Tom Cruise’s dedication to real stunts offers Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning a classic edge
From what was a reimagining of a 1960s TV series, the Mission: Impossible film series has become one of the most impressive runs of action films Hollywood has ever put out. Key to this success has undisputedly been Tom Cruise and his death-defying stunts, which really hit a new level of iconic with the Mission: Impossible 2 rock climbing stunt. Now, 25 years on from MI2 and 62 years old, Cruise insists on the need for real stunts.
“It’s real, and you’re dealing with physics”
As is shown in the interview relayed by the Associated Press above, Tom Cruise believes in the power of doing real stunts rather than delegating the scene to the CGI department. He says that films are “a living thing,” and while for action films you can be in a room trying to draw or CGI the scene, “we don’t do it that way” because it is real and you need to be “dealing with physics” when you’re doing the stunt for real.
Aesthetics and awe are key parts of many movies, particularly action films. While the writing is more important for the film to become memorable, it can certainly take that next step into legendary status by using incredible stunts. For The Final Reckoning, Cruise has, according to Movie Web, performed a rather punishing dive through a rotating tank filled with debris, as well as wing-walking and hanging from a biplane going at around 120 miles per hour.
Audiences can always tell, even if the sequence seems too daring to fathom, when something’s real. Too often, likely due to the turnaround demands, stunts and even elements of combat are left to the CGI team to, presumably, give them more punch. Cruise has long dedicated himself to learning new skills and staying on top of his fitness, meaning that he’s ready to go out and do these stunts even on short production schedules.
Classic aesthetic gaining ground across entertainment
One only has to look as far as the leads in the annual box office charts to see that filmmakers have become overly reliant on CGI and, in many cases, not particularly convincing CGI. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on superhero films and live-action remakes, but it’s rarely convincing anymore. Particularly since we entered this decade, CGI has become overused but has seen a distinct downgrade from the days of Davy Jones in 2006.
So, it’s not a surprise that we’re seeing audiences across entertainment more generally turn back to classic aesthetics. Almost conversely, the digital imagery-heavy world of gaming has become more realistic, and yet, there’s a yearning for the classic. This goes for all corners of gaming, including in online platforms. Fluffy Favourites has a very old-school aesthetic, from its carnival theme to the simple art style. Yet, it ranks highly.
Devoid of bombastic feature animations, complex bonus games, or even overly active stuffed animal symbols, it’s a down-to-earth, straightforward slot of 25 paylines, a 100x top prize, and a free spins feature triggered by a bum-wiggling elephant. It plays into the desire for classic and reliable entertainment like we’ve had before. In video gaming, the draw of pixel art in indie gaming is huge, and the 2D-HD wave has taken the scene by storm.
Across entertainment, the masses are craving what’s now the classic approach, so when The Final Reckoning arrives with all of its real stunts, Cruise is bound to dazzle audiences.
The editorial unit
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