The joy of the Mission: Impossible franchise is the larger-than-life action sequences – and the even more impressive locations they take place in.
One of the most recent arrives in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. The Midfield Terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport – seen in public for the first time during the latest instalment – takes centre stage. With its colossal lantern-like chandeliers, curving ceiling beams, blooming pillars and latticed walls that bring to mind traditional mashrabiyas, the terminal certainly serves as a photogenic backdrop.
However, director Christopher McQuarrie says the team had the unique difficulty of making the terminal – which was still in construction when the cast and crew arrived in 2021 – look like a fully functioning airport.
“It was extremely challenging,” McQuarrie says. “We were shooting in an airport that had to look like a very busy airport. That involved lots of supporting actors, I think it was about 150 in total, not to mention all the crew.”
To make matters more taxing, filming was taking place at the height of the pandemic when social distancing measures and safety protocols were in place. Abu Dhabi was not initially pegged as a location for the new Mission: Impossible, but as Covid restrictions began to grip the world, the crew found the emirate to be somewhere they could continue filming while abiding by safety measures.
“We had to cut at one point because I walked into a shot still wearing my mask,” Simon Pegg, who plays field agent Benji Dunn in the blockbuster franchise, says. “I was so used to wearing my mask that the scene started and Benji walked in [with his mask on].”
A key scene filmed in the terminal involves Pegg's character scuffling to find a bomb hidden in a case that is making its rounds within the labyrinthine baggage distribution network.
“I was completely flabbergasted by it,” Pegg says. “It’s just this incredible network of conveyor belts and ladders. When we got back to London, we had to recreate a little corner of it to shoot the scenes that are slightly more close up. But what a fun thing, to have an entire airport to ourselves. It was great.”
“Unprecedented,” McQuarrie adds.
It is the third time the film franchise has been filmed in the UAE. The first was for Ghost Protocol. Released in 2011, the box office hit features what is arguably Cruise's most famous stunt, where he scales Dubai's Burj Khalifa.
Cruise later visited Abu Dhabi to film a scene where he performed a Halo (high altitude low opening) jump over the dunes for 2018's Fallout.
Filming for Dead Reckoning took place in the UAE capital over 15 days in 2021, with locations in the Liwa desert and Midfield Terminal.
The terminal is where one of franchise’s new main characters is introduced. Hayley Atwell plays the mysterious Grace, a light-fingered accomplice who becomes embroiled in Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) mission to save the world from a sentient and nefarious artificial intelligence system.
Grace, Atwell says, was still undefined when she was cast and the American-British actress was pivotal in building her character.
“The character didn’t exist at first,” Atwell says. “Tom [Cruise] and McQuarrie look for actors they want to work with and then the character is a collaborative effort that comes out of the work. You’re also finding it in the moment as well as in preparation for it.”
Coming from a background in theatre, Atwell says she has become accustomed to experimenting in a rehearsal space with the identity and body language of a character before “landing on the one thing that you feel is the most useful for the play".
“When I came into the screen test, it wasn’t entirely clear who she would be," she says. "They were seeing what was landing on film and what qualities seemed to be the most interesting and alive that could fit into this world.
"We had five months of training to find out her physical fighting style, but also developing the skill of drifting in a race car so that by the time I came on set, I was safe enough to make sure that I could do it well with Tom and with enough freedom that we could improvise and create little moments of character.”
Another character making her debut in the franchise is Pom Klementieff’s Paris. The Guardians of the Galaxy star takes on the role of a ruthless assassin, who, as the film progresses, displays a more affable side to her.
Like Atwell, Klementieff worked to build Paris’s persona almost from the ground up, having regular conversations with Cruise and McQuarrie about how to embody the character.
Giving a snippet of what conversations were like, Klementieff says: “I was trying to find the fight style of the character. Sometimes it would be things like: ‘Oh, I would love to kick. I love kicking,’ so we have to have an entire outfit that allows you to do that. Or: ‘Oh, what about a kilt? Yeah, a kilt is cool.’ We improvised a lot.
"Working on this specific character, it’s more about behaviour and movement than actual words. But then there are words in the end, so when the character speaks, you actually really listen. You see a side of the character that is completely different than what you’ve seen before.”
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is out in UAE cinemas on July 9, three days before its US and global rollout on July 12.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Dubai Women's Tour teams
Agolico BMC
Andy Schleck Cycles-Immo Losch
Aromitalia Basso Bikes Vaiano
Cogeas Mettler Look
Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
Hitec Products – Birk Sport
Kazakhstan National Team
Kuwait Cycling Team
Macogep Tornatech Girondins de Bordeaux
Minsk Cycling Club
Pannonia Regional Team (Fehérvár)
Team Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Team Ciclotel
UAE Women’s Team
Under 23 Kazakhstan Team
Wheel Divas Cycling Team
Men's football draw
Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica
Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea
Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA
Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
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Abu Dhabi racecard
5pm: Maiden (Purebred Arabians); Dh80,000; 1,400m.
5.30pm: Maiden (PA); Dh80,00; 1,400m.
6pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (PA); Group 3; Dh500,000; 1,600m.
6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (Thoroughbred); Listed; Dh380,000; 1,600m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup for Private Owners Handicap (PA); Dh70,000; 1,400m.
7.30pm: Handicap (PA); Dh80,000; 1,600m
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Rating: 4/5
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Challenge Cup result:
1. UAE 3 faults
2. Ireland 9 faults
3. Brazil 11 faults
4. Spain 15 faults
5. Great Britain 17 faults
6. New Zealand 20 faults
7. Italy 26 faults