Cruise unleashes 'Mission: Impossible' juggernaut at Cannes

Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" powers into the Cannes film festival for its premiere today on a steamroller of hype.

With some fans fretting that the $400-million epic -- the eighth in the high-octane franchise -- could be the last, Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie have been teasing up the tension by dropping contradictory clues about its future.

Cruise, 62, has also been sharing heart-stopping footage of the stunts he did for the movie on social media, including discussing a freefall jump from a helicopter at 10,000 feet. He is seen jumping from the chopper high over a South African mountain range and putting himself into a high-speed spin with a camera strapped to his stomach.

The blockbuster is set to ramp up adrenaline levels and promises to somewhat lighten the tone at Cannes.

The festival's highly political opening day began with accusations that Hollywood was ignoring "genocide" in Gaza, while the conviction of French screen legend Gerard Depardieu for sexual assault in a Paris court on day one also dampened the mood.

Even Cruise's iron-clad optimism has come under stress with the industry shaken by President Donald Trump's threat to stick tariffs on movies "produced in foreign lands."

With "Mission: Impossible" among Hollywood's most globalized franchises, shot on a dizzying roster of exotic locations from the Arctic to Venice and Shanghai, Cruise shut down questions about the issue at a promotional event in South Korea last week.

Asked about tariffs and the franchise's globetrotting shoots, Cruise said tersely: "We'd rather answer questions about the movie. Thank you."

In one glimmer of hope, Trump has said he will make an exception for the James Bond movies -- which are mostly shot in the UK -- because the late 007 Sean Connery once helped him get planning permission for his Scottish golf course.

Cruise's franchise also leans heavily on London studios.

Highly-charged

Yet it is likely to be all smiles when the indomitable star bounds up the red carpet at Cannes for the premiere.

Fans will find out if this really is the end of the road for secret agent Ethan Hunt when "The Final Reckoning" is released in Europe and the Middle East from May 21, with the US and several other countries having to wait two or three days longer.

However, Philippine, Indian, Australian and Korean cinemagoers will be able to see it from the weekend.

Director McQuarrie, who wrote the 1993 classic "The Usual Suspects", will also be giving a masterclass earlier in the day at the world's biggest film festival.

Veteran US star Robert De Niro also talked about his long, illustrious career after being awarded a lifetime achievement at yesterday's highly-charged opening ceremony. The outspoken Trump critic took the chance to blast the US leader as "America's philistine president."

He slammed Trump's film tariff proposal -- which few experts think can be carried through without creating havoc -- as he picked up an honorary Palme d'Or from his friend and sometime co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.

"You can't put a price on creativity. But apparently, you can put a tariff on it," De Niro said in a fiery speech in which he urged "everyone who cares about liberty to organize, to protest. Of course, all these attacks are unacceptable. This is not just an American problem, it is a global one."

"In my country we are fighting like hell for democracy," he said, adding that "art embraces diversity. That's why art is a threat. That's why we are a threat to autocrats and fascists."