La Historia
What happens on screen, and what happened behind the camera.
Tom Cruise pilots a helicopter through a narrow mountain pass. The peaks pressing in on both sides aren't visual effects , they're the Remarkables. He banks hard, skimming the surface of a glacial lake. The helicopter chase that closes Mission: Impossible – Fallout was shot here, in Queenstown, with Cruise at the controls and no stunt double in sight. When the franchise needed a finale that topped skyscraper climbs and plane takeoffs, it didn't build a set. It came to the Southern Alps.
When Mission: Impossible: Fallout needed a finale that topped everything Tom Cruise had done before, the production flew to Queenstown. The climactic helicopter chase: with Cruise actually piloting one of the helicopters: was shot over the Rees Valley near Glenorchy and the Milford Sound fiord.
The Rees Valley is a vast glacial valley running north from Lake Wakatipu, flanked by the Richardson Mountains. It is normally a quiet farming area, but for several weeks in 2017 it became a film set with multiple helicopters flying formation. The valley floor remains largely unchanged: you can drive the Glenorchy-Paradise Road and stand in exactly the spot where the chase sequence was framed.
Milford Sound appears in the film's opening, with Cruise's Ethan Hunt receiving his mission briefing against the backdrop of Mitre Peak. The scene was shot from a helicopter hovering inside the fiord, a perspective that cruise passengers never see: the sheer scale of the fiord walls from mid-air is something the wide shots barely capture.
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“Nausea-inducing aerial photography. McQuarrie shot practical helicopter sequences with IMAX cameras bolted to the airframes. The Rees Valley chase uses natural morning light and ultra-wide lenses t...”
