MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8 Might Be the Most Intense Entry Yet
By Movieguide® Contributor
An audience’s reaction to an early screening of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FINAL RECKONING suggests that the stunts performed in the movie are the most intense ones seen in the franchise.
“We had a small screening and someone said, ‘I was suffocating throughout the entire sequence. I almost had a heart attack,’” director Christopher McQuarrie told GamesRadar, per Comic Book. “And I thought, ‘I guess we did something right.’”
While the director didn’t share details about which specific scene the viewer had this response to, McQuarrie previously shared that the movie features an underwater sequence that required Tom Cruise to hold his breath for six minutes, something he would never ask the actor to do again. This scene could be particularly gripping for audiences as Cruise and McQuarrie built on years of experience to execute the sequence.
“Tom and I are constantly reevaluating our own work and asking ourselves how we could have done it better,” McQuarrie told Collider in July 2023. “We’ve done underwater sequences previously. We’ve worked underwater in EDGE OF TOMORROW, and we worked underwater in ROGUE NATION, and we left very dissatisfied with those sequences.”
“And we analyze why we were dissatisfied,” he continued. “What were all the factors working against us? The biggest being, not having real knowledge in that area. Everything you’re looking at in [FINAL RECKONING] is the application of knowledge from previous sequences.”
Though FINAL RECKONING was originally supposed to be a quick follow-up to MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7 with a 2022 release, delays due to the pandemic and 2023’s dual strikes caused the filmmakers to change plans. Given Cruise’s age and the name of the movie, it is possible that the series will end here. If not, McQuarrie and Cruise will have to find some way to top the incredible stunts performed for this movie.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FINAL RECKONING hits theaters on May 23.
READ MORE: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8 GETS TRAILER AND TITLE
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