France, May 15 -- The eighth - and perhaps last - iteration of the Mission: Impossible film franchise made its big premiere on the first day of the Cannes film festival Wednesday, with producer and star Tom Cruise taking to the red carpet alongside fellow cast members.

Cruise greeted fans as a band played the original Mission: Impossible TV theme - a lower-key entrance than in 2022, when he arrived to a flyover by eight French fighter jets trailing red, white and blue smoke.

One of the most expensive movies ever made, with a budget of about $400 million, Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning is being released on 21 May after delays due to Covid lockdowns and Hollywood strikes.

The premiere lightened the mood at the festival, whose o...