Do you like Tom Cruise? If so, which of his movies have you enjoyed? If not, why? Of his movies that I have seen, I have enjoyed...
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible III
Cruise's role as "Ethan Hunt" in the Mission: Impossible series is my favorite. In the first movie, he plays this believable secret agent. In the sequel, he's more of an invicible action hero. In the third movie, we get back to the realism of the first movie, only this time he has personal stakes at risk.
Collateral
The one Cruise movie I've seen where he plays the bad guy. It was creepy, but the movie had a great story with Jamie Fox as the good guy. Check it out if you like chilling suspence thrillers.
The Last Samurai
Wow. While the M:I movies are my favorite, this one is easilly Cruise's best performance! The story is rich with depth and emotional complexity. The movie has just about everything you expect to see. Of all of his movies, this one gets my highest recommendation.
Minority Report
This one reminded me of M:I in that Cruise's character feels like Ethan Hunt thrust into the future. :P Despite that wierd feeling, it's otherwise a great movie with a very complect science-fiction plot. If you're into sci-fi, check it out.
War of the Worlds (2005)
Cruise plays a down to Earth divorced father in this movie he's spending the weekend with his kids when an alien invasion occurs. I can see how his acting could annoy people in this movie, reminding people of his silly hijinks in real life. However, if you sit back and just enjoy the movie, you'll see a father who doen't know how to communicate with his kids and thus forms a bond with them when the world is invaded by aliens. Being in a survival situation will naturally draw a dysfunctional family together. The story is told through the persective of his character and his two kids.
Days of Thunder
Top Gun
I've seen parts of these movies on TV. Are they good?
What's funny is that I am really not a Tom Cruise fan at all and yet I have seen all the films you have listed. I would probably agree that Last Samurai is his best performance but the movie I enjoyed the most is Minority Report. It just has a cool concept and great sfx. I would have enjoyed it no matter who played the lead which is probably true about most of his films. I can't think of a single film he has done that you could say he "owns" and you can't see anyone else in the role. As for Days of Thunder I would pass but Top Gun is classic Cruise and I guess should be seen in entirety just for that but IMO it does not really hold up well.
Kevin
I wouldn't call myself a fan either, but I do enjoy some of his movies. I'm glad you enjoyed Minority Report, is was very different from most sci-fi movies, and it was especially unique compared to his other movies since he generally doesn't do sci-fi.
Of the movies that I listed, I would say the ones that wouldn't work without Tom Cruise are the Mission: Impossible movies and War of the Worlds. I just can't picture a different actor in the role. Who could you imagine in these two roles?
I've always like Tom Cruise... and I have enjoyed many of his movies over the years but my favotire by far would be one of his first movies "Legend" . This is one of the best fantasy movies of the 80's. it has one of the best bad guys of all time "The Lord of Darkness". Cruise played "Jack" the hero.
Quote from: Captain Jean-Luc Picard on July 03, 2007, 10:20:33 PMOf the movies that I listed, I would say the ones that wouldn't work without Tom Cruise are the Mission: Impossible movies and War of the Worlds. I just can't picture a different actor in the role. Who could you imagine in these two roles?
I think Matt Damon could have played the MI roles easily enough. As for WOTW I need to think about it. I didn't actually like the film and so just about anyone might be an improvement.
Kevin
StarTrekFanatic5, what is Legend about?
Ktrek, I hadn't thought of Matt Damon in the role. After seeing him in the Bourne Identity movies, you're right... he could'a played the lead in the Mission: Impossible movies. How come you didn't like War of the Worlds?
Quote from: Captain Jean-Luc Picard on July 03, 2007, 10:44:00 PM
StarTrekFanatic5, what is Legend about?
How come you didn't like War of the Worlds?
I mostly didn't like it because it didn't have much heart like the original film had. The sfx were fin but that was all.
Kevin
Quote from: Captain Jean-Luc Picard on July 03, 2007, 10:44:00 PM
StarTrekFanatic5, what is Legend about?
I got this from a fan site.. it pretty much describes what the movie is about.
Once, long ago, before there was such a thing as time, the world was shrouded in darkness. Then came the splendor of light, bringing life and love into the Universe, and the Lord of Darkness