In every Mission: Impossible movie, there’s a moment where you gasp. Several, most likely. And the majority of those moments involve Tom Cruise himself pulling off some ludicrously dangerous-looking feat, all in the name of our entertainment – creating iconic images and breathtaking sequences that have made Mission one of the most mind-blowing action franchises around. In the run-up to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Empire spoke to Cruise himself, who looked back on his memories of shooting every single Mission so far, bringing those astonishing moments to life.

This article was originally published in the April 2025 issue of Empire.

Mission: Impossible

(1996, Brian De Palma)

The Langley Heist

For some, it’s still the signature sequence of the Mission: Impossible series, even though it doesn't involve a life-threatening stunt. Ethan Hunt infiltrates the CIA headquarters at Langley, to retrieve vital information from a high-tech, temperature-controlled computer vault that is seemingly impossible to access.