During the second day of the Cannes Film Festival, a fallen filmmaker icon was remembered and Tom Cruise showed the crowd the awe-inspiring power of movies.
Choose to Accept It
Tom Cruise stormed Cannes with a glitzy screening of “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.” Big Hollywood screenings are par for the course with Cannes, but they can be a dangerous proposition. A couple of years ago, when “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” showed up to the festival, it was met with critical derision and wore those toxic reviews for six weeks before the movie opened. Thankfully, the response out of Cannes – complete with a five to seven-and-a-half minute standing ovation (depending on who you believe) was over-the-moon.
The film, which could be the final installment in the blockbuster franchise that began way back in 1996, was met with a warm response. (The review embargo broke right after the screening in Cannes got out; it’s currently sitting at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and a more measured 70 on Metacritic.) “The emotional screening was the end of something for Cruise, but also a collective celebration of movies punctuated by explosions of applause throughout the nearly three-hour action extravaganza, capped by a wild standing ovation from an appreciative crowd,” according to Sharon Waxman’s recap of the event.
Walking the red carpet, Cruise was flanked by writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, his partner in the franchise (and a number of other films), along with cast members like Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Greg Tarzan Davis, Hannah Waddingham and Angela Bassett and key creative team members like editor Eddie Hamilton and co-writer Erik Jendresen.
“I’m grateful for 30 years to be able to entertain you with this franchise,” Cruise said as he addressed the audience. “We just want to thank you all.”
Théo Navarro-Mussy Banned from Cannes
French actor Théo Navarro-Mussy, who appears in “Dossier 137,” had been banned from the festival, following a civil suit accusing him of rape.
“Last week, the Cannes Festival management received a warning about an actor who appears in ‘Dossier 137’ regarding a case dating back to 2023, long before our film was shot. The case in question was dismissed in 2025, but the plaintiffs intend to bring a civil suit in response to the verdict,” movie producers Haut et Court said in a statement to TheWrap.
The allegations predate the production of the film, but the producers agreed with Cannes management that the person would not accompany the film to the festival. Three former partners accused him of sexual assault in 2018, 2019 and 2020, although according to the actor’s lawyer, the case was dropped last month due to lack of evidence.
The film, directed by Dominik Moll, also stars Léa Drucker, Jonathan Turnbull, Mathilde Roehrich, Guslagie Malanda, Stanislas Merhar and Sandra Colombo.
More Lynch Memories
There was a tribute to David Lynch, the filmmaker who died earlier this year at the age of 78, during the opening ceremonies for the Cannes Film Festival. And Lynch was remembered, once again, on Wednesday, during the premiere of new documentary “Welcome to Lynchland.”
The film, directed by French filmmaker Stéphane Ghez, reportedly had an emotional response. Lynch’s son Riley was even on hand to introduce the documentary. Riley said that the last time he was at the festival was in 2002, when his dad was the president of the jury, and he had his 10th birthday party at the festival. The documentary, which only runs an hour, is said to be a general but effective overview of the singular filmmaker’s career, some critical analysis thrown in for good measure.
Lynch was no stranger to Cannes. His film “Wild at Heart” won the Palme d’Or in 1990 and “Mulholland Drive” won the director an award for Best Director at the festival in 2001.
Reviews!
But that’s not all – we’ve got reviews of all the latest Cannes premieres, too.
Our reviewer wasn’t as impressed by “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” as those in tuxedoes and fancy ball gowns were. “If this is the end of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies, they ended on an adequate note. Some of the callbacks are fun and satisfying, some will make you roll your eyes. The stunts are incredible but not so incredible that you’re desperate for another installment,” William Bibbiani’s review read. “In the end it all boils down to Tom Cruise, who is destined to save us all, according to this Tom Cruise movie.”
We also have our review of “Death Does Not Exist,” one of a handful of animated features premiering at Cannes (this one debuted in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar). Our critic, Chase Hutchinson, seemed both impressed and somewhat confused, calling Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s feature “an intentionally murky meditation on mortality and survivor’s guilt.”