Tom Cruise dazzled attendees at Cannes on Wednesday, as he received a 5-minute standing ovation for death-defying stunts in Christopher McQuarrie’s latest “Mission: Impossible” installment.
The biggest Hollywood movie this year, he caused a frenzy in the theatre as they were awestruck by him. He also spent several minutes on carpet interacting with fans and signing autographs.
Four-time director of the “Mission” franchise, Christopher McQuarrie said in a speech following a prolonged applause, “A lot of my life was imaginative play. I got to grow up and have my very own action figure, who was actually willing to do just about any crazy thing I could think of,” he said, gesturing to Cruise. “I’m grateful for your support, your friendship, your insanely unquestioning devotion to this craft, and most of all for your artistry,” He added.
“To be here in Cannes and have these moments, as a kid when we were growing up, I really can’t even dream about something like this happening,” Cruise said, addressing the audience. “I’m very grateful for 30 years to be able to entertain you with this franchise.”
Tom Cruise, reprising the role of iconic Ethan Hunt for the eighth and final time, must fight a new and formidable enemy, an AI called “The Entity”. The plot is a continuation of 2023’s “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning”.
The title and trailer of the film are both nods to the past of this franchise, and the nostalgic air of this installment suggests this might be the fans’ chance to bid an emotional goodbye to their favourite character.
Cruise has made history multiple times through this franchise due to his stunts, of which climbing the world’s tallest building and jumping off of planes and other flying vehicles remains a memorable moment.
The last time Cruise was in attendance at Cannes, he was awarded an honorary Palme d’Or for “Top Gun: Maverick” in 2022. This time, accompanying Cruise and McQuarrie at the red carpet was the cast of “Final Reckoning” including Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Angela Bassett and Hannah Waddingham.
It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14 and is slated to opens in theaters May 23 from Paramount Pictures.