Without a doubt, Tom Cruise is among the finest living actors. Although it is becoming less and less common to refer to someone as a “movie star” in modern Hollywood, Cruise is still a fantastic performer who is truly an icon of the silver screen. His presence transcends celebrity, and over the past almost forty years, he has given memorable performance after memorable performance, demonstrating his proficiency in spanning a range of genres—some with greater success than others.
It’s a credit to Cruise’s talent that he can be taken just as seriously in a dark, complicated drama from an auteur filmmaker as he can in a massive blockbuster franchise. From the boyish 80s protagonist to the classic lead man to an action hero, Cruise’s film career is the embodiment of success.
Furthermore, Cruise is still a dependable source of entertainment despite a sharp left turn towards only blockbuster-type content in the middle of the 2000s due to PR issues. Tom Cruise leaves nothing to the imagination when he stars in a film, and viewers can be sure of that. The man who, for our amusement, physically hung off the tallest building in the world is this one.
However, Cruise’s brilliance, desire, and willingness to take risks make him our greatest living movie star. Cruise’s reputation as a “movie star” is exemplified by this focus on winning over audiences.
1. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
The smallest of cameos, so think of this as an added bonus. In contrast, Cruise pulls off the movie’s opening humor in less than a minute of screen time by fusing his own manic grin with a glossy Hollywood take on Austin’s British perplexity. Cruise delivers a passable line of Bond’s speech as he muses, “Shall we shag now…or shag later?”
2. Top Gun – Maverick (2022)
The success of the rebooted film by director Joseph Kosinski, which is a sequel to a ludicrous (though thrilling) piece of American military propaganda, is totally absurd. It’s the best blockbuster Hollywood has put out in a very long time, thanks to a clever screenplay, mind-bending flight sequences, and, of course, Cruise himself, who returns to the pilot’s seat as an older but no less brazen Captain Maverick, who is mentoring a new group of flyboys and fighting against his own senility.
3. Taps (1981)
Taps were only Tom Cruise’s second acting role in a movie. He played a major role in the movie’s ensemble. In the role of cadet Captain David Shawn, Tom Cruise will be portrayed. Your journey to military school will begin with Taps. The real estate firm has threatened to seize the school’s property, which means the school that pupils adore will likely be razed shortly. Students band together to prevent the destruction of the school campus.
4. A Few Good Men (1992)
Two marines are accused of murdering a fellow marine in the Cuban naval base of Guantanamo Bay, but US Military Attorney Daniel Kaffee defends both of them on the grounds that they both thought they were carrying out orders from above. Daniel Kaffee, the film’s main character, is a vehicle for Tom Cruise to demonstrate his exceptional acting skills.
5. The Queen (2006)
The plot of the film The Queen is focused on Queen Elizabeth, who becomes embroiled in a number of events after Princess Diana’s passing, even if Tom Cruise isn’t the main character.
Tom Cruise has always been a wonderful actor, and a lot of his movies have done well at the box office. Despite being 60 years old, he promotes his acting career by starring in back-to-back blockbusters.
6. Lions for Lambs (2007)
When it was released in 2007, the movie Lions for Lambs wasn’t all that well-known, but it had a fantastic plot that centers on two army rangers who are hurt while on a mission in Afghanistan as a reporter follows them and looks for clues as to why the mission failed. Senator Jasper Irving, portrayed by Tom Cruise in the movie.
7. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
In the movie Edge of Tomorrow, which stars two troops, Tom Cruise plays the part of one soldier. Both of them are caught in a temporal loop as they fight aliens to save the world. After passing away, the main character always wakes up in the same place. Viewers must pay great attention throughout the entire movie Edge of Tomorrow since each loop introduces a new element that heightens the tension and action.
8. Jerry Maguire (1996)
When he disagrees with the company leaders about moral matters, sports agent Jerry Maguire is fired from his former employer. Jerry makes the decision to work as an independent agent after being dismissed, and Rod Tidwell, who was his one and only client, stays with him throughout. The motivating message of this sports comedy-drama movie is to never give up because failure always presents wonderful chances in the future.
