12 of The best… Tom Cruise Movies

There are so many websites and shiny blogs that make “best of” and “rundown” lists these days. And they nearly always get it wrong.

Of course, they are trying to be obtuse, placing some of the best loved stuff low down and keeping some curveballs for the top 10, so you will disagree and share… The Wasteland will never do that to you! Therefore, inspired by a shocking list of 30 films (by a very high profile source of bullshit) that seemed to be on random shuffle re: Mr Thomas Mapother III, we are going to set the record straight…

In the relatively new, but already established ilk of this blog, we don’t bother with a hierarchy, in favour of a well discerned “12 of the best”, presented in alphabetical or chronological order. Always encouraging you to comment on alternatives and near misses, should you wish to enter the debate. And I am sure that when it comes to The Cruiser, there is always plenty of debate…

Let’s get this up front: I like the guy that is the film star Tom Cruise. He has had an amazing career! Some of the most iconic images in film of the last 40 years have him in them, and better for him.

His best films stand for themselves, and his part in their success can never be underestimated. Few male stars have ever done what he has been able to do, in maintaining appeal over a wide range of genres over such a long period. Let’s not forget, he is now 78 years old! OK, that’s not true, he is 58… but, still, isn’t that incredible? Because he has always been there! In or out of the closet…

Without further ado, and with no gratuitous mention of alien conspiracy, cults or fake marriages, here then is the definitive 12 of the best Tom Cruise movies!

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Anyone that can share the same frame as Jack Nicholson as he goes about chewing up the scene is alright in my book! The early 90s were the peak of Cruise’s handsome yet naive charm. Put the man in a uniform, as we had already seen several times, and you are already watching. Add to that the undeniable ability to hold a moment of tension, and you have one of the best, if not the best courtroom climaxes ever – in a film that gave as much popcorn as it did cerebral intrigue. I have insisted at times to some reluctant to see TC as anything other than a joke to watch his skill in making this film all about Lt. Kaffee, when there is so much else going on. Why do we care? Because his performance makes us care. Be in no doubt. Turns out he could handle the truth, pretty damn well.

Remarkably early on, Cruise sought Oscar gold, against the pretty boy type, by having the balls to take on a role of this magnitude in an Oliver Stone film. At no point did anyone say “it would have been good if only an actor had played the part of Ron Kovic”. An actor did play the part, and left his guts on the screen! I truly believe this is the one role Cruise set himself out in an attempt to see if “art” would pay off as much as fame. He was Oscar nominated, but lost. I don’t know if he’ll ever have the chance again as a lead actor. And, I also believe, it largely put him off trying to do that again. From this point he knew his niche was blockbusters, if he could get ’em. Well, he did get ’em in spades. So Hollywood decided, perhaps, the route he would then take. All that aside, it is a powerful and genuine turn to be respected.

A lot of water under the bridge by now for Cruise. And he decided to reinvent himself again, with silver hair, as something even more than your average anti-hero. He was slick, steely eyed and focused as ever, as hit-man Vincent. Under the expert crime movie care of Michael Mann, Cruise gave a performance of supreme ambiguity here. At once the villain of the piece, but a character you ultimately gave a shit about much more than Jamie Foxx. What was his backstory? Why did he twitch at the crucial moment? How did he get so good at what he did? Those answers are all there, but masked. A trick Cary Grant managed too – how to be the most watchable bad guy!

Fast off the break from Top Gun, Cruise took on an impossible role to live up to – an indication of his absolute fearlessness in the industry – being the young Paul Newman in a remake / sequel of The Hustler. You simply can’t out-cool the bluest eyed man in cinema history! But what you can do is stay on the same table and give him a game. And that he did! The film was knowingly all about youth vs maturity under Scorsese’s expert eye, and Cruise gives as good as he gets in every shot! The moment he realises he has matched his hero and surpassed him is cinema Platinum. Newman and Cruise remained friends to the end, sharing a love of racing and… many things. A soft spot in my heart for this one, as a crossroads of two of the absolute kings of the screen.

Cruise needed a hit in 2014. He knew certain things had to be in place: A director who can do the job; a genre he has always excelled in (sci-fi); and a leading lady that wasn’t just a pretty face. It was the first time I remember watching a Tom Cruise movie and realising how much he cares about the film over his own image, given the chance. The film plays on his “starring” role in such an interesting way. In all but top billing this is Emily Blunt’s film; and Cruise is aware of that from moment one. A great script, and a corking action film, that benefits from multiple watches. Try and imagine anyone else playing his part and see if you think it would be better for that…? Hmmm, I don’t think so.

