Skydiving Movies: Are They Real?

Key Takeaways

Skydiving in movies is often based on real freefall footage that is then edited with some movie magic to increase the stakes or make viewers laugh. Professional skydivers get paid to choreograph, film, and perform famous skydiving movie stunts. Even if these scenes aren’t the most realistic, we love them for how they inspire more people to try out our favorite sport: skydiving!

Hollywood loves a good skydiving scene. They add an extra thrill to any action movie – that is, for those who may not know much about how skydiving really works. Some stunts are breathtakingly authentic, impressing all audiences, while others … might make a real skydiver roll their eyes.

With the help of editing and CGI, even a real, filmed skydive can be transformed into an obviously out-of-this-world scenario to those of us who know what is and isn’t possible. For example, all the skydiving scenes in Mission Impossible are real, filmed jumps. However, CGI is used to make them happen during a storm or at night.

Some common falsehoods from skydiving in movies include talking during a skydive (the wind is too loud!), extra-long freefall durations, crazy weather, and more. We’ll break down some of the best-known skydiving movies and their most memorable scenes so that you can watch them like a professional skydiver.

Fandango (1985)

Fandango is a coming-of-age comedy, featuring one of the earliest depictions of skydiving on the big screen.

• True: The freefall footage is real – even if a pilot won’t normally chase a skydiver down in the airplane.

• False: A proper first jump course will take half a day, not less than a minute! At Wisconsin Skydiving Center, we make sure none of our newbies are just thrown out alone for the first time. You’ll start with a tandem skydive with an experienced instructor (who will still provide a longer briefing than in Fandango for a first solo!) before moving on toward solo jumps with AFF instructors.

Even if the training sequence makes us laugh, this film is beloved among skydivers for its charm and authentic freefall scenes. Plus, it shows you don’t have to be a daredevil to try skydiving.

Point Break (1991)

Point Break is, perhaps, THE most famous skydiving movie of all time. Highlighting Patrick Swayze’s love of the sport, this movie inspired countless people to try skydiving. So, how much of it was real?

• True: Patrick Swayze really did jump! He was already a licensed jumper, and he made Hollywood history as the first movie star to skydive on screen for real.

• False: Keanu Reeves, on the other hand, did not actually jump. Moreover, the conversations during minutes of freefall are false depictions of skydiving. In reality, freefall lasts about 45-60 seconds from normal jumping altitude with winds too loud to hold a conversation.

How many skydives did Patrick Swayze have? He did at least 55 stunt jumps for Point Break alone, with even more jumps performed just for fun outside of his acting career! Regardless of what was exaggerated, skydivers still love Point Break – especially those who came to the sport after watching this skydive movie for the first time.

Iron Man III (2013)

Iron Man III was the first time Marvel brought skydiving into the MCU with a dramatic rescue sequence.

• True: Marvel hired professional stunt jumpers to portray the freefall scenes during real skydives, but these jumpers were not the actors.

• False: The group landing in the water after an intense freefall rescue is more fantasy than physics. Also, exiting a commercial airliner mid-flight? That’s unfortunately not going to go as well as it did in the film …

One question that comes up with stunt jumpers: Do professional skydivers get paid? Videographer Craig O’Brien, who worked on Iron Man III (as well as many other skydiving movies), is a great example of a professional skydiver who gets paid to bring Hollywood’s visions to life. But this is no easy feat! It’s kind of like making it to the MLB as a baseball player.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

With the help of Craig O’Brien and other talented paid professional skydivers, Kingsman: The Secret Service takes the classic spy film to the next level with a special skydiving test for new recruits.

• True: Real skydivers from the Red Bull skydiving team performed the jumps in place of the actors for authentic freefall footage.

• False: The deployment sequences and extended freefall times were heavily dramatized.

This skydiving movie is a great example of how filmmakers tend to blend real skydiving with movie magic to create heart-stopping action scenes. Don’t worry – in real life, skydiving with friends isn’t so intense! Everyone will definitely have their own parachute.

Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018)

People left the theater after seeing this skydive movie with two questions: “Is Tom Cruise a licensed skydiver?” (Yes!) and, “Did Tom Cruise actually skydive?” (Also, yes!). In Mission Impossible: Fallout, Cruise really does perform a jaw-dropping HALO (High-Altitude, Low-Opening)  jump.

• True: Cruise really did perform a HALO jump. He even does actually deploy the other jumper’s parachute for the scene (even though the other jumper was an actor just pretending to be unconscious).

• False: The stormy night conditions were added with CGI. Also, sharing oxygen mid-freefall is a no-go in real life.

The authenticity of the freefall by the actor himself set a new standard, ranking Mission Impossible: Fallout as one of the best skydiving movies.

Deadpool 2 (2018)

Exactly what you’d expect from a Deadpool movie, this film took skydiving to a hilariously absurd level.

• True: The initial freefall footage was shot for real.

• False: Pretty much everything else! At a dropzone like Wisconsin Skydiving Center, we won’t jump in dangerous winds, and we have a wide open, clear area for landings.

Honestly, this movie isn’t a total false portrayal of skydiving. It’s important to jump only in safe wind conditions and to be aware of all obstacles in the landing area!

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (2025)

Tom Cruise cemented his reputation as one of Hollywood’s most fearless actors with his fiery, record-breaking skydiving stunt in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning.

• True: The burning parachute and the jump from the bi-plane were actually filmed – 16 times over!!

• False: The plane’s violent maneuvers while Cruise clung on were likely enhanced with CGI.

This stunt landed Cruise in the Guinness Book of World Records, which was possibly the only thing that could follow up his incredible BASE jump stunt in the previous film – Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning (2023).

Inspired Yet?

If watching these skydiving movies makes you want to try it for real, come visit Wisconsin Skydiving Center! You won’t have to jump into a lightning storm or hope for Iron Man to rescue you. We’ll ensure you have great weather and provide you with best-of-the-best skydiving gear that will include not only one but two parachutes!

Book your tandem skydive today! We can’t wait to take you on an epic adventure!