Tom Cruise became the first actor to do a halo jump on camera, says Mission: Impossible – Fallout second unit director and stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood. And the stunt was done right here in the UAE.
A halo jump, which stands for high altitude, low open, is a military tactic employed when soldiers need to enter a country without being detected.
Before take-off, Cruise spent 20 minutes on the ground breathing pure oxygen in order to avoid decompression sickness. The actor then climbed to 7,620 metres into the air, at which time all the lighting on the aircraft turned from white to red.
“You’re talking about Tom jumping out of a plane that’s travelling at 165 miles an hour [265km/h], falling at 200 miles an hour, and he has to position himself so that he lands exactly three feet away from the camera, with 20,000 feet beneath him,” explained writer-director Christopher McQuarrie.
The scene also had to be filmed during sunset, which meant that the cast and crew only had exactly three minutes to nail the shot.
“The light has to be perfect. We only get one shot a day,” said Eastwood.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
One of the largest wind tunnels in the world had to be built in order for Cruise to perfect the stunt. He practiced “over a hundred” times. A special helmet was built for the actor, as both a prop and a “life-saving device”.
Cruise practiced five jumps a day out of a Twin Otter utility aircraft, and three jumps out of a C-17 military transport aircraft.
“We needed the UAE. Had they not stepped in, we would not have been able to accomplish the sequence,” said Cruise, in a new behind-the-scenes clip.
He spent most of March filming in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi Film Commission posted a photo of Cruise wearing a flight suit in front a plane marked UAE Air Force, with the caption: “Mission made possible with @tomcruise #inAbuDhabi.”
RISKY BUSINESS
Risks of a halo jump include hypoxia (oxygen deficiency) and “the bends”, also known as decompression sickness. Symptoms of the latter can vary from joint pain and rashes to paralysis and death.
“You start losing your mind, but you don’t realise it,” said chief instructor Ray Armstrong.
During filming, as Cruise attempted to land near the camera, there was also a risk of mid-air collisions. But the shoot was completed without incident.
“I can’t wait for an audience to see this. I still can’t believe we got it,” said Cruise.
The 55-year-old actor is known for performing his own stunts. In 2010, he scaled the Burj Khalifa in Dubai for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the fourth instalment in the franchise.
Audiences can spot the UAE desert in the sixth and latest instalment, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, set to release in UAE cinemas on July 26.
