10 Most Amazing Practical Movie Effects Of The 2010s
2. Tom Cruise Hangs On A Plane (Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation)
A Tom Cruise movie just wouldn't be complete without a ridiculous, death-defying stunt, and his Mission: Impossible 5 effort - where he strapped himself to the outside of a plane as it took off and flew into the sky - is arguably his most dangerous and impressive to date.
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of this scene reveals that not one part of it is CGI. The only major digital tweak that was required was to have the wires and safety harnesses removed, but this aside, Mr. Cruise, the plane, and the background were all 100% real.
Robert Elswit, the film's cinematographer, spoke with THR about the complex safety measures the crew took to make this stunt possible:
"Tom was in a full body harness and he’s cabled and wired to the plane through [its] door. Inside the aircraft was an aluminum truss that was carefully bolted to the plane, which held the wires that went through the door, which held Tom. He was also wearing special contact lenses to protect his eyes. They were very careful about cleaning the runway so there were no rocks. And we took off in certain weather conditions; there were no birds."
The plane - an Airbus 400 - travelled at over a hundred knots (115mph), reached about 1,000 feet, and was in the air for roughly 6-8 minutes. Cruise reportedly performed the stunt eight times.
At least he didn't have to do much acting...