Ethan Hunt climbs the Burj Khalifa in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
The Dubai sequence places Hunt outside the world’s tallest building, where he must move across the glass exterior using specialized climbing gloves after a plan goes wrong. The scene is one of the franchise’s best-known practical stunts and was designed to communicate extreme height without relying solely on computer-generated imagery.
The Burj Khalifa, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, officially opened in 2010. Its roof height is 828 metres, and its architectural tip reaches the same overall height. The tower was known as Burj Dubai during construction before being renamed Burj Khalifa at its opening.
Ghost Protocol was directed by Brad Bird and released in 2011. The film’s production used specially built sections and controlled filming methods to capture Cruise’s exterior performance safely. The sequence is sometimes confused with scenes filmed at other famous towers, but the fictional location and the real building are both identified as the Burj Khalifa.