Tom Cruise is back to shock and stun audiences by pulling off near-impossible stunts in his upcoming film, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Possibly the actor’s swansong in the franchise - though neither he nor the filmmakers have confirmed this - The Final Reckoning hits theatres in the US on May 23, and in India nearly a week earlier, on May 17. ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ Movie Review: ‘Incredibly Bloated’ or ‘Love Letter to Fans’? First Reactions to Tom Cruise’s Eighth Film As Ethan Hunt Are Out – Here’s What We Learnt!

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, the film is a direct sequel to 2023’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, and also stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, and Shea Whigham.

The Mission: Impossible series has consistently showcased why Tom Cruise remains one of the greatest action stars in the world - an actor willing to push boundaries and perform daring stunts himself. The trailer for The Final Reckoning continues that legacy, featuring scenes of Cruise leaping between two aircraft and battling an enemy in an icy submarine... without any clothes.

As we gear up to watch Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning on the big screen, let’s take a moment to look back and rank seven of our favourite stunts from the Mission: Impossible franchise, where Cruise showed off his daredevilry in unforgettable style (ranked in order of the films’ release years).

1. Utah Rock Climbing Scene (Mission: Impossible 2)

Often considered the weakest entry in the series, Mission: Impossible 2 still opens with a genuinely jaw-dropping sequence: Ethan Hunt (the real one - not the guy in the mask from the earlier scene) free-climbing a cliff in the Utah range without any safety harness. Cruise performed it himself, and somehow managed to look cool doing it, shades and all.

2. Climbing the Burj Khalifa (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol)

Also known as the one with apna Anil Kapoor, this instalment elevated Cruise’s stunt game to legendary status. The standout sequence? Ethan Hunt scaling Dubai’s Burj Khalifa - the world’s tallest building - in the middle of a heist. Not for the faint-hearted.

3. Hanging Off a Transport Plane (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation)

The opening stunt of this 2015 film left jaws on the floor, as Cruise clung to the side of a military transport plane during take-off. He actually did it himself, with minimal CGI. Fun fact: our very own Akshay Kumar pulled off something similar back in the ’90s... just saying. Tom Cruise Jumps off Plane and Films Himself While Free-Falling in His Latest Stunt Revealed Ahead of ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ Release (Watch Videos).

4. Jumping into a Turbine and Holding His Breath for Six Minutes (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation)

Rogue Nation served up another nerve-shredding moment when Hunt dives into a massive underwater turbine system as part of a high-stakes heist. Cruise trained to hold his breath for six minutes to make the scene look realistic. That’s dedication on another level.

5. The HALO Jump (Mission: Impossible – Fallout)

Many consider the HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jump in Fallout to be the franchise’s most breathtaking stunt. Shot in a single take, the sequence blends expert camerawork, seamless editing, and Cruise’s training in yet another new skill. It's cinematic precision at its finest.

6. The Rooftop Jump (Mission: Impossible – Fallout)

Also known as the jump that broke Tom Cruise’s leg, this sequence sees Ethan sprinting at full speed across London rooftops before making a dramatic leap between buildings. The fact that Cruise finished the shot after breaking his leg mid-jump? Iconic.

7. The Clifftop Bike Jump (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning)

Arguably the most hyped stunt in Dead Reckoning, this jaw-dropping sequence shows Ethan riding a motorbike off a cliff, mid-air ditching it, and parachuting down onto a moving train. While it was heavily promoted and thus somewhat overexposed by the time the film released, it remains a spectacular, high-risk piece of action cinema. As Commodus asks in Gladiator: “Are you not entertained?”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 13, 2025 03:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).