6 movies like Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One that push the limits with death-defying stunts

Tom Cruise is returning as Ethan Hunt for the latest instalment of Mission: Impossible. The new film, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, promises more death-defying stunts by the action star. While some of Cruise’s films may be regarded as among the best action films of all time, there have been a few other action thrillers over the years that can definitely give Cruise a run for his money. So for today’s List hai toh hit hai, we take a look at scenes from films that feature stunts that will blow your mind!

Live and Let Die

The first one on this list is the iconic crocodile scene from the 1973 Roger Moore film Live and Let Die. There is also an interesting story behind the scene. The filmmakers allegedly stumbled upon a crocodile farm owned by a man named Ross Kananga in Jamaica, while scouting for filming locations. Kananga himself volunteered to be Moore’s stunt double for the scene. Additionally, the villain of the film, played by Yaphet Kotto, was named after Kananga. In the said scene Kananga runs across a crocodile pond by stepping on several of the large reptilian predators. The scene apparently took several takes, including one where Kananga’s ankles were nearly snapped by one of the crocodiles.

Skyfall

The next film on the list is yet another James Bond film, and it’s the critically-acclaimed Daniel Craig film Skyfall. The opening sequence at the Grand Bazaar scene in Istanbul culminates with a thrilling bike chase on rooftops that leads to a fight scene on a moving train. For the sequence, two professional motocross drivers worked as stunt doubles. Most of the scenes required one-shot takes, and in one of the takes one rider reportedly crashed into a 300-year-old building, eventually shattering a crystal glass of a jewellery store while trying to avoid crashing into the extras.

The Dark Knight Rises

One of the best introductions to a villain is arguably Bane’s in The Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan has earned quite a reputation for not using CGI in favour of practical effects. From crashing a real Boeing 747 into a hangar in Tenet to flipping a 70 feet long semi-truck in The Dark Knight, Nolan has showcased incredible sequences in his films. However, dropping an entire plane from the sky for The Dark Knight Rises will be hard to top. In this scene, Tom Hardy’s Bane deliberately crashes a plane to fake the death of a nuclear physicist, whilst also killing a few CIA agents in the process. It helps establish Bane as a formidable foe for Batman.

Armour of God

Any list of death-defying stunts would not be complete without a Jackie Chan film. The 1986 film Armour of God features jaw-dropping scenes including one where Chan jumps on top of a hot air balloon, more than a thousand feet up in the air. However, it’s one of his relatively more straightforward scenes that literally defied death. In a sequence where Chan was supposed to jump onto a tree and then onto a wall, it went horribly wrong. The tree branch that Chan jumps onto breaks and sends him crashing down 25 feet below. The Kung-Fu action star fractured his skull and required surgery to save his life. He would eventually return to complete the film and a version of that scene does make it into the film.

Inception

Another Christopher Nolan film makes its way into this list and it is the sci-fi action thriller Inception. The film features truly mesmerising scenes and set pieces, and there is one fight sequence in particular that is arguably one of the best in history. The scene we are talking about is the iconic hallway fight scene in one of the dream sequences. In this scene, the film’s heroes are forced to battle their foes in a spinning hallway. Nolan had a hallway built to spin around an axis and actors and stunt doubles choreographed their fight scenes inside the hallway while it was spinning, making for one of the most memorable scenes in the film.

Bullitt

The film that reinvented ‘car chases’ is the iconic 1968 film Bullitt, starring the legendary Steve McQueen. Widely regarded as the greatest car chase of all time, the film used innovative camera angles, framing techniques, practical effects, and some seriously impressive skills behind the wheel to create the iconic scene. The filmmakers also introduced small remote cameras to give the audience a first-person view as McQueen’s character Frank Bullitt chased after villains in his Mustang. The scene continues to inspire films even today.

That's all we got for today's episode, until the next one it's your host Nikhil signing out.

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Written by Ryan Gomez

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