The film isn’t called Interview With a Vampire, it is called Interview With The Vampire. And that vampire is Lestat, played by Tom Cruise. Famously, Anne Rice was against the idea of such a prolific “star” taking on the role that had made her literary career, but once she had seen Cruise test screen in full make-up she admitted no one could be Lestat except Cruise! He shared the screen with a small humpbacked fella called Brad Pitt, but still managed to evoke a sexual charm beyond anything the other actor had yet to muster. There is a sadness, and wistful acceptance of his ultimate fate, in Cruise’s turn that is still one of my favourite things about this film. 95% of vampires wish they were Tom Cruise. Fact.

You had me at Hello, what was my paycheck, again? No, come on, it’s a classic, right? No. It isn’t. It’s long. It takes an age to get to the good bits. And even the good bits aren’t that good. This film has aged! But… it still works in exactly the same way it always did. Namely, it is romantic. Yet another example of The Tomster not being the best bit about a film… the best things about this film are Renee Zellwegger and Cuba Gooding Jnr., without a doubt. But… look at the state of him! Lovable, vulnerable, charming. Done. The Cameron Crowe film I reluctantly chose over the much malignigned Vanilla Sky, only on the virtue of popular opinion… and I hate myself for it. Still, decent film, I suppose.

And so… to an entirely different barrel of frogs… A minor role that earned Cruise his highest honour as an actor to date: a Golden Globe for best supporting actor. And long overdue it was. In the hands of possibly the greatest living director in terms of overall film artistry, P. T. Anderson, Cruise shows his best possible side as an actor. Namely, sacrificing his stardom to be a living human being, demonstrating weakness, compassion and vulnerability to the nth degree. Many people walked out of the cinema, so hideous was Frank T. J. Mackey, before getting the full pay-off. And that for me, is enough to make this the one. Add to that the bedside scene with the dying Jason Robards (who was actually dying) and tell me again Tom Cruise can’t act.

Spielberg sat Cruise down around the turn of the millennium and said “there are two films I want to make with you”. The first of those was an adaptation of a Phillip K. Dick story that needed some fleshing out. It was a no-brainer as a team up. Action / sci-fi, big budget; you do your thing, I’ll do mine. The result was one of the most enjoyable things since Arnie, but with acting. Samantha Morton and Colin Farrell once again stole some thunder, but Cruise ran the show just enough to make you remember it was his film. A testament yet again to what he can do with a moment of pure tension.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to maintain the persona of a leading man for 40 years, and still continue to improve the art. The role of Ethan Hunt came to Cruise in the mid 90s, with Brian de Palma, a director of unquestionable skill, but a hit and miss record. Over the next quarter century, he has made the character and the franchise his own; identifying, astutely, that this was what he was born to do. He does all the stunts, to the well publicised limit of breaking his own ankle and carrying on. These films take on Bond and Bourne and more than come out ahead at their best. This one, for me, is the best – they keep pushing what can be done, and that is very exciting. It isn’t nearly done yet!

Bet two for good, one for bad. I’ll bet two, thank you very much! Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. Not necessarily in that order. This was the film Hoffman was born to win an Oscar for; he even said so in his acceptance speech. But, he also thanked the also nominated Cruise. Not out of lip service, but because he had really made a brother in Charlie Babbitt, and had been admittedly over-whelmed by what a generous and intelligent actor Cruise had been in a difficult process. Had Oscar acknowledged Cruise at this point, as it should have done, it may have swerved his career forever. Watch it again and tell me Cruise isn’t every bit the match for Hoffman. That’s Hollywood for you!

Fitting that this confectionary ends up last of 12 alphabetically, but is also the movie that really, truly, put Cruise on the map. It’s nice to look back on things like Taps, Risky Business and Cocktail as guilty pleasures in his early career, but this is the one that fired him into the stratosphere, no mistake. It lives in the imagination of everyone old enough to actually remember the 80s. But, more than that, it lives on as something good enough to hold up in the kingdom of cheese. Let’s end by giving this one to Cruise alone. The appeal was absolutely nothing to do with Tony Scott, or Val Kilmer, or Kelly McGillis, or the band Berlin, or Kenny Loggins…

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I hope you have enjoyed this list, and find enough to engage you in the cinema life that has been, and is, the octogenarian alien Tom Cruise. His lawyers have approved this 12 in advance, so I am safe from prosecution. Please do be careful in your comments, however, as they cannot guarantee the “punishment of the powerful”. (See opening pic for evidence).

Thanks for visiting The Wasteland. Don’t forget to check out some older posts if you have enjoyed this one. And please click Follow if you’d like to keep tabs on future articles. Shantih. Kx