Tom Cruise returned to the Cannes Film Festival this year with what is billed as the final edition in the Mission: Impossible franchise, which has spanned more than three decades. The world premiere of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning received a thundering five-minute standing ovation, leaving Tom distraught throughout the movie.
The premiere of Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning at Cannes
What a sight the star-studded Cannes premiere was. The tone for a fantastic evening was established when a 40-piece orchestra performed the franchise’s well-known theme music live to welcome guests. In a social media video, Paramount Pictures showed Tom strolling down the theater aisle to thunderous ovation, accompanied by cast members Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Hannah Waddingham, Angela Bassett, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, and Greg Tarzan Davis, as well as director Christopher McQuarrie.
Standing ovation at @festivaldecannes for #MissionImpossible – The Final Reckoning! #Cannes2025 pic.twitter.com/bzBHLlSYQm
— Mission: Impossible (@MissionFilm) May 15, 2025
Tom and McQuarrie gave moving statements after the screening, thanking supporters and partners from the bottom of their hearts. “This response is why we do it. You are why we do it. The big screen experience is why we do it,” Tom said. He then turned to McQuarrie, adding, “Grateful for my friend every step of the way — what you’ve done, how you’ve expanded it, how we just went beyond our expectations. Your absolute care, your talent. You’re an amazing human being. It’s been a real privilege and pleasure, and I look forward to making many other kinds of movies with you.”
McQuarrie commented, complimenting the cast and crew’s fortitude: “I’d like to thank this incredible cast. It went beyond simply turning up for work each day. This movie was produced during two industry strikes and a pandemic. These two films were produced over seven years, during which time there were many unknowns and pauses. It was made possible by their unwavering devotion, faith, and hard work. This is the world’s most remarkable cast.
Review of Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning
Critics from throughout the world have started to comment. “World-saving Tom Cruise signs off with a wildly entertaining adventure,” wrote Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, who gave the picture five stars. Variety hailed it as “Tom Cruise flies high in a thrillingly doom-laden series grand finale,” while the New York Times said it “defies all.” Not all reviews, nevertheless, have been overwhelmingly favorable. Some social media followers have called the movie a “mixed bag,” pointing to its excessive exposition and erratic pacing, while the BBC has slammed it as “a miserable, apocalyptic tract.”