9. Collateral (2004)
Two Max and Vincent characters appear in the collateral movie. Max is a cab driver, and Vincent is one of his passengers. After learning that Vincent is on a mission to kill people throughout the ride, Max makes every effort to stop him from carrying out this terrible deed. Tom Cruise plays the part of Vincent in Collateral, which was a popular movie in 2004.
10. Losin’ It (1983)
The lives of four teens, including Tom Cruise, are shown as fictional in the comedy-drama “Losin’ It.” These overexcited young people head to Tijuana, Mexico, in anticipation of losing their virginity. They choose a woman to accompany them on their trip because she desires an early divorce from her husband. There is a lot of humor and drama as these kids all get into trouble.
11. Endless Love (1981)
The beautiful but depressing film An emotional drama is an Endless Love. This was the first film Tom Cruise appeared in, and it served as his acting debut. In spite of the unfavorable reviews, the movie has a great plot.
The disapproval of their parents’ for their relationship causes David and Jade, who are deeply in love, to end up splitting apart. The two experience trauma, and the depression brought on by their separation causes insanity. David, played by Tom Cruise, is the film’s primary character.
12. Minority Report (2002)
The minority report transports you to a future setting where a criminal can be apprehended before committing the crime. The movie’s main character could be innocent and have no intention of committing a crime, but the police nonetheless manage to arrest him. He makes every effort to show the police that he is innocent throughout the entire film. Tom Cruise portrays John Anderton, the movie’s main character.
13. Top Gun (1986)
The tipping point came with this one: Tom Cruise’s emergence as the world’s biggest star, with a year-end No. 1 film as evidence. When viewed in the cold light of day, Tony Scott’s film is absurd: continuous aerial dogfights, a tonne of shirtless guys brooding, over-the-top music, and Cruise playing beach volleyball while wearing jeans.
14. Risky Business (1983)
While his parents are away on vacation, Joel Goodsen and a friend, who are both teenagers, call a prostitute to Joel’s residence. When she asks for money after spending the night with them, both of their friends are taken aback; in order to raise the funds she requires, they temporarily convert their home into a brothel. With the risky enterprise, the narrative turns into a series of amusing scenes that make the audience chuckle.
15. Mission Impossible (1996)
Tom Cruise became famous thanks to the film Mission Impossible. In 1996, the first episode of the Mission Impossible series was published. The movie’s main character, Ethan Hunt, is charged with several murders. He fights throughout the film to establish his innocence because he is not the murderer of the squad.
16. Mission Impossible II (2002)
The second Mission Impossible movie did regain popularity after receiving a tremendous reception for the first Mission Impossible movie. Tom Cruise returns to the role of Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible II, in which he travels to Sydney to apprehend terrorists in order to prevent them from obtaining the dangerous genetically produced virus.
17. Knight and Day
Knight and Day is by far the most underappreciated movie in Cruise’s discography and is a tremendous blast throughout. A turning point in Cruise’s career occurred with the 2010 action comedy when he made a conscious decision to move away from more serious or difficult material in favor of purely amusing viewers. Boy, did he succeed in this endeavor?
The chemistry between Cruise and Diaz in this two-hander is fantastic, with a nostalgic feel to their relationship that transcends dialogue to the humorous and incredibly exciting action sequences. The entire movie depends on the star power of Cruise and Diaz, who both give it in spades. James Mangold directs with a sure grasp on tone, and Patrick O’Neill’s writing keeps things interesting from a plot perspective.
18. Interview with the Vampire
The only pure fantasy movie starring Cruise is Legend, but 1994’s Interview with the Vampire is the second of just three journeys into the realm of the paranormal. When people viewed the film—including Rice herself—they changed their minds about Cruise playing the role of Lestat in the eagerly awaited Anne Rice adaptation.
