Among the most spectacular scenes of “Mission: Impossible 7”, the finale on board the Orient-Express figures prominently. But did Tom Cruise really shoot this piece of bravery on a real train?
Jump on a motorcycle from a cliff? Tom Cruise does. Driving at high speed through the streets of Rome while driving with one hand? The same. Do some speed flying? Also. And fight on the roof of the Orient-Express, in the insane finale of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning?
It is true that the question may arise since elements clearly seem to have been added in post-production (the barriers or the tunnel). Especially since Tom Cruise was doing his stunts on a replica of the Eurostar built in the studio for the needs of the first Mission: Impossible, to which this episode makes a nice nod.
As has already been the case several times with Christopher McQuarrie’s film, it is a making-of that brings us the answer to the question. And she is affirmative: yes, Tom Cruise and Esai Morales (and Pom Klementieff) fought well, firmly harnessed, on the roof of a train launched at almost 100km/h. But not the real Orient-Express.
Screenshot Tom Cruise and Esai Morales on set
“There were no surplus trains available to be broken up”says Christopher McQuarrie in the video. “We had to build it if we wanted to destroy it. Shooting the sequence was a real challenge. Not just in the execution, because we also had to design the different wagons capable of running on real tracks.”
If some digital tricks come to decorate the sequence (especially in its last part, which however remains breathtaking), the desire to limit them as much as possible is there. And she finds herself in this crash of the locomotive, which was indeed thrown from the top of a cliff.
“Each of the cameras was only allowed one take”, clarifies Christopher McQuarrie as the different angles appear on screen in the video. Mission accomplished for the directors and their teams… who are no doubt preparing even more impressive sequences for us in episode 8, expected for the moment on June 26, 2024 in France.