The story behind the release of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One's first trailer is something that feels absolutely apt for the franchise it’s connected to. Leaked like half of the CIA NOC list over this past weekend, we soon got a proper look at one of Tom Cruise’s upcoming movies. To say it lived up to the hype is putting it mildly, as five ridiculous stunts look like pure Cruise-fueled mayhem.
With July 2023 set for the film’s release window, that leaves us plenty of time to wait for both another trailer and the movie itself. Looking back at the impressive stunts we saw in Mission: Impossible 7’s trailer, it feels like a good idea to rank them in order of how close Tom Cruise comes to being disavowed among living. To start us off, here’s the trailer for Dead Reckoning - Part One for your viewing (or re-viewing) pleasure:
With that trip down memory land, the fuse is now lit and the theme music has started. Let’s get into the ranking of Tom Cruise’s brushes with death in this Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One footage.
5. The Candlelit Run Through The Church
Admittedly, Ethan Hunt’s run through a candlelit church is entry grade when it comes to Tom Cruise’s antics in this series. That doesn’t mean it’s not adrenaline-pumped though, as Cruise’s trademark habit of sprinting always gets the blood running. However, there’s a factor that could change how this plays out in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.
We don’t know where Ethan Hunt is running to, and knowing how long and far Tom Cruise can run, this might just be the mid-section of what becomes a life or death chase. Not to mention that the shot shown in this part of the trailer is reminiscent of a scene from Mission: Impossible - Fallout. More particularly, the running sequence that caused Tom Cruise’s gruesome accident that broke his foot.
4. A Sandstorm Of A Different Color
More history of impossible missions comes to mind with this next entry, which is moderately more dangerous than a long sprint. As Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One cuts back and forth to a desert set-piece that also sees Rebecca Ferguson sniping some of the opposition, Tom Cruise looks to be riding into an actual sandstorm on horseback.
To be fair, the moderate threat of this scene comes from the fact that it’s probably not an actual sandstorm that the man who plays Ethan Hunt is riding into. Knowing Tom Cruise’s approach to practical stunts whenever possible, he’s probably on a real horse. The rest of this Mission: Impossible 7 moment is up for debate.
3. Racing In A Fiat
What sort of entry to the Mission: Impossible series would be considered a proper installment without some sort of vehicular hijinks? Even Brian de Palma’s 1996 franchise starter had an amazing helicopter/high-speed train set-piece that landed its way into action movie history. Dead Reckoning Part One looks to not only join that specific party, it has some interesting ways of doing so.
Sitting at the middle of the field, Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell look pretty close in both a BMW and a little yellow Fiat. The portions with the latter automobile win out in this case, as that potential tribute to the car Roger Moore drove in For Your Eyes Only doesn’t exactly have the safety features the more modern Beamer contains. Also, it looks really intense once things shift Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One’s action to the Fiat.
2. Another Train Roof Showdown
Throwing it back to the '96 Mission: Impossible yet again, Ethan Hunt is back in his natural habitat: on the top of a speeding train. This time, the unnamed villain played by Esai Morales is the one who puts Tom Cruise in this familiar position, with a rather intimidating looking knife spinning between them. Once again, the practical is blended with the some effects magic to make the impossible possible; as Cruise has the story to prove he was on an actual train for part of the filming.
What sets this Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One stunt apart from that sandstorm we mentioned previously is the high speed fans required to make it look like Cruise and Morales are actually zooming across the countryside. Anything from the signature knife that Esai’s baddie carries to a speck of sand could do some damage with those babies fired up. Top it all off with what looks like Ethan Hunt falling off the side of the train car, and that’s another angle that adds potential injury to Tom Cruise’s career of stuntwork.
1. Tom Cruise’s Motorcycle Jump Into Oblivion
Welcome to the danger zone of Mission: Impossible 7’s collection of stunts included in its first trailer. Just as we read and saw at last year's CinemaCon exhibition, the bike jump into oblivion is the stunt that looks like it’s going to kill Cruise in the execution. To be honest, there’s no other crazy stunt we’ve seen from this film (so far at least) that could beat it.
The only thing more insane are all the crazy details that make up Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One’s motorcycle jump. It’s something that Tom Cruise prepare rather intensely for, and he’s dreamed of doing it since he was a kid. That dream came true, and it looks like both a blissful memory and a harrowing nightmare. No matter where you land on that scale, it’s an impressive feat in a franchise that’s almost at its 30-year mark.
Keep in mind, this is everything that we’ve actually seen from this next Mission: impossible installment.There’s bound to be a lot of moments and components we haven’t even been shown just yet in the name of preserving the surprise of the theatrical experience. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One begins Ethan Hunt’s potential journey to the end of the line on July 14, 2023, with June 28, 2024 marking the current release date for Part Two. Imagine what that wait is going to feel like, especially if the last moment of the first half is some crazy Tom Cruise stunt we have no idea about.
