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Tom Cruise said goodbye to the “Mission: Impossible” franchise in electrifying fashion at the Cannes Film Festival, where “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” earned a five-minute ovation thanks in part to Cruise’s commitment to putting breathless and death-defying practical stunts on the big screen. The Cannes premiere was a massive event, with a 40-piece orchestra welcoming guests into the theater with the franchise’s iconic theme before the screening.
The audience lapped up the film’s special effects but the long run-time left some theatergoers bleary-eyed and exhausted. In the final stretch of the film, featuring death-defying acrobatics from Cruise, a handful of attendees got up and fled the Palais.
Though Cruise’s willingness to risk his life for “Mission: Impossible” has been covered relentlessly, what the Cannes audience did not expect was how much he was willing to bare all.
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The 62-year-old survived a three-minute knife fight sequence on a submarine wearing only skimpy boxer briefs. The same was true for part of the film’s mind-blowing underwater sequence. Honestly? The view wasn’t bad at all for a movie star in the fourth decade of his career.
During the standing ovation, Cruise clutched his heart and nodded gratefully, with both he and director Christopher McQuarrie kissing and thanking guests Zoe Saldaña and Marco Perego-Saldaña. As the clapping continued, the camera panned to each member of the large cast, including Simon Pegg, Angela Bassett and Hayley Atwell.
“This response is why we do it. You are why we do it. The big screen experience is why we do it,” McQuarrie then said in a speech, which ended up being longer than the ovation itself. “Thank you all for being here and for supporting us. I want to thank this extraordinary cast — when I tell you how extraordinary they are, it wasn’t just showing up to work every day. This film was made during a pandemic and two industry strikes. These two films were made over a period of seven years with a lot of uncertainty, a lot of gaps in between their faith and their hard work, their dedication, their unquestioning devotion to this. This film would not be possible without the hard work of each and every one of these people standing up here. It’s the most extraordinary cast in the world.”
Of Cruise, the director continued: “As a kid, I didn’t fit in and a lot of my life was imaginative play. I got to grow up and have my very own action figure.”
McQuarrie then passed the mic to Cruise. “To be here in Cannes and have these moments — I mean as a kid when we were growing up, I really can’t even dream of something like this happening,” he said. “I think McQ said it all, I’m just very grateful for 30 years to be able to entertain you with this franchise.”
Addressing McQuarrie, the movie star said, “Grateful to you, my friend. Every step of the way what you’ve done and how you’ve expanded it — it just went beyond our expectations. I look forward to making a bunch of other kind of movies with you, I can’t wait.”
Cruise and Paramount are surely hoping “The Final Reckoning” follows in the footsteps of “Top Gun: Maverick,” which dazzled Cannes in 2022 and earned a five-minute standing ovation on its way $1.46 billion at the worldwide box office that summer. The “Top Gun” sequel’s Cannes premiere was an extravaganza complete with eight fighter jets flying over the Palais as Cruise and the cast walked down the red carpet. Cruise was also awarded a surprise Honorary Palme d’Or before the screening.
Whether or not “The Final Reckoning” can match the box office highs of “Top Gun: Maverick” remains to be seen. Cruise’s last “Mission: Impossible” outing, 2023’s “Dead Reckoning Part One,” ended its run with a disappointing $571 million worldwide, a sharp decline from the $791 million that 2018’s “Fallout” earned. But one can never doubt Cruise’s ability to deliver a blockbuster.
In addition to Cruise, “The Final Reckoning” brings back franchise stalwarts like Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames. The cast also includes Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett and Rolf Saxon, all of whom appeared in previous “Mission: Impossible” installments. Newcomers to the series include Janet McTeer, Hannah Waddingham,and Nick Offerman. The film is directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who helmed three previous “Mission: Impossible” movies.
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” opens in theaters May 23 from Paramount Pictures.