Cruise had been criticized for being cast in the role sight unseen. In fact, Cruise gives a really good performance in this one, nailing both the dark humor and the groundedness necessary to keep movie this operatic from losing control. Additionally, Cruise embraces the underlying love undertone in his portrayal of Lestat’s friendship with Louis, played by Brad Pitt.
The movie itself is opulent and gothic, but it’s a little bloated and episodic toward the end. With the help of outstanding performances from Cruise and Kirsten Dunst, Jordan most successfully captures the terrible essence of vampirism. Not out of gratitude or the desire to give a gift but rather out of desperation and loneliness, Lestat turns to Louis.
The subject of this specific narrative is a welcome and serious approach to a component of vampire stories that is frequently skipped over in favor of providing the audience with escape or cheap thrills.
19. Mission Impossible III (2006)
The third Mission: Impossible movie features the kidnapping of Ethan Hunt’s wife. The kidnapper, Owen Davian, who earlier kidnapped Ethan Hunt’s wife, is after a student, and Ethan Hunt, who is already retired, is once again called to action to save the student. Then Ethan Hunt starts his mission to defend both of them from the gun dealer.
20. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
As Mission Impossible received positive reviews, the series’ writers worked diligently to add more entertaining and thrilling scenarios. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), where Ethan Hunt spent years working, is being held responsible for a bombing at the Kremlin. Since the entire organization is guilty, Ethan sets out with his squad to identify the true perpetrator of the bombing.
21. Magnolia
Paul Thomas Anderson followed up his undisputed masterpiece, Boogie Nights, with a dramatic epic that doubles down on his youthful ambition and is muddled, intense, bloated, emotional, and kind of remarkable. A major Hollywood blockbuster’s scope is applied to Magnolia’s character-driven drama, giving rise to a movie with a stronger emotional core and an unforgettable climax.
Even though Frank T.J. Mackey is unlike any other role Cruise has ever taken on, he exhibits a trait that has come to characterize the actor’s filmography: fatherhood concerns. It’s impossible to overstate how brilliant Cruise is in his role as the sexist, upbeat self-help teacher; it ranks among his best on-screen appearances.
The emotional effect of the picture nevertheless packs a punch, in large part because of Cruise’s excellent performance in the film’s last act, even though Anderson overplays the “epic” nature of the story and some of the depth turns into pomposity.
22. Rain Man
The 1988 two-handed character drama Rain Man, which won Cruise his lone Best Picture award, is the kind of film that is probably not even produced anymore. It’s actually a lot more difficult to watch than I anticipated because, for the majority of the movie, Cruise abuses his autistic brother horribly.
The verbal abuse hurled by Cruise’s self-centered entrepreneur, whose company is about to collapse, is brutal, but of course, that’s the idea, and that’s what makes his 180-degree turn at the end of the movie so dramatic. The pacing of this Barry Levinson-helmed drama is a little sluggish, and it does rely a little too heavily on the “Charlie is rude to Raymond” dynamic, but overall it holds up very well, and the ending is still very moving.
Additionally, this was a significant shift for Cruise into a serious dramatic area after he had been unfairly overlooked for an Oscar nomination while Hoffman went on to win. Rain Man is an essential component of Cruise’s filmography since it would be a turning point in his development as a dramatic performer.
23. Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
The fifth part of the Mission Impossible franchise was developed after the first four parts of the franchise had been released for four years. The terrorist organization known as the Syndicate, which is preparing to assault the nation, is brought to life in the movie Mission Impossible. To find and apprehend the Syndicate gang, Ethan Hunt sets out with his team.
24. Mission Impossible – Fallout (2018)
The sixth installment of the Mission Impossible series was released after another two-year delay. The terrorist strike that terrorists intend to carry out in many cities is once more at the center of the story. Ethan makes an effort to avert those terrorist attacks along with his IMF colleagues.
25. Eyes Wide Shut
One of the most intriguing films in Cruise’s career is undoubtedly the fever dream known as Eyes Wide Shut. While the final product of Stanley Kubrick’s final film may have received mixed reviews, it’s tough to deny that Cruise made one of his most audacious character choices as a performer over the grueling 400 days the actor put into it.
