Key Points

The Cannes premiere was a big event, with an almost 40-piece orchestra welcoming guests into the theater with the franchise's iconic theme before the screening, reports variety.com.

The audience lapped up the film's special effects but the long run-time left some theatergoers bleary-eyed and exhausted. In the final stretch of the film, featuring death-defying acrobatics from Cruise, a handful of attendees got up and fled the Palais.

In the film, the 62-year-old star survived a three-minute knife fight sequence on a submarine wearing only skimpy boxer briefs along with a mind-blowing underwater sequence.

During the standing ovation, Cruise clutched his heart and nodded gratefully, with both he and director Christopher McQuarrie kissing and thanking guests Zoe Saldana and Marco Perego-Saldana.

As the clapping continued, the camera panned to each member of the large cast, including Simon Pegg, Angela Bassett and Hayley Atwell.

"This response is why we do it. You are why we do it. The big screen experience is why we do it," McQuarrie then said in a speech, which ended up being longer than the ovation itself.

"Thank you all for being here and for supporting us. I want to thank this extraordinary cast -- when I tell you how extraordinary they are, it wasn't just showing up to work every day. This film was made during a pandemic and two industry strikes."

"These two films were made over a period of seven years with a lot of uncertainty, a lot of gaps in between their faith and their hard work, their dedication, their unquestioning devotion to this. This film would not be possible without the hard work of each and every one of these people standing up here. It's the most extraordinary cast in the world."

Talking about Cruise, the director continued: "As a kid, I didn't fit in and a lot of my life was imaginative play. I got to grow up and have my very own action figure."

"To be here in Cannes and have these moments -- I mean as a kid when we were growing up, I really can't even dream of something like this happening," Cruise said.

"I think McQ said it all, I'm just very grateful for 30 years to be able to entertain you with this franchise."

Addressing McQuarrie, the movie star said: "Grateful to you, my friend. Every step of the way what you've done and how you've expanded it -- it just went beyond our expectations. I look forward to making a bunch of other kind of movies with you, I can't wait."

- IANS