Tom Cruise has earned a reputation for defying death with his impossible stunts in the Mission: Impossible franchise, which he usually performs on-site and without any stunt doubles. From scaling the Burj Khalifa to jumping off a cliff on a motorbike, the most dangerous Mission: Impossible stunts have been the highlights of their respective movies. These stunts have become the identifying and trademark feature of Tom Cruise’s filmography, earning him legendary status. However, a stunt he performed in the most underrated movie in the series never found the recognition it deserved and remains the most underrated stunt in the franchise.

Mission: Impossible III, the movie the franchise bounced back with after a disappointing second film, contains Tom Cruise’s most underrated stunt in the entire franchise. In a particularly tense moment, after scoping out all possible entry points in the building housing the dangerous weapon known as the Rabbit’s Foot, Ethan Hunt is forced to break into the building through the roof. This prompts him to fling himself from the top of a Shanghai skyscraper 80 feet off the ground in a daring stunt that deserves to be listed among the best stunts of the Mission: Impossible movies.

Mission: Impossible III’s Shanghai Leap Of Faith Is The Franchise’s Most Underrated Stunt

It set a precedent for Cruise and the franchise

Minimal VFX is used for Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible stunts today, but that wasn’t always the case. The Shanghai leap in Mission: Impossible III also uses CGI, but in an innovative way to still retain the thrill. The scene depicts Ethan Hunt swinging from a cable and landing with a thud on the skyscraper, before sliding down for a long distance and stopping his fall by clinging to a rod. It was sH๏τ in a hangar to ensure Cruise’s safety, but he performed a 65-foot drop, only to end up hanging with his face inches from the ground.

While the mountain climbing scene from Mission: Impossible II depicted him scaling a tall structure, there is a sense of playfulness in the scene due to the music and Tom Cruise’s body language. Mission: Impossible III‘s Shanghai jump is underrated because it highlights the fact that certain death awaits Ethan Hunt if anything goes wrong, and it started the trend of Tom Cruise flinging himself from impossible heights in the franchise. Moreover, ever since filming the Shanghai jump inside a hangar, Cruise became determined to film on site, leading to the famous Burj Khalifa scene in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

Mission: Impossible III Permanently Transformed Tom Cruise’s Franchise

It gave the franchise its current tone and shape

Rewatching the Mission: Impossible franchise in order today helps one realize that Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character in Mission: Impossible III remains the franchise’s best villain. He’s not just a ruthless villain who will get involved in Tom Cruise’s personal life, but he’s also incredibly sadistic and has no qualms about inflicting unimaginable pain and suffering on those standing in his way. While the franchise deals with danger for Ethan Hunt, the stakes had never been as high as in Mission: Impossible III until it came out.

The tone of seriousness and the humanized version of Ethan Hunt, who, despite succeeding in his mission, comes very close to dying and losing his wife, has continued through the rest of the Mission: Impossible franchise. While there are varying amounts of humor in every movie, none of them fail to capture just how ruthless his world can be, something the 1996 Mission: Impossible movie also did to a certain extent. Mission: Impossible III also changed Hunt’s characterization by showing how far he’s willing to go for the people he loves while still prioritizing the morally correct choice.