I recently watched Tom Cruise in his latest blockbuster Mission Impossible: Fall Out and it dawned on me, due to his epic meltdown on the Oprah show, his non-wavering support of Scientology, and his very odd public divorce from Katie Holmes, we may have lost sight of how incredibly talented Tom Cruise really is. I would consider Tom as the last true mega movie star, his movies have stood the test of time, and have brought joy and entertainment to families for generations.
He has stayed relevant since starting in the movie Endless Love (1981) and has been apart of some of the most memorable movies since then. In fact, a quick glance at his resume and you’ll see that Tom has made a movie almost every year since then, and the longest break he has taken in between movies (3 Years) came after his Golden Globe-winning performance in Jerry McGuire.
He has been nominated for 3 Academy Awards for his performances in Back on the Fourth of July (1989), Jerry Maguire (1996), and Mongolia (1999), sadly, he hasn’t won but his performances were masterful.
At 56 years old it would appear Tom Cruise does not age, he looks the same as he did when he was piloting fighter jets as Maverick in Top Gun (1986). To put things in perspective, Alec Baldwin (Tom’s co-star in Mission Impossible: Fall Out) is 3 years older than Tom, not to stay anything negative about Alec but I think it’s safe that he hasn’t aged as well as our boy Tom.
I bring at age because at 56-year-old Tom Cruise is one of the few actors who actually does his own stunts! It’s an insanely impressive feat considering how easy it is for actors to just rely on CGI to make scenes look more intense. Below is a picture of Tom actually hanging from a helicopter for Mission Impossible: Fall Out (2018)
I understand that a lot of people will not publicly admit to being a Tom Cruise fan but based on his Box Office numbers will tell you that we’re all secretly Tom Cruise fans. You may not believe in his beliefs or approve of the way he handled his very public divorce but when it comes to acting Tom Cruise is legendary.
If you’re still unsure about whether or not you like Tom Cruise here is a list of nice things he’s done over the years;
- He rescued a family from their burning sailboat.
- He helped rescue a victim of a hit-and-run and paid her medical bills.
- He personally arranged for Bill Hader to leave a set and get home to New York after an attempted bombing in Times Square.
- He gave Kanye West advice on his fledgling comedy career but declined a role in Kanye’s HBO pilot.
- He always takes his kid’s calls, even in the middle of a scene.
Mission Impossible: Fall Out was a wildly fun movie to watch, again, thinking about the fact that almost all the stunts were done by none other than Tom Cruise is enough to leave you mesmerized, but the story (A semi-sequel to the last Mission Impossible movie) is enjoyable and a pleasure to watch. The supporting cast is perfect, Henry Cavill was far better in this than in Justice League (2017) and Man of Steel (2013), and this movie reaffirmed my love of Simon Pegg in a supporting role. It’s a must see for everyone who enjoys actions movies!
Coming up after this post will be a list dedicated to a Tom Cruise Movie Marathon, an action-packed day, in honour of one of The Last True Mega Movie Stars.
Nerdy Popcorn 