One’s very next mission should be to go and watch the Tom Cruise’s latest mission as he has confidently returned to his role of Ethan Hunt, the handsome and never-a-loser agent whose only mission is to get everything right at the last minute of the action. Mission: Impossible — Fallout is justified not only in action but also the story which goes as someone has stolen the plutonium and it is up to Hunt to gather his team and venture into another adventure that includes defying death, defying gravity, and defying the villain-in-the-act-of-hero. The movie succeeded in pumping the adrenaline and keeping the reviewers on their toes till the last scene where the bomb is defused at the last second of the countdown. In particular, there are two thrilling scenes which deserve the highest appreciation and reward for delivering the perfect action.
Tom Cruise is the first actor to do a Halo Jump on camera. Halo Jump means High Altitude Low Open, normally followed and applied by military professionals who jump from 25,000 feet in the air and opens the parachute at 2,000 feet. The idea of Halo is to sneak into the foreign country without been deducted. In the movie, Cruise has learned and bravely performed the act himself with assistance from his team. If it is a false act, the reviewers can tell when something is being cheated or is for real. The team build the world’s largest wind machine on which the first phase of the Halo sequence was done; it was large enough for the team to be able to rehearse. The team had also developed a special helmet which worked as a prop as well as a life-saving device. After the rehearsal, the team practiced multiple jumps a day before they took the final shot. Since they had to shoot a night sequence, the light had to be perfect, and for which the team had to shot the scene as close to sunset as they could. This led to only one shot each day. While watching the scene, it was not just thrilling, but scaring as well. Leaving the lightning part to the VFX work, the jumping part was very much real. When jumping from that altitude, there are dangers of the person to suffer from hyperoxia and start losing the mind without realizing it. But, this did not stop Cruise and his team to practice and successfully finish their mission of Halo Jump. Every precaution was made before the final shots were taken which is why the team also spent 20 minutes on the ground breathing in pure oxygen so that the jumping team did not get decompression sickness. The final result was that the team succeeded in making the safest jump and the perfect shot.
In another remarkable scene where Cruise flies a helicopter—yes, he actually does by himself—is equally dangerous. Flying a helicopter takes skills and Cruise learned to acquire it. He took lessons from the professionals to become a helicopter pilot for three months. He worked round-the-clock to reach the level of skills needed for the shot. Well, one must watch the movie to know how dangerous the scene was. To cover the action from every angle and make sure that Cruise was shot flying the helicopter, the team developed rigs and mounted the cameras to his helicopter, the protagonists’, and others (those flying to shoot the scene), this way they captured the whole aerial chase. Even for this shot, the team made sure the safety measures were in place and they discussed each flying move, direction, and positions. The scariest part was the 360-degree spiral dive and Cruise did it all by himself. Doesn’t that make him multi-talented and the most skilled action-actor in today’s time? It is a clear understanding that one makes a mistake and somebody else pays for it, which was clearly avoided in their situation due to the rigorous efforts of the skilled team. The end result is that Cruise pulled the spirals well and each looked like it was going to hit the next obstacle.
And for some impossible scenes there is the VFX artists to save the day. The film’s VFX work was under the supervising head of Laraib Atta who has bagged other blockbusters to her credit such as Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Gravity, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Trader, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and more.
It can be noticeably considered to be watched in an IMAX format or even in a 4DX which are the roller-coaster style theatres with seats that can tilt and vibrate while jets of air and misted water are sprayed in a little proportion. One will definitely enjoy the ride! At the planning stage, the film must have felt impossible, but the team has made it possible, and much contribution comes from Cruise who did a fabulous acting in this action-filled movie. It is eccentric to know that the mission of Mission: Impossible — Fallout to reach the hearts of the audience is accomplished.
