Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1: How Tom Cruise shot a chase sequence, while handcuffed to Hayley Atwell

When the team of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 landed in Rome, the plan was to shoot a chase scene with a lot more ambition and unpredictability than what they’d ever done before, says the film’s director, Christopher McQuarrie. In a behind-the-scenes video of the sequence that lead actor Tom Cruise shared a while ago, Christopher is heard saying, “We let the city tell us the kind of chase it was going to be. Traffic in the city is notorious, and the cobblestone streets made all of the driving unpredictable. But the best part was that Tom and Hayley (Atwell) were handcuffed together.”

The perfectionist that he is, Tom, of course, had one hand in handcuffs and was driving with the other. As he drove and drifted for the sequence that Hayley says she will never forget, Tom’s only thought was to not crash. “While trying to do drifts, every time you think you are going in one direction, the cobblestones on the streets say, ‘No you are not, you are going this way’,” added Christopher.

In the sequence, while still handcuffed together, Tom and Hayley are then seeing ditching a car in favour of one from the agency (IMF) – a bright yellow tiny Fiat 500. “We built this Fiat 500, so that it would be faster,” adds the filmmaker about the car, which Tom could barely control. “I don’t think we could have made a sequence that was more difficult to shoot if I hadn’t gone out of my way to do it. It has really amazing results. It would have been impossible without this crew and an actor like Tom,” he signs off.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning is the final chapter in the franchise, which is being presented in two instalments. The first chapter, which also stars Rebecca Ferguson, Pom Klementieff, Vanessa Kirby, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, and Esai Morales, among others, will release in theatres on July 12.