The movie paints an interesting enough picture of infatuation and jealousy with plenty of subtexts and psychological intrigue, but Dr. Bill’s rife insecurity ultimately makes it all seem a little empty. While the character’s sexual journey is certainly fascinating, it can be difficult to sympathize with the husband, who is furious just because his wife admitted that she once fantasized about cheating on him with another man.
Even though Kubrick makes it clear at the beginning of the movie that Bill and Alice’s marriage had many problems, it is still fascinating to learn more about their relationship. So, yes, it is a little silly to watch Dr. Bill descend into a downward spiral of jealousy over something that never happened.
Separating what is genuine from what isn’t is also a fool’s errand because the whole movie is a foggy dream, making it pointless to pull apart the truths of the various circumstances. However, finding an explanation for Dr. Bill’s preoccupation is difficult.
26. War of the Worlds
At first glance, War of the Worlds seems to be a less action-packed, more humanistic adaptation of a well-known science fiction tale. War of the Worlds, however, is one of Steven Spielberg’s most underrated movies once you go further into the film’s post-9/11 subtext.
Under the pretext of an alien invasion, the drama expertly depicts the dread and anxiety of the post-9/11 era. Spielberg made the brilliant decision to narrate the invasion story only from the perspective of one person, Tom Cruise’s blue-collar absent father. The end result is a horrifying, cramped thriller with a really human heart that manages to delight and horrify in equal measure.
War of the Worlds is a kind of Trojan Horse blockbuster in that Spielberg takes the money and basic premise of a large summer popcorn movie and transforms it into a crucial and philosophical analysis of the world right after the horrible events of 9/11.
It also adds a crucial chapter to Cruise’s post-Jerry Maguire résumé, where he made the transition from frequently portraying a character with father issues to portraying the father with difficulties. War of the Worlds, which they co-wrote and directed with Steven Spielberg, ended up being among their two careers’ best works.
27. All the Right Moves
Given that Cruise was such a hot commodity throughout the 1980s, it’s kind of remarkable that he managed to steer clear of so many cliché-filled films, but 1983’s All the Right Moves definitely stands out as exceptional in that regard.
Despite being overly clichéd, director Michael Chapman’s tale of a brash football player in a small Pennsylvania town who wants nothing more than to attend college and escape a future working at the local plant is kept at least somewhat interesting by Cruise, who brings a curious intensity to the role, and Lea Thompson, whose girlfriend character almost manages to manifest into something resembling a real person.
There isn’t much else to make the plot interesting after it takes the exact turn you anticipate it taking. It’s not particularly horrible per se, but it’s a small entry on Cruise’s record and his most forgettable movie from the 1980s.
28. The Color of Money
What a poor movie and I’m sure this ranking will stir some debate. The fact that Martin Scorsese collaborated with Cruise and Paul Newman should have been causing for celebration, but The Color of Money—the sequel to Newman’s The Hustler—is surprisingly conventional and formulaic—making it one of the most disappointing movies in Scorsese’s discography.
The movie was released in 1986, the same year Top Gun came out, and it’s interesting to juxtapose Cruise’s too enthusiastic and childlike performance here with the certain confidence and sophistication with which he approached Top Gun.
Vince, the hotshot character, is certainly meant to have more of an adolescent quality, but Cruise and Scorsese go too far in that direction, producing a figure that is more like an obnoxious younger sibling than a likable lead. The color of money is, to put it bluntly, uninteresting. It’s not fantastic, but it’s also not bad.
29. The Firm
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Cruise came dangerously close to being stereotyped as the stereotypical yuppie American businessman. Perhaps this was the case with his 1993 adaptation of the John Grisham novel The Firm.
The plot is interesting to a degree, and director Sydney Pollack does a good job of handling the Wicker Man-like tome, but the movie runs a little too long and tries to do too much at once. It’s not surprising that a TV series adaptation was attempted a few years ago because a long-form approach would have been more appropriate for this specific source material.
