7. Motorcycle jump off a cliff (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One)
We’re fully aware that Cruise’s motorcycle cliff jump in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One has been called the biggest stunt in movie history. It is also one of the few stunts so daring that even Ethan Hunt had to pause for a second to realize exactly what he was about to do. The silence when he leaps off the bike mirrors the air being sucked back into your lungs in shock as you watch. The gigantic scenery making Cruise a small dot surrounded by potential danger is sublime. It’s still not the most ridiculous Mission: Impossible stunt ever, simply because it boils down to him riding off a cliff into a freefall before pulling his parachute, but the danger Cruise put himself in, and the spectacular photography of the moment, make it one of the most memorable movie stunts of all time.
