Tom Cruise - Great Actor - Thoughts on his Career?

[Sanguinerd]

I've enjoyed most if not all of his movies and don't care about his or any other celebs personal life.

That being said, he seems like a great guy despite all the bandwagon hatred.

Can't wait for the new Top Gun!

[Nerph-]

I've got a friend like this as well. Always thought it was weird.

Let's just say this family member of mine is a very opinionated person Each to their own I guess!

[draynay]

I can dislike him but I can't dislike his performances. He's solid and in a lot of things I've enjoyed.

[Tyrannica]

Vanilly Sky, i thought Cruise is a cyborg until i watched that movie, that was pretty good acting.

[Necomis]

I can say I enjoy every movie he has done that I've seen. He puts out some very good sci-fi movies but I find Last Samurai to one of my favorite movies he has done.

[RobertoCarlos]

I'm interested in actors and Tom Cruise is quite the interesting guy.

Hes been around for decades which isnt easy. Hes managed to transition from young heart thob to leading man similar to leonardo dicaprio but thats about where the similarities end. He was very smart with movie choices/ who he worked with early on and learned a lot from real cinema icons in front and behind the camera. Hes obviously highly intelligent and is obsessed with films and has managed to learn and master most genres. I think this also does his movies a bit of harm in that he seems quite over bearing in terms of wanting to make creative decisions and hes in the position to be able to pick directors because he has the power to get movies made, so he just picks a yes man that he likes like chris quarrie for example. But its worked so far for the mission impossible series keeping that fresh but was a disaster with launching the dark universe with warner bros with the mummy remake but I dont think you can lay the blame on him too hard for that because WB clearly rushed into it with marvel induced universe building compulsive disorder.

I'd like to see him playing more villain roles, collateral is one of my favorite performances and Tom's best skill is being able to sell the moment so would be cool to see him really wanting to kill someone or bent on taking over the world.

Personal life aside I just find that stuff a laugh. Hes clearly bat shit crazy but hey who isnt.

[Thage]

The dude knows how to pick his projects, and is rarely in a bad film. His acting in dramas are usually very good, but in action flicks, his performances are mostly just serviceable... though I really admire his dedication to doing some pretty insane stunts.

ninjaedit: Forgot about his work in comedies. He's... mostly good? His Austin Powers cameo was fucking gold.

All this, really. The worst things I can say about him have nothing to do with his actual ability as an actor and everything to do with his on-set behavior, riders, and full-throated embrace of an extremely questionable religious organization even as extremely questionable religious organizations go.

That said, his tendency to play in vehicles can get tiring, and from what I've read, his demands (mostly around refocusing the film from the eponymous monster to his character's arc) caused The Mummy to tank and took down Universal's attempt to build up a monster-centric cinematic universe with it. It does need to be restated, though, that he's typically astounding at picking his roles well, and even within the umbrella of "all his roles are Tom Cruise But Idealized" (excepting a few breaks in the trend like his cameo in Austin Powers: Goldmember and Tropic Thunder) he shows some pretty impressive range, ranging from burned-out soldier Jack Reacher, to charismatic superspy Ethan Hunt, to sports agent Jerry Maguire, to gung-ho pilot with something to prove Maverick, to the runner up in the Hitler Assassination speedrun Claus von Stauffenberg, and that's barely scraping the tip of the iceberg.

edit: Also, I'm pretty sure the man's found Keanu Reeves's rejuvenation pool and takes a dip when Keanu's not looking.

[ProphetFlume]

Great actor at his best when he branches out of his usual lead action movie role. Collateral, interview with the vampire, and tropic thunder come to mind, but he’s still great in stuff like the surprisingly good mission Impossibles and minority report.

cant think of him without thinking of Scientology though; that interview of him intensely talking about it was scary.

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I think this also does his movies a bit of harm in that he seems quite over bearing in terms of wanting to make creative decisions and hes in the position to be able to pick directors because he has the power to get movies made, so he just picks a yes man that he likes like chris quarrie for example.