However, Cruise is fine; the movie benefits much from his friendship with Gene Hackman, and the narrative is consistently interesting. However, the movie begins to lose steam nearly immediately after the credits have finished. The movie version of an aircraft read is both gratifying and quick to finish.
30. Tropic Thunder
In the 2000s, Cruise made a point of leaving his early humorous roles in the past. The actor took one of his bold risks by playing studio head Les Grossman in Ben Stiller’s satirical comedy Tropic Thunder, despite some negative press and a few films that didn’t quite succeed.
As a result, Cruise makes a surprising and ultimately funny shift, and he hardly even resembles himself in the role. Tropic Thunder isn’t a huge part, so I thought about taking it off the list entirely. However, the movie did usher in Cruise’s career turnaround, making it a significant turning point in the development of his screen career.
The picture itself is a no-holds-barred satire on self-important performers and Hollywood’s gluttony, but while being a highly amusing comedy, Stiller attempts to have his cake and eat it too by constructing his own bloated war epic that drones on for too long and loses sight of its main thrust along the way. Despite this, it’s still very entertaining, and Cruise tops it all off as Les Grossman’s hideous dancing plays over the end credits.
31. American Made
Following Valkyrie, Cruise made a conscious decision to steer clear of more dramatic content and concentrate on providing the highest quality entertainment. However, the lack of subtlety in Cruise’s characters has been badly lacking. This brought us fantastic movies like the Mission: Impossible sequels and Jack Reacher.
Since Collateral, American Made is the closest Cruise has come to playing a “morally conflicted” lead. I’m not sure if it’s the novel change of pace or Doug Liman’s visceral direction, but this thing works. Barry Seal is a guy who does some really horrible things, and Cruise gives the part a necessary amount of charisma. However, he also absolutely delivers as Barry’s life goes out of control.
Although the movie is extremely exciting and still fits into Cruise’s “entertainment” style, it is less action-heavy than some of Cruise’s recent productions, which offers the actor a better opportunity to show off his variety than in something like The Mummy.
Even if the movie certainly would have benefited from embracing the darkness even more, as it stands, it’s an exciting and pleasantly unique kind of film, at least in terms of Tom Cruise’s current character.
32. Vanilla Sky
The movie Vanilla Sky is peculiar, but I’m not sure if it’s all that fantastic. The movie still ranks as writer/director Cameron Crowe’s largest departure to date and sees him squarely embracing psychological thriller territory.
It’s behind Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, nevertheless, in the category of Tom Cruise films that rely on surreal dream sequences and leave a lot to the imagination. Even though Crowe himself seems to be unclear about what is actually happening, Vanilla Sky and Cruise’s erratic performance have a certain charm that makes it extremely entertaining.
Unsurprisingly, the soundtrack is excellent, and in the first of their two on-screen couplings, Cameron Diaz proves to be a strong counterpoint for Tom Cruise. Despite being far from successful, Vanilla Sky has a certain moxie that lends to its charm in its own special way.
33. The Last Samurai
Although many people were put off by the movie’s name and the large image of Tom Cruise on the poster, The Last Samurai is actually a remarkably delicate and insightful historical epic. This drama, which is set in post-Civil War Japan, is skillfully handled by director Edward Zwick, producing something close to Dances with Wolves but with more heart.
Additionally, Cruise is excellent as a remorseful, alcoholic soldier who becomes entrenched in the world of the samurai, a rapidly extinct race. The Last Samurai is ultimately a tale of redemption, and while Zwick’s reverence for the material occasionally tries to stifle the movie, it’s still a very original take on a genre that dominated the 1990s. The only historical epic in Cruise’s discography makes The Last Samurai notable.
34. The Outsiders
Every hot young actor in Hollywood reportedly auditioned for The Outsiders adaptation directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1983, and the cast (mainly) reads like a who’s who of future megastars. Although Steve Randle is a very small character in the grand scheme of the ensemble, Cruise is one of them, and he accomplishes enough here to demonstrate that he intends to stay in the “showbiz” for the long run.
Regarding the movie itself, it’s a great take on the coming-of-age genre with a West Side Story twist, and the group of kids who are the main cast members does a fantastic job of recreating life as a brash adolescent in the 1960s. Coppola’s determination to depict the novel’s darker sides makes the movie a more interesting and timely watch overall.
35. Jack Reacher
While Jack Reacher has the appearance of a movie you’ve seen a million times before and, in many ways, delivers what you were hoping for, the film’s flawless execution elevates the familiarity of the plot to the level of something entirely unique. In this Lee Child adaptation, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie spins a wicked yarn.
If choosing Tom Cruise to play Jack Reacher was the first brilliant choice, then choosing Werner Herzog to play the heartless antagonist was a close second. This role differs from many of Cruise’s other action-hero leads in that Reacher is not excessively happy. However, Cruise’s attitude is so sure-footed and confident that you buy into every move Reacher makes.
Every time someone misjudges him or endangers someone else, you can feel how irritated he is, and it’s this aspect of the character that makes him so compelling to watch and, in the end, a memorable Tom Cruise performance.
The performer chooses a much dryer tone than his inherent charm and boyish exuberance, and it works well for him. Even if the plot is, once more, nothing new, Jack Reacher is one of Cruise’s most enjoyable movies because of its expert execution and distinctive performance by Cruise.
36. Far and Away
Far and Away, the sprawling immigration epic from 1992 directed by Ron Howard, is a pretty stupid film, but it’s also really endearing. The main concept of this movie is “romantic,” and even though some of the plot details don’t quite make sense, Mikael Salomon’s cinematography makes it simple to overlook these plot devices.
Additionally, the connection between Cruise and Nicole Kidman is absolutely explosive, carrying a dynamic that they started with Days of Thunder two years ago and achieving a fantastic gender reversal in terms of sexual relations.
The way Howard so obviously objectifies Cruise in this movie is brilliant, but the fact that Kidman’s character is the main target of objectification makes this a fascinating—and welcome—reversal of conventional gender roles. Strangely, this movie appears to have been a little overshadowed by bigger and flashier movies from Cruise and Howard’s individual filmographies, but it is still a tonne of fun and underappreciated.
37. Legend
Tom Cruise played the lead in Ridley Scott’s classic dark fantasy adventure Legend, so it’s no accident that he hasn’t made even the tiniest entry into the fantasy genre since. The film has a weak plot and flimsy character motives, which are all accentuated by Tangerine Dream’s distractingly out-of-place synth-heavy score. To put it bluntly, it is quite poor.
Legend’s incredible makeup effects, which turn Tim Curry into a Lord of Darkness who is almost unrecognizably different, are its one saving grace. Although his first attempt to make the transition from promising leading man to blockbuster lead was unsuccessful, Cruise recovered quite well the following year with a small film called Top Gun. However, Cruise is clearly uneasy in the lead role and is given little to work with from William Hjortsberg’s script.
38. Rock of Ages
Even if Tom Cruise sings into Malin Akerman’s butt in the movie Rock of Ages, Cruise is still pretty much the only positive aspect of Adam Shankman’s musical adaptation. Given Cruise’s dedication to each and every character, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but he gives a continuously endearing portrayal as Stacee Jaxx, which is kind of amazing.
The rest of the movie is. well, it still features Tom Cruise singing into Malin Akerman’s butt. The musical scenes are staged by Shankman in a rather unimpressive manner, and the excessive use of autotune detracts from what could have been an entertaining jukebox shuffle.
38. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
I’m not upset with you, Jack Reacher: Never Turn-Around. Simply put, I’m let down. With Cruise playing the lead role in a dark and assured performance, the original Jack Reacher was an unexpectedly deep, exciting, and artistic take on the action hero formula.
The sequel, however, has the feeling that it should have been the plot for Jack Reacher 3 or 4, as it throws Reacher’s life for a loop by introducing the possibility of a daughter. Before adding this “blast from the past” element, we really could have used more time to develop the Reacher character. In director Edward Zwick’s hands, the “blast from the past” part generally fails.
