Tom Cruise Had to Be Carried Away After ‘Mission: Impossible 8’ Plane Stunt

Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.Tom Cruise is renowned for performing his own death-defying stunts, from scaling huge skyscrapers to free-falling at high speeds and navigating daring underwater scenarios, but Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning presented some of his biggest challenges yet. The star’s longtime stunt coordinator, and the second-unit director on Ethan Hunt’s eighth (and potentially final) mission, has admitted that the film’s closing aerial sequence took a physical toll on Cruise, so much so that the crew had to “carry” him away from the plane.

One of The Final Reckoning‘s biggest stunts comes near the end of the film when Ethan chases Esai Morales’ villainous Gabriel onto a vintage biplane, grappling with him midair to try and retrieve the Entity’s poison pill. Cruise performed the spectacular action scene himself, but it wasn’t without difficulty. He experienced extreme wind pressure while clinging to the wing and maneuvering around the aircraft as it soared through the sky. In an interview with The Times, Hollywood stunt veteran Wade Eastwood admitted it was no easy feat to pull off:

“The audience will never really appreciate how dangerous that plane chase is. I have to do what I can to eliminate as much risk as possible, but there is still a lot of risk… It beat the hell out of him. The wind hitting him, and the blast of the propeller, particles hitting him. It was the hardest workout you could ever do, it was very dangerous and very exhausting for him. Many times, we were carrying him off the wing because he was so tired. And he was flying all day.”

Despite the physical demands of the plane stunt scene, Eastwood, who has served as a stunt coordinator on the last four Mission: Impossible films, said that Cruise is like “a machine” and still “acts like a 20-year-old.” He also doesn’t get cold feet when it comes to the dangerous stunt work that he is tasked to perform. “Tom doesn’t show fear, Tom shows competence,” Eastwood explained. “He had fun during all his stunts, even when it was exhausting. He’s always positive, he’ll always put on a smile, and he genuinely enjoys it.”

Tom Cruise’s Epic Action Franchise Has Set Several Records

Cruise’s latest stunt-filled turn in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning undeniably drew crowds this past weekend and managed to achieve the best opening-day box office gross of the entire franchise. The film earned $25 million on its first day in theaters (May 23), beating out Mission: Impossible – Fallout as the previous record-holder with a $22.8 million opening day haul. It went on to earn $77.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $127 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $204.5 million, contributing to the highest-grossing weekend of 2025 and the biggest Memorial Day weekend of all time.

The Final Reckoning currently has an 80% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, which is high by most standards but places it behind Ghost Protocol (94%), Rogue Nation (94%), Dead Reckoning (96%), and all-round crowd-pleaser Fallout (98%), making it the lowest in the franchise since 2007’s Mission: Impossible III at this point in time. However, audiences seem to be enjoying Christopher McQuarrie’s new Mission: Impossible entry much more, as it has achieved an 89% score on the Popcornmeter, earning it a spot in joint second place with Fallout behind Dead Reckoning, which scored a 94% approval rating.

Among the positive reviews for The Final Reckoning, many have lauded the film’s jaw-dropping action sequences and Cruise’s hair-raising performance. MovieWeb’s own Julian Roman commended “the nerve, incredible production design and technical acumen required for the insane stunts and action choreography.” However, audiences will need some extra stamina themselves, as the eighth Mission: Impossible installment clocks in at 169 minutes, or two hours and 49 minutes, making it the longest movie of the entire franchise.

Source: The Times