Top 5 – Tom Cruise Movies

When you think of a movie star, who do you think of?  George Clooney?  Brad Pitt?  Matt Damon?  They’re fine and all, but the definition of a movie star is Tom Cruise.  Since breaking out in Risky Business (1983), Cruise has been one of the most consistent and entertaining actors in Hollywood, starring in a wide range of films from big budget blockbusters to Oscar nominated dramas.  This weekend, Cruise stars in the latest Mission: Impossible film, Mission: Impossible: Fallout, which is one of my most anticipated movies of the year.  So in honor of that, here are my picks for the best Tom Cruise movies.

Remember, these movies are based on movie quality and Cruise’s performance.

5 – ETHAN HUNT in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE SERIES (Brian DePalma/John Woo/JJ Abrams/Brad Bird/Christopher McQuarrie, 1996/2000/2006/2011/2015)

You would think that an actor with as much star power as Tom Cruise would be in more franchises.  The Mission: Impossible franchise is the only franchise Cruise has been in and it is a testament to his charisma and physicality.  Cruise carries these movies as an IMF agent who continuously saves the world with a team of rebellious agents.  Cruise proved his worth as an action star in these films, showing us he can kick ass while also performing his own stunts, no matter how dangerous.  The series has gotten better with age, only improving with each film with no signs of stopping.  The Mission: Impossible is a franchise of longevity, consistency, and excellence, much like Cruise himself.

4 – VINCENT in COLLATERAL (Michael Mann, 2004)

Seeing Tom Cruise as Vincent in Michael Mann’s L.A. crime film was the first time I ever saw him as a villain.  Before, I had known him for roles like Top Gun (1986) and Mission: Impossible (1996), where he plays the film’s hero.  But seeing him as a cold blooded assassin who hijacks a cab driver (an equally impressive Jamie Foxx) to drive him around all night to whack a list of victims was awe-inspiring.  The silver-foxed Cruise is a smooth operator with a love for jazz and a taste for blood.  He operates like a machine and when his plan starts go awry, he struggles to get it back on track.  This is one of Michael Mann’s finest films as a director and a new level of acting for Cruise.

3 – CHIEF JOHN ANDERTON in MINORITY REPORT (Steven Spielberg, 2002)

Minority Report is the best film on this list and the best movie Tom Cruise has been in ever.  It hurt putting this at the number two spot, but at the end of the day, number one was just to strong.  Steven Spielberg crafted one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever in Minority Report.  Cruise plays an officer in a special police unit that is able to arrest murderers before they commit their crimes.  When he is accused of a future murder, he does everything he can to deter it from happening.  The astounding visuals and wonderful score compliment the complex themes about destiny and revenge.  This is a thrilling, twisty, brilliant piece of filmmaking.

2 – FRANK T.J. MACKEY in MAGNOLIA (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1999)

In usual Paul Thomas Anderson fashion, Magnolia is a sprawling epic with an all-star cast all giving top notch performances.  However, out of all the great performances in Paul Thomas Anderson films (believe me, there are a ton),  Tom Cruise as Frank T.J. Mackey is simply one of the best.  This is the definition of a show-stopping performance.  Cruise is electric as a distasteful public speaker who teaches other men how to con women into sleeping with them while he also deals with of his dying estranged father (Jason Robards, in his final film).  Cruise is riveting during his speeches to the men, haunting when a news reporter grills him on some tough questions, and gives us a ton of emotional weight during the finale with his father.  It is as rounded and realized of a performance Cruise has ever given in a wildly ambitious, brilliant film that only a true auteur like Anderson could have made.

1 – JERRY MAGUIRE in JERRY MAGUIRE (Cameron Crowe, 1996)

Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire is the Tom Cruise movie.  It is the perfect combination of star power and acting brilliance.  Cruise plays Jerry Maguire, a hot-shot sports agent who gets fired from his firm and tries to start a new life and new career with only one client (Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr.) and a single mother (Renee Zellweger, in her career best performance) who leaves Jerry’s firm with him.  Writer/director Cameron Crowe made his best film and one of the best romantic dramedies of our time.  A movie that is full of emotion, laughs, drama, and romance.  The movie is endlessly quotable and incredibly rewatchable.  But what makes Jerry Maguire so good is Cruise, who gives the definition of a movie star performance.  The way Cruise handles the character and conveys him during the highest of highs and lowest of lows is masterful.  From the ticks to the line delivery, everything Cruise does in this film is gold.  Jerry Maguire is a movie Hollywood doesn’t make anymore and Cruise gives a performance we hardly ever see anymore.  This is a great American movie and the best Tom Cruise movie.

What are your favorite Tom Cruise movies?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook by searching Kevflix.