Yes, Tom Cruise Is Really Drifting One-Handed in the New “Mission Impossible” Movie

The new Mission Impossible film is here to keep the momentum, and the adrenaline, going for the sudden surge of really exciting action flicks being released for the summer. But when you’ve got competing action flicks like John Wick: Chapter 4 and Fast X dominating the box office, you have to keep upping the ante with the action sequences that will have everyone talking about them on the drive home from the theater.

How Does Mission Impossible Hope to Raise The Bar for Action Flicks?

In a special behind-the-scenes look at Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, we are treated to one of the more intense chase sequences featured in the film, which involves Tom Cruise drifting through the streets of Rome, Italy, one-handed, all while being handcuffed to his co-star Haley Atwell. All of this, while trying to outrun some unknown baddies with little concern for other vehicles and Italy’s fine architecture.

Cruise, who has had a very successful career in action films, has received a lot of training as a stunt driver, and what better time to show off his skills than through the unforgiving cobblestone roads of Rome! “I just want to give them (the audience) that thrill,” Cruise says in the clip. “The key is: don’t crash.”

“Tom had to drive one-handed, cuffed… for real,” adds stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood. “No cheating it.”

The FIAT 500 Becomes The Hero

Now all of this sounds like a very exciting action sequence, right? Correct. That is until our heroes need to ditch their current car in favor of a heavily-modified Fiat 500. That’s right, a tiny Fiat 500 is suddenly the next big action movie car to stand alongside the 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback Eleanor from Gone In 60 Seconds and the 1970 Dodge Charger R/T from The Fast and The Furious.

“We built this Fiat 500 so that it would be faster,” says director Christopher McQuarrie. “Some would even say the car is possessed! I don’t think we could have made a sequence that was more difficult to shoot if I had gone out of my way to do it. It has really amazing results.”

Audiences will be able to see Cruise and the Fiat 500 in action when Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One arrives in theaters July 12th, 2023.