The action lacks the same energy that director Christopher McQuarrie delivered in the first movie, and the story isn’t nearly as gripping as it was in that one (he passed on directing the sequel as he was busy with another Cruise vehicle.
The movie has some redeeming qualities, though. Tom Cruise gives another terrific performance, while Cobie Smulders makes a compelling argument for heading up her own action franchise. From the pleasant surprise of the previous movie, it’s just a disappointing step down in quality.
40. Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023).
The follow-up to Assignment Impossible: The Fallout hasn’t yet been released, but it will be in 2023 because fans can’t wait to see Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt solve the next mission with his own IMF crew. On July 14, 2023, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning will hit theatres.
41. The Mummy.
One of Tom Cruise’s recent performances, The Mummy, was a huge waste of his abilities. His Nick Morton character is completely devoid of any endearing or distinguishing qualities, and as a result, we are given a blank-slate protagonist who merely reacts to plot developments and advances the narrative without grace or agency.
His intentions are ambiguous, there is little indication of why the viewer should support him, and the romantic subplot appears out of nowhere and is completely ineffective. Although it kind of fits with the blandness of the entire movie, Morton is completely devoid of the charisma, nuance, or darkness that makes Cruise’s action heroes so intriguing.
42. Oblivion
Oblivion, a 2013 sci-fi drama by director Joseph Kosinski, is a breathtakingly beautiful but utterly dull spectacle. Even though Cruise gives it his best, as usual, Kosinski’s direction and the multiple “twists” are uninspired and badly executed, turning what could have been an epic sci-fi drama into a tedious and protracted job.
Even while M83’s original score and Claudio Miranda’s beautiful cinematography are impressive, the movie simply kind of plods along like a very pretty but empty music video. Not even Tom Cruise’s magnetism can give this utterly forgettable sci-fi drama anything approximating a pulse.
43. Valkyrie
One of Cruise’s strangest credits in his career is Valkyrie. On paper, this project should have been great: Tom Cruise will star in a dramatic thriller set during World War II, directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie. However, the story of the botched attempt to assassinate Hitler never really takes off in execution.
It’s a fascinating movie since it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons why it doesn’t work, but one major aspect is that everyone watching knows how it’s going to end, making it difficult to generate support for this group of people whose scheme is certain to fail.
The supporting cast does a good job of portraying the inner workings of the Nazi army; Cruis does a good job of playing Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, and Singer does a good job of weaving the narrative together. In the end, however, there isn’t much to be excited about and nothing that truly makes the movie stand out as anything more than an odd—but forgettable—curio.
44. Cocktail
The cocktail is actually rather enjoyable for the first thirty minutes or so. Seeing Cruise start his career as a bartender is quite entertaining, and the movie has a breezy appeal that is typical of so many other 80s Hollywood productions. But as the film goes on, it starts to get genuinely ludicrous before getting much sillier.
Cruise’s Brian Flanagan is only interested in Brian Flanagan, and this is a tremendously stupid movie in which not much actually happens. The primary motivation behind the plot is, in fact, the desire to gain money, even though this theme makes sense in light of the yuppie culture of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Here, Cruise’s performance is a little too high-pitched; his enthusiasm is more intimidating than contagious. However, you can see hints of the natural charisma and charm that would be refined in later movies. Cruise’s variety was on full display in 1988 because that year saw the release of both Cocktail and Rain Man.
45. Days of Thunder
The idea of Tom Cruise and his Top Gun director, Tony Scott, collaborating again on a movie about NASCAR was immensely exciting, but the final product fell far short of expectations. Days of Thunder made more mistakes than Top Gun did, right?
Undoubtedly, there is a compelling film there, but the finished product is all flash and no substance, lacking the heart that made Top Gun so lovable. Although the chemistry between Cruise and Robert Duvall is intriguing, it is limited, and Days of Thunder is ultimately a film that is struggling.
