[We also recorded a podcast review of this film.]
In 1927, silent film star Harold Lloyd clambered up the side of a 12-story building, every move documented by a camera crew. Obstacles abounded: falling objects, slippery edges, a clock face which slowly, agonizingly, pulled away from the wall. The climb formed the climactic stunt in Lloyd's comedy film, Safety Last and was a Hollywood mystery for years—did Lloyd really do it? Was he really that high? (He did, and it was...sort of.)
In 1927, silent film star Harold Lloyd clambered up the side of a 12-story building, every move documented by a camera crew. Obstacles abounded: falling objects, slippery edges, a clock face which slowly, agonizingly, pulled away from the wall. The climb formed the climactic stunt in Lloyd's comedy film, Safety Last and was a Hollywood mystery for years—did Lloyd really do it? Was he really that high? (He did, and it was...sort of.)
I couldn’t help but think of Harold Lloyd during the opening sequence of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, which finds Tom Cruise clinging to the outside of a massive plane (for real) as it blasts into the air. Like Lloyd’s climb, Cruise’s plane stunt provokes a sense of awe: he really did it! That's really Tom Cruise on a plane! Both Safety Last and Rogue Nation showcase a particular brand of daredevil showmanship that’s rare in this age of green screens and computer trickery. An added parallel: as Safety Last’s comedy has remained fresh nearly a hundred years later, so the lighthearted but intense Rogue Nation manages to be far, far more fun than its gritty competition: Daniel Craig’s Bond.
