Stunt Height:
As Bond film opening sequences go, this is still one of the best. The action starts with 007 throwing himself off the side of the vast Arkangel Chemical Weapons Facility - in reality the Contra Dam near Lugano, Switzerland - with only a bungee cord securing him. The biggest stunt in Hollywood? Not by some way. But you know what? Unlike the other crazy tricks listed here you can do the exact stunt that Bond did.
As films, the Tomb Raider movies may not be classics - but this sequence has to be seen. Lara Croft and her sidekick leap from the 84th floor of the under-construction Two International Finance Centre building in Hong Kong wearing wingsuits, just as the bad guys catch up with them. Nerd-fact: the tower also features in The Dark Knight, where Batman leaps from 2IFC to 1IFC.
This is a stunt that happened in real life. In 1974, French high-wire performer Philippe Petit carried out a perilous walk across a wire he’d strung between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre. Oh, and it was all done covertly as they didn’t have permission to carry out the stunt. This incredible story formed the basis for the 3D film The Walk, as well as 2008’s Man on Wire.
The Mission: Impossible franchise does stunts in a big way. 2011’s MI - Ghost Protocol took this to new levels, literally, with Tom Cruise scaling the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. And, Tom Cruise being Tom Cruise, he did the stunts himself. While he might not have climbed the whole building, we definitely think this counts - especially as he later took time out to pose for photos sitting on the very top of the building.
If we’re talking sheer height, skydiving probably can’t be beaten. In this cult classic about a group of bank-robbing surfers, Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves grapple while plummeting towards the water. Oh, and this being Hollywood, they only have one parachute between them.
