghost Protocol The only way Cruise could top the splendor of this sequence is to, I don’t know, climb the tallest building in the world from the outside. Even the presence of guns-which, you’ll note, don’t appear elsewhere at the very top of this list-can’t diminish it, because the flute rifle and the cinematography of Ilsa’s exaggerated sniper pose are visually captivating. (The opera also brings a built-in countdown, via a target note in its sheet music.)Īll those design touches imbue the sequence with a sense of elegance that befits the opera. Many of the best M:I action scenes play with silence, but the buildup here-which seamlessly connects copious moving parts, with attention given to Ethan, Benji, Solomon, and three separate assassins-is all the more thrilling for its booming noise. Ethan and Benji’s trip to the opera is the most beautiful action scene in the entire franchise, with a backdrop of stunning colors-Ilsa’s yellow dress!-and moody lighting and the tension-ratcheting soundtrack of Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot. But in terms of aesthetics, it’s a flat-out jaw-dropper. In terms of pure stunt work, the Vienna State Opera scene doesn’t belong this high. Opera assassination, Mission: Impossible–Rogue Nation I’ve seen Dead Reckoning Part One only once thus far, and this is the sequence I’m most eager to rewatch. The latter is almost like a video game, as Ethan and Grace face unique obstacles in each car-a grill that catches fire, a heavy piano-that require different acts of athleticism to navigate. And Ethan and Grace still need to climb through falling train cars-in a slow-motion tumble over an exploded bridge-in the most gripping action of the newest M:I film.Įven in an oeuvre that prizes inventiveness, this ending is especially creative, with both the conception of Cruise’s cliff dive and the vertical train escape. Ethan still needs to make another dangerous parachute jump. Ethan and Gabriel still need to fist-and-knife-fight atop the train, even as it speeds through a tunnel. But at the point when Ethan initiates a BASE jump by riding his motorcycle off a cliff-that’s worth repeating: he initiates a BASE jump by riding his motorcycle off a cliff-the action isn’t even halfway over. ![]() If it included only the “biggest stunt in cinema history,” this climactic sequence would rank comfortably within the top 10. Battle on the Orient Express, Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part One ![]()
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