Cruise flies back to Cannes for new Mission: Impossible
Megawatt Hollywood actor Tom Cruise has whipped Cannes into a frenzy after touching down for The Final Reckoning.
The latest – and apparently final – Mission: Impossible instalment is the biggest Hollywood tentpole wading ashore at Cannes in 2025.
At the premiere on Wednesday evening, Cruise walked the red carpet, posed for selfies and signed autographs alongside the cast and director Christopher McQuarrie.
Tom Cruise on the red carpet in Cannes for The Final Reckoning. Photo: AAP
The action-packed movie reportedly received a 7.5-minute standing ovation, amid mixed critics’ reviews.
It has five stars on Rotten Tomatoes, while The New York Times has called the film “enjoyably unhinged”. The Hollywood Reporter said the “convoluted” movie delivered but “takes its sweet time getting there”.
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Cruise earlier surprised fans by making an unannounced appearance at McQuarrie’s onstage interview.
Sixty-two-year-old Cruise avoided giving a direct answer to speculation that this could be the final MI adventure.
“I’d rather just people see it and enjoy and we’ve had an amazing time doing it and it’s been a lot of fun and I just want you all to enjoy it,” said Cruise.
The cast of The Final Reckoning in Cannes. Photo: AAP
The last time Cruise was in Cannes was in 2022 for the Top Gun: Maverick premiere, which included a flyover of eight jets expelling red, white and blue smoke.
At that time, Cruise received an honorary Palme d’Or from the festival.
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Whether Cruise has anything up his sleeve this time was much anticipated at Cannes.
On Sunday, Cruise climbed atop the roof of the British Film Institute in London.
In the eighth instalment of the critically acclaimed series, the Top Gun icon again performed his own dangerous stunts.
In one, he experienced what it was like to spin inside a washing machine as the crew built a tank to shoot a submarine interior that tilted and spun 360 degrees.
Cruise, who was wearing a scuba mask, breathed in his own carbon dioxide, but he did not need to worry as the pilot had trained for carbon dioxide build-up for when he earned his wings in 1994.
“You’re not going to feel as connected with the character if I went with a regular mask and a thing in my mouth to breathe,” the Oscar-nominated actor said.
“Luckily when you’re flying jets you train for hypoxia and for carbon dioxide build-up. You start to be able to perceive your body and how it’s reacting so that I knew when to stop.”
Cruise, who was inspired to do stunts after seeing footage of wing-walkers as a child, has said he “loves” making the movies, even if it does mean dicing with death.
“I love making movies. It’s not what I do. It’s who I am,” he said.
The Final Reckoning, which launched in Tokyo last week, has its theatrical release on May 23.
