Let’s face it, Tom has been with us for five decades now. In each of those, Cruise scored more than a few blockbusters, and, now over 60, shows no signs of slowing down. In terms of cinematic longevity, he only has two box office rivals – Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. Unlike these two monoliths, Cruise opted for diversity, and tries to juggle action with drama. Granted, he has the skills to stretch.
I’m not a big fan of the man, but, objectively, Tom Cruise will most likely go down as the biggest “star” of them all. In the dreaded film biz lingo, his name almost always can “open” and “carry” a picture (an 'open carry' Cruise?). This deserves some thought and, well, respect. If only for diverting us from the escalating madness of reality by doing 500 test jumps on his motorcycle for a single shot in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.
Cruise started in his teens with almost no acting training. His intuition and drive were immediately noticed by the makers of Taps (1981). His cadet Shawn had been initially a minor character, but the script was rewritten to let Cruise do his thing. In retrospect, it’s hard to remember the film’s star, Timothy Hutton, and co-star Sean Penn (in his first film). Both are tremendous actors, but Cruise went batshit crazy and gave this Lord-of-the-Flies-like fable a spark of demented energy and danger. It was a straight line to Les Grossman from Tropic Thunder, where Cruise outshone some seasoned comics with his mad cameo.
I abhorred Top Gun in its day (but enjoyed the recent sequel), and didn’t really care one way or another for Cruise’s trajectory. The Color of Money was, to me, an insult to The Hustler’s legacy, and a rare low point for Scorsese. Cocktail didn’t help Cruise an iota. The slick and sickly saccharine Rain Man was, in my view, a manipulative disaster. I thought Cruise was good in Born on the Fourth of July, but it felt like a gimmick casting. Then, suddenly, he stood up to Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men, and something shifted. In Interview with the Vampire, as Lestat, Cruise offered a fantastic interpretation. Even Anne Rice apologized for her misgivings. He holds this limp film together with a delicate thread that borders on magic, denuding Brad Pitt’s surface shine in the process.
In 1999, Cruise’s dramatic range went on full display – in Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut and PT Anderson’s Magnolia. He crafted two strikingly diverse performances, both utterly convincing in their extremes. But the real test of his screen power proved to be Valkyrie – a historical thriller about the failed assassination of Hitler. With the outcome of the story known in advance, one would assume the suspense is nonexistent. Yet, Cruise’s fierce commitment as von Stauffenberg keeps us on edge in spite of the plot’s inherent spoiler.
In the time-loop sci-fi Edge of Tomorrow, Cruise repeats the same day over and over, each time growing a little further in character. This is one of Cruise’s most thrilling films – its propulsive action relies exclusively on the actor’s ability to provide fresh interpretation of the repetitious events. It would be a very difficult part to play for anyone, both mentally and physically. Somehow, with Tom, that single day doesn't get old for a minute.
In 2012, as if to relax between larger pictures, Cruise took on a smaller part in the enjoyably flawed Rock of Ages. Known for doing most of his physical stunts, here the actor did the same for his vocal ability. As an ‘80s rock star, Stacee Jaxx, Cruise prepared his voice for months in advance to do his own singing. His brief scenes remain the film’s highlight.
A few years later, another casting-against-type surprised me – Jack Reacher. I’m firmly in the camp which considers that the 5 feet 7 inches of Cruise makes for a far more intense and convincing Jack Reacher than the obviousness of the original 6'5" conception.
No matter how you feel about Tom Cruise and his films, the man clearly loves cinema. His dedication to the quality of his craft, both as an actor and a producer, is legendary. And, unlike his current blockbusting competition, he seems to truly respect his audience. With the last three or four Mission Impossible instalments Cruise even out-Bonded Bond. There might be another chapter in Tom's book in a few years, if he allows his face to gracefully crack under age and lets the hair dye fade out. The actor could surprise us again with a magnificent dramatic turn or a screwball comedy. How will he segue into the old age is anybody's guess. But even if, one day, Tom Cruise decides to phone in a performance, you can rest assured he will call at least 500 times to get it right.
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