"The scores plummeted": Longstanding Mission: Impossible director once cut just 5 extra minutes from Fallout, but audiences completely hated it

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Even action classics can have bad test screenings

Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Fallout
(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Director Christopher McQuarrie has recalled how slicing just five minutes out of Tom Cruise's action classic Mission: Impossible – Fallout led to a surprising backlash.

When the topic of director's cuts – and specifically Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven three-hour cut – was brought up by Collider, McQuarrie responded that shorter runtimes aren't always indicative of quality.

McQuarrie, who has directed and written for Cruise across nine movies, reunites with his star for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

Touted as Cruise's swan song from the role of Ethan Hunt and the action franchise, McQuarrie even went a step beyond for the eighth Mission: Impossible movie – by trying out one of Cruise's death-defying stunts for himself.

"I said, 'Just in terms of the speed, because the force of the air, for me to move quickly on the wing was… You just can't do it,'" Cruise said during a Final Reckoning press conference in Tokyo of a biplane stunt that restricted Cruise's movement.

If you ask the director, that was probably a far less brutal five minutes than the one that didn't make it into one of Mission: Impossible – Fallout's divisive test screenings.

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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