STACK #169 Nov 2018

DVD & BD

FEATURE

• Mission: Impossible - Fallout is out on Nov 21

We had three minutes to get the shot… So over the course of the day the tension would build

had his broken foot so it was extremely uncomfortable for him.” The production was beset by weather delays, and at one point it was unclear if they would be able to finish shooting before winter set in for good. They did, but about 15 minutes after the last crew helicopters took off, a blizzard buried the entire location – equipment and all – in snow. Some of the gear had to be left until it could be recovered the following spring. 2. Helicopter chase Another of the film’s many spectacular sequences is an adrenaline-fuelled helicopter chase preceding the climactic cliffhanger. It was shot in the treacherous canyons of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Cruise went through intense pilot training to learn some of the stunt piloting the movie required. There was simply no room for error. McQuarrie claims that he cannot think of an aspect of the aerial sequence that was not dangerous. “Most of the stunts that we’ve done with Tom in the past have had a safety mechanism built into them, like a release cable or something that catches him at the last minute, like when he climbed on the Burj Khalifa or the side of the A400. This sequence was all up to Tom. If he made any slip of the controls it would all be over. It was very nerve-wracking, and every time they came back I breathed a sigh of relief.”

The HALO jump A High Altitude Low Opening, or HALO, insertion is a special parachuting technique used by elite military units to land undetected in enemy terrain. On the Mission: Impossible – Fallout shoot, Cruise became the first actor in a major motion picture to jump out of a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III from a height of more than 7.5 kilometers in the sky. “Honestly, very dangerous,” admits the actor. In the scene, Hunt jumps out of the C-17 to rescue Walker, who has jumped out of the plane and then been knocked unconscious by a lightning strike. The effort to rescue him involves a complicated series of skydiving acrobatics that even seasoned skydivers find challenging to master. Add to that the fact that McQuarrie and Cruise wanted the scene to take place at dusk, meaning they only had one chance to capture it each day, and they faced yet another impossible challenge. Cruise would make between four and six rehearsal jumps each day. Then, just before sunset, when the light was ideal, McQuarrie would film the final jump of the day. “We had three minutes to get the shot,” says the director. “And if we didn’t get it we knew were coming back the next day. So over the course of the day the tension would build. In addition to being an astonishing piece of stunt work, Tom was helping the camera operator – and, of course, acting while he’s doing all that.” After the shot, the team would gather in the video van to see if the scene had worked. “The whole team was waiting to see if we got it,” says Cruise. “There were many days when we didn’t. I would bring everyone in to review the footage to look at exactly what had happened, why it hadn’t worked and what we needed to do differently.” The sequence was broken down into three sections, each involving extensive training, meticulous planning and days of rehearsals and shooting. “We thought the first part was going to be impossible, but when we got to the second part, the first jump seemed easy,” says Cruise with a laugh. “Finally we got section two, and everyone was so pumped. Then section three ended up being just gruelling. We had to figure out how to match it to section two when I finally tackle the Walker double. I was just trying to hold onto him and the centrifugal force almost pulled my arms out of the sockets. The tendons in my arms and my shoulders were pushed to the extreme. Craig, our camera operator, went through that also. “After McQ, Jake [Myers, producer] and I looked over the last take of section three, we called the crew together and showed it to them,” adds Cruise. “It was like we all made the decision together: That was a wrap – the movie was finished! Everyone was so excited and proud of what we had accomplished. When that moment happens, it is an amazing feeling and one you don’t ever forget really.”

029