M3 THE SIGNATURE CAR FOR MI;ROGUE NATION IS A BOY RACER BEAST

Some of the most intense action of “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” is also it’s most primal: classic, pure adrenaline road chases that push the pedal to the floor.  For Cruise, taking things to the nth degree behind a wheel comes naturally. He’s raced cars and done plenty of stunt driving, but he says of this film, “we wanted to take it to a whole new level so that we could do very extreme things with relative safety.”  

Distributed by Viacom18 Motion Pictures in India, the fifth edition from the MI series titled, Mission Impossible; Rogue Nation is all set to release on 7th August 2015. 

That meant getting out on the track with Wade Eastwood, whose top specialty is car stunts.  Eastwood was licking his lips at the possibilities from the moment he came on board to train Cruise.  “In this film, there is a lot of high-speed, precision driving using very fast cars and very fast motorbikes on very dangerous roads,” he says.  “So experienced as Tom is, I suggested that we go back to basics, so that he would come out an even better driver than he was before.  And of course Tom always gives 120% and just went for it and exceeded every expectation.”  

Eastwood continues:  “Driving is my genre so I can say that the quality of Tom’s driving was ridiculous. There is no stunt man I would have rather used for these chases instead of him, because he has those skills mastered as much as anyone, and is in character the whole time.”   Cruise had the chance to handle a car that befits the “Mission: Impossible” mix of the classic and exhilarating -- BMW’s nimble, high-performance M3 sedan -- as well as BMW’s s1000rr sport bike.  

“We were so lucky to have the M3 as our signature car on this film -- it’s the boy racer beast,” states Eastwood.  “And we had BMW’s full tech support as well, which was fantastic.  We fitted some handbrakes and the like, but apart from minor modifications, the cars we used were all stock. Testing the M3 on tracks around Britain was, for me, the very best part of the job.  The BMW motorbikes are also exceptional. We truly had the best hooligan car and the best hooligan bike.  That bike has a lot of horsepower, which makes it exciting, but on the downside, it is easy to crash for even the best rider.  Tom worked until he had tremendously great control of it and that way he was able to make it safe.” 

Shooting in Morocco brought its own set of challenges – from the scorching heat to the scorpions – but that was all taken in stride when the filmmakers saw the kind of shots they were getting.  “When you see the helicopter shot swooping in over Casablanca, your breath is just taken away,” comments Jake Myers, “the way the city is situated right on the water with all the towering minarets.  And then you have these narrow, labyrinth-like streets and it was just amazing to see these BMW bikes zooming through them at high speeds.”  

Cruise’s comment about allowing the story to unfold through the action seemed to sum up much of the production of “Rogue: Nation.”  Dana Goldberg points out that even though the cast and crew pulled off some of the most incredible live-action stunts ever attempted – and the bar was indeed hurled past any previous point -- what people love most about the movie are the many funny and emotional moments in the midst of the tension that never lets up.  

“Great as the stunts are, they only resonate for the audience if they are involved in the story and feel something for the characters,” Goldberg concludes.  “The small moments where you see the characters having fun and revealing themselves are what make the big moments even more exciting.”