Cannes 2025 review – Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning sees franchise off on a high
3.5/5 stars
It has been almost 30 years since Tom Cruise first played IMF agent Ethan Hunt in 1996's Mission: Impossible. This latest – and presumably last – instalment, premiering out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival, does not let us forget it either.
The opening montage, filled with nostalgic clips from the series, is the first of many times we are reminded that Hunt's three decades have led to this moment with the world on the precipice of disaster.
Following directly on from 2023's
Dead Reckoning Part One , this concluding part continues Hunt's attempt to battle the Entity, an AI program destined to bring the planet to its knees.
Play
With a crucial, crucifix-shaped key in his possession, rogue agent Hunt is implored by the President (Angela Bassett) to surrender for the sake of humanity. But Hunt has other ideas, with his mission involving penetrating a sunken Russian sub where the Entity's source code can be found.
With Hunt re-teamed with his usual gang – Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg) and Dead Reckoning's pickpocket Grace (Haley Atwell) and gun-for-hire Paris (Pom Klementieff) – this eighth film in the series is typically globe-trotting, bouncing from Austria to the Arctic to South Africa.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Mission: Impossible? China faces box office blues during Dragon Boat Festival
A Hollywood film topped ticket presales for China's Dragon Boat Festival, but latest data points to a subdued box office for the holiday season as the industry grapples with a string of underwhelming performances. Advertisement The box office revenue for Saturday, the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, was estimated at 122 million yuan ($16.9 million), according to Maoyan, a Chinese film industry data platform. The figure was lower than the 177 million yuan for May 1, the first day of mainland China's last public holiday. The Hollywood film Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, starring legendary American actor Tom Cruise, was projected to lead the day with an estimated box office income of 54.6 million yuan. The film outperformed home-grown animated feature Endless Journey of Love and a spin-off of Japanese anime classic Doraemon. This came despite Beijing's announcement in April of a curb on American film imports – a move widely regarded as retaliation for US President Donald Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs. Advertisement As the world's second-largest economy struggles to stimulate domestic consumption, China's box office revenue declined last year, totalling 42.5 billion yuan – down 22.6 per cent from 2023, and lower even than the 2015 level. But observers said China's film market remains resilient in the long term, partly thanks to improved domestic productions.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
HBO Max travel show Conan O'Brien Must Go ‘makes me really happy', says star. Here's why
US television host and comedian Conan O'Brien's new show on HBO Max plays like a video postcard of silly and enlightening adventures, as he and his crew travel around the world to meet fans and experience different cultures. Advertisement Season two of Conan O'Brien Must Go lands him in Spain, where the high jinks included cuddling with actor Javier Bardem and doing Spanish voice-overs; and New Zealand, where he got lessons from one of the country's leading cultural advisers and attempted to break a haka world record with filmmaker and actor Taika Waititi The three-episode season ends in Austria. Here, O'Brien discusses stand-out moments from this season of Conan O'Brien Must Go, which has been renewed for a third season. You cuddled with Javier Bardem. You did Spanish voice-overs. You dressed as [Austrian neurologist Sigmund] Freud. You went to the snow globe museum. What moment stood out for you from these trips?
HKFP
6 days ago
- HKFP
Hong Kong's first giant panda twins named Jia Jia and De De, Ocean Park announces
Hong Kong's first-ever giant panda twins have received their official names, Ocean Park has announced, following a naming competition. The female cub is named Jia Jia while her brother is called De De, after a competition that, according to the park, drew more than 35,700 submissions from the public. The competition's judging panel considered the names to be 'highly meaningful,' Rosanna Law, the secretary for culture, sports and tourism, said on Tuesday. Jia Jia conveys the Chinese phrase of encouragement – 'add oil' – and is also a homophone of the Chinese character for 'family,' while De De means 'to succeed' and is also a homophone of the Chinese character for 'virtue,' Law added. The twins were born in August to mother Ying Ying and father Le Le, marking the first giant panda births in Hong Kong. Ying Ying and Le Le were both gifted by the central government to Hong Kong in 2007 ahead of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Ying Ying gave birth to the twins one day before her 19th birthday. She was 'the oldest giant panda on record to have successfully given birth' as a first-time mother, the park said. The nine-month-old panda cubs are growing up 'strong and healthy,' Ocean Park said in a social media post on Tuesday, adding that they weighed 21 kilogrammes each. 'In recent weeks, they have even started mimicking their mother by nibbling on bamboo leaves, though they are not quite ready to eat them and still rely on milk,' the post read. Ocean Park is now home to six giant pandas – the twins, their parents, as well as new additions An An and Ke Ke, who arrived in October as gifts from Beijing. The park, which launched a number of panda-themed experiences in November, said it would 'capitalise on the presence of six giant pandas in the park to drive citywide excitement' this fiscal year. Opened in 1977, Ocean Park is Hong Kong's largest theme park. It also conducts animal conservation research and boasts around two dozen animal attractions, including an alligator marsh, aquariums, and an Arctic fox den. In November, the park announced a HK$71.6 million deficit in its latest fiscal year, despite recording the highest number of visitors in five years. The rise in visitors was driven by non-local visitors, with tourists from mainland China almost quadrupling while those from India and the Philippines increased by more than three and five times, respectively. But at the same time, the park's operating costs increased 17 per cent compared with the previous year, with spending on conservation and education comprising almost 30 per cent of this.