Couldn’t agree less and super uncalled for. Rogue nation was great and he did a great job with it, fallout was terrifically directed but he wrote it more for a series of cool scenes than a fluid story. Still, yes men don’t both write and direct movies like he did.

[NightZero88]

I just didn't like it, I don't know why it just wasn't for me.

That's fair, thought you were calling the movie bad in general.

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Let's just say this family member of mine is a very opinionated person Each to their own I guess!

Must be a thrill at parties, ha! But yeah, same, I'm not sure if they're still like that but they refused to see any movie Cruise was in, just on principle that they didn't like him. Really dumb IMO.

[Stormcall]

He's in a weird spot for me. I'm rarely blown away by his actual acting performances, I won't go and see a movie just cause Tom Cruise is in it, but...he also has a tendency to pick roles in movies that get my interest and generally enjoy.

[RobertoCarlos]

Great actor at his best when he branches out of his usual lead action movie role. Collateral, interview with the vampire, and tropic thunder come to mind, but he’s still great in stuff like the surprisingly good mission Impossibles and minority report.

cant think of him without thinking of Scientology though; that interview of him intensely talking about it was scary.

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Couldn’t agree less and super uncalled for. Rogue nation was great and he did a great job with it, fallout was terrifically directed but he wrote it more for a series of cool scenes than a fluid story. Still, yes men don’t both write and direct movies like he did.

OK then. Yes men that are also talented. Better?

[Bodakane]

That's fair, thought you were calling the movie bad in general.

It is bad. Historically inaccurate, white savior drivel. It was shot well, I'll give it that.

[ProphetFlume]

They do all the time. Hollywood is full of yes men.

who don’t make consistently good things.

Just because he works with cruise a lot doesn’t make him his bitch. Otherwise a lot of famous actors are Scorsese, Nolan, and Wes Anderson’s yes men.

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Also I don't get this "OMF Scientology bad and a cult" dislike though.....I mean...hey...yea...it is a pretty ridiculous belief behind it, but really it is about who you know and who helps you to advance in life.....and let's be real - so is (insert forbidden topics here - but we just accept the ridiculousness of it because it is part of our upbringing and culture

Religion being normalized doesnt make Scientology more ok. Read or watch Going Clear if you want to understand it.

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OK then. Yes men that are also talented. Better?

Yes men aren’t talented - that’s the entire point of a yes man, to symbiotically feed of someone else while inflating their ego because they can’t get ahead otherwise.

[Qnubi]

He is more successful as a CS:GO player and looks younger too.

[Toybox]

Top Gun is a guilty pleasure of mine, & The Colour of Money is just a good film period. Seems like a fun guy, & big kudos to him for doing his own stunts.

[ProphetFlume]

Right. Like McQuarrie. Half his films are terrible and MOST of his films involve Cruise.

Which means you think half his movies are good.

Usual suspects, Valkyrie, edge of tomorrow, rogue nation, fallout, and a rogue one rewrite is a pretty good half for a “hack.”

[ProphetFlume]

You said they don’t consistently make good things. He doesn’t. At least half are terrible, a few more aren’t good, and several are quite enioyable. He’s made some good movies, but most of them have relied more on Cruise and his insane stunts than a quality script or innovative direction. McQuarrie does what Cruise wants because Cruise has paid his bills for quite a while now. He never tells Tom no. The literal definition of a yes man.

OR he works with him a lot because they get along and mesh well together. That’s called a collaborator.

[Swnem]

I like his movies, but he seems to have some issues personality wise. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to spill into his work.

[ProphetFlume]

When it comes to Tom that means falling in line. One of the biggest reasons they “get along” is McQuarrie giving in to Scientology demands from Cruise. He’s definitely a yes man. Dude even spent millions on a scientology condo because it was Cruise’s building. Literally the only non-Scientologist to do so.

Where are you getting this from?