CHRISTOPHER McQUARRIE REMEMBERS the moment
distinctly. Tom Cruise had just completed his inal pass on the
big stunt that became the basis of Mission: Impossible —
Rogue Nation (you know the one; bloke strapped to the side
of a plane as it takes off), and a relieved McQuarrie turned to
his cinematographer, Robert Elswit, with a simple observation.
“I said, ‘I feel sorry for the poor son of a bitch who directs
Mission: Impossible 6,’” laughs McQuarrie, who shortly
thereafter became his own punchline by agreeing to return for
Mission: Impossible — Fallout. And the second he signed on the
line that is dotted, thoughts turned to the spectacular as he and
Cruise attempted to outdo themselves. “On this one, there was
the constant search for The Stunt,” admits McQuarrie. “But
once I’d let go of it as an obligation, and stopped obsessing
about it, another one came. And another one. And another.”
So strap yourself in as Cruise’s Ethan Hunt jumps off
things (the Norwegian mountain plateau, Preikestolen),
smashes into things (the London ofice building leap that
famously broke Cruise’s ankle), and clings onto things (like this
helicopter), all in service of a story that sees Hunt and his IMF
team try to save the world from nuclear armageddon, whilst
being saddled with a newcomer: Henry Cavill and his incredible
moustache. “He is, without question, the single greatest
antagonist to Ethan in the movie,” says McQuarrie of Cavill’s
character, Walker, a CIA tough-nut seconded to the IMF to
keep an eye on them. “For the irst time Ethan has a member of
his team who doesn’t give a shit about the IMF or their way of
doing things. It’s been great watching Henry take to the cold,
calculating nature of a character who is trained to kill. And yet
he does it in a way that is not, for lack of a better term,
moustache-twirling.” Cruise v Cavill: Dawn Of Falling Off
Stuff? We’re so there. CHRIS HEWITTMISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT IS IN CINEMAS FROM 2 AUGUSTSix films in, Tom Cruise is still falling off things, onto things
and into things in
The fall guy