The filming locations of ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’
The undisputed Hollywood movie star Tom Cruise has long-held a tight grip on the realm of action moviemaking, expressing his dedication to the craft with such movies as 1986’s Top Gun, 1996’s Mission: Impossible and 2012’s Jack Reacher. Working with such blockbuster filmmakers as Brian De Palma and Tony Scott, as well as arthouse icons like Stanley Kubrick and Oliver Stone, Cruise has become an all-encompassing movie star.
It’s also fair to say that Cruise has become something of a bastion of the classic cinematic experience, encouraging audiences to head to the cinema whilst also supporting the marketing of other movies vying for public attention. In 2022, he shocked critics and audiences with the release of Top Gun: Maverick, a long-awaited sequel that ended up smashing box-office records, winning an Oscar in the process.
One year later, Cruise is back with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, the seventh instalment in his action franchise, which rivals the likes of James Bond and Fast and Furious. Featuring incredible action set pieces and a range of spectacular locations across the world, Mission: Impossible has been known for its globe-trotting nature, with the latest instalment featuring even more wild locations.
Take a look at the most significant movie locations from Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One below.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One filming locations
Rome, Italy
Cruise’s Ethan Hunt has been to Rome before in the Mission: Impossible movies, travelling there during the third instalment, where he visited the Vatican and piloted a speedboat heading down the Tiber River. In the latest movie, Hunt engages in a car chase through the streets of the Italian capital, driving full-throttle down such famous roads as Via dei Funari, Via Nazionale, Via di S. Maria Maggiore and Via dei Serpenti.
In addition to Rome, Cruise and the production team also headed up to Venice, where several scenes were shot, including a moment outside the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute where Hunt and Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa embrace.
Several scenes also took into account Venice’s other iconic locations, such as its world-famous canal network and San Marco square, where yet another car chase takes place between Ethan and undesirable adversaries.
Trollveggen, Romsdalen Valley, Norway
Also known as the ‘Troll Wall’, Trollveggen is known for being the highest vertical rock face in Europe, standing at over 1000 meters high. Thanks to the nature of the natural rock formation, Trollveggen attracts adrenaline junkies from across the globe, including Cruise himself, who partook in a particularly daring stunt during the making of the movie, in which he drove a motorcycle off the edge of the cliff before parachuting to safety.
This wasn’t the only location the team chose to film at, however, also travelling to Åndalsnes, a quaint town near the Rauma River. Thanks to its stunning surroundings, the location became an obvious choice for Cruise’s epic action flick, featuring overbearing mountains and several winding rivers. Fans will recognise the location from the moment in the film when Ethan is fighting Esai Morales’ Gabriel on the roof of the train.
They didn’t just stop at these two locations. The crew also headed to the small village of Hellesylt, located next to the stunning Geirangerfjord, to film a number of extraordinary action sequences.
Stoney Middleton, Derbyshire, United Kingdom
As well as the slightly more glamorous locations of Italy and Norway, the Mission: Impossible team also headed to the United Kingdom to capture a number of exciting set pieces. The most spectacular of which happened in the tiny village of Stoney Middleton in Derbyshire, where the local Darlton Quarry became a key part of filming, with the production team creating a specially-made train track for an action set piece in which a locomotive intentionally drives off the cliff edge.
Elsewhere, Cruise and the team also headed to Levisham, North Yorkshire, and the railway station that forms part of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway that runs through the nearby national park. The backdrop for these rail journeys became the picturesque setting of several Mission: Impossible scenes.
Away from the peace and quiet of the countryside, the film also travelled to Birmingham and the Grand Central train station. Even though the location is obviously known for its locomotives, however, the production team actually transformed the interior to better resemble an airport, using the location to double up as Abu Dhabi airport.
