The “Top 5” Tom Cruise Movies

What are your top5 Tom Cruise movies?

Lets face it, you either love or hate Tome Cruise, Scientology, his remark that psychiatry should be outlawed, but you have to admit he’s made some pretty good movies. With the recent release of the highly praised 6th installment of the Mission Impossible series, “MI Fallout” some critics have called Tom Cruise the greatest action star in movie history. That is quite the accolade and even though sensational movies will get sensational reviews there is no denying that at age 56 Tome Cruise is kicking bad guy ass and taking names. Making 64 million in its opening weekend, MI Fallout has already become the biggest opening for a Mission: Impossible movie and has garnered a 97% approval rating on rotten tomatoes.

Tom Cruise’s first appearance was in a 1981 American romantic drama film call “Endless Love”, when he was 19. He has since appeared or starred in approximately 51 films. In the tradition of our “top 5” series here at Pulphouse we wanted to separate the five best and most celebrated Tom Cruise films. Choosing 5 out of fifty films requires some serious soul searching and I may have to leave out some very good ones. If there is anyone out there with strong disagreements with my list feel free to leave a comment with a list of your top 5. This is a list of my most liked or most watched Tom Cruise films, movies I find myself watching again and again, the ones that have stayed with me over the years or have ended up in my permanent DVD collection, or my itunes.

#5 Edge of Tomorrow or Live. Die. Repeat. (Renamed as such for the home release) is a 2014 sci-fi action thriller by “Swingers” director Doug Liman, based on a 2004 Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill and praised for it’s humor, effects, alien design and both Cruise and Blunt’s performances, the film became very successful, leading the global box office in North America and China. Tom Cruise played a quick talking, publicist/ad man who prefers to remain off the battlefield and in front of the camera. The role allowed the actor to play against type as a coward and a con man who has to find his courage in a war fought for the survival of mankind. Cruise’s character pisses off the top brass general, is shipped off to the front lines and jammed into a mechanical battle suit, where he is killed in combat, and caught in a time loop, fighting the same battle every day with Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt). A highly enjoyable sci-fi- adventure thriller that played with gender roles, courage in the face of war and the nature of time.

#4 The Outsiders is a classic 1983 coming of age film that launched the careers of some of hollywood’s most talented actors; the Brat Pack, a group of young actors who frequently appeared in teen oriented films of the 1980s. This “blustery, weird, and fun” film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, adapted from the novel of the same name, realistically portrayed poor teenagers growing up on the wrong side of the tracks and the abuse and neglect associated with that lifestyle, received mostly positive reviews and has become a major cult classic that stays with you long after you watch it. Cruise plays Steve Randle, does a backflip off a car and gets to show off some of his acting chops. “Do it for Johnny man, do it for Johnny”.

#3 Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, is one of the highest rated MI films next to Mission Impossible “Fallout”. I did not want to put more then one MI film on this list so I tried to choose the best one. This 2011 action spy film directed by Brad Bird, the fourth installment in the series and Bird’s first live-action film is one of the most re-watchable films of the series. The Mission: Impossible franchise has been on an upward trajectory since MI3 and in the hands of Brad Bird who directed the incredibles and “the Iron Giant” solidified the series and Tom Cruise’s character as the American James Bond. A prolific director who makes memorable and swiftly paced entertainment collaborated with the legendary editor Paul Hirsch and with a charismatic and compelling performance from Tom Cruise, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol becomes a highly enjoyable and re-watchable movie, not to mention one of the highest-grossing films in the series with $694 million, the fifth highest-grossing film of 2011 and the highest-grossing film starring Cruise, thus far. This has more views on my media list than any other Mission impossible film and for the sale of brevity the only MI film on the list, we will be doing a Top 5 Mission impossible ranking shortly.

#2 “Risky Business”. Tom Cruise was in a streak of successful or semi successful films in the 80’s like All the right Moves, Rain Man, Legend, Born on the 4th of July, The Color Of Money with Paul Newman, Cocktail. But the one that started it all was Risky business. The 1983 romantic comedy launched Cruise’s career and catapulted the young actor to stardom. The film is basically about a teenager who sleeps with a prostitute and then becomes a pimp while trying to get into college. The film deals with the pressures of growing up white and affluent in america in the early 80’s, like who cares right. Under the surface however, the film deals with sex, capitalism, morality and Rebecca De Mornay is very hot. It is fun to watch and in 2006, the film was #40 on Entertainment Weekly‘s list of the 50 Best High School Movies. Cruise makes you laugh sometimes and he puts his sunglasses on and smiles for no reason but the absurdity and Cruise’s affable goofiness is part of the fun. Oh, Tom Cruise does run in this movie too.

#1 Top Gun. Whenever you hear Kenny Loggins’ single “Danger Zone” you cant but help conjure up images of an F-14A Tomcat’s engines firing up and Tom Cruise high-fiving other pilots aboard an aircraft carrier. This 1986 action drama film about elite navy pilots chosen to train at the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School , nicknamed “top Gun” broke numerous box office and home-video records, increased the number of young men wanting to be naval aviators by 500% and was ranked #19 on Yahoo’s list of greatest action films of all-time. Directed by Tony Scott and with the help of cinematographer Jeffrey Kimball, ASC, the film has a unique visual style due the Tony Scott’s signature use of smoked out sets and ambient light. Top Gun has become the quintessential Tom Cruise action film of the 1980’s and contains some of the most memorable quotes of the decade. I love this movie because it is just so much fun to watch; and to make fun off. The quotes are great “I lost the edge, Im holding on too tight.” “I have the need, the need for speed”, “That’s right Iceman, I am dangerous”.