Amidst a packed summer of 2023 new movie releases headed our way in the coming weeks is the seventh Mission Impossible film, Dead Reckoning Part One. The movie promises some incredible action sequences throughout, including a wild motorcycle stunt that is reportedly the “most dangerous” thing Tom Cruise has done in the franchise. But among other big challenges on set, who knew cobblestone streets were a major one too?
Dead Reckoning Part One features a thrilling car chase sequence that was shot on location in Rome, Italy, where Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and Mission: Impossible newcomer Hayley Atwell are handcuffed to one another as they try to get off the trail of some undisclosed enemies. In the featurette above, a closer look at the sequence shows that it was a particular challenge for the production. As writer/director Christopher McQuarrie shared:
We let the city tell us the kind of chase it was going to be. Traffic in the city is notorious and the cobblestone streets make all of the driving unpredictable… best part is Tom and Hayley are handcuffed together.
The streets of Rome, Italy are paved with cobblestone streets, which have proven to be quite unsafe over the years. The cobblestones can come loose as cars drive over them, become very slippery when wet and have even been known to send cyclists flying from bikes. So when Dead Reckoning Part One decided to film its massive car chase scene there, that element of the environment became a major obstacle for the production. As McQuarrie continued:
Trying to do drifts everytime you think you’re going in one direction, the cobblestones on the streets say ‘No you’re not, you’re going this way’.
There's also the fact that Tom Cruise has to drive in the sequence with one hand, given that in the scene his character is handcuffed to Atwell’s character. As the video from Paramount Pictures YouTube shows, the pair go from driving one car to a yellow FIAT 500 which was built to be faster than a typical car of that model. Plus, as the movie’s second unit director/stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood pointed out, one could “barely control the car, it was treacherous.” McQuarrie summed up their experience filming the sequence quite well, also saying this:
I don’t think we could have made a sequence that was more difficult to shoot if I had gone out of my way to do it. But, it has really amazing results.
Even though it sounds like the Rome car chase was borderline terrifying for the cast and crew to figure out, from what we see of it, it looks like a super fun sequence that’s going to have us on the edge of our seats. The specific sequence was even shown at CinemaCon, which you can check out our reaction for when CinemaBlend experienced it.
If you can believe it, Dead Reckoning Part One started filming right when COVID-19 shutdowns first began in early 2020. The movie was finally finished last week, three years and four months later ahead of its theatrical release date on July 12, 2023. Here’s to seeing the mission accomplished when the seventh Mission: Impossible finally comes out next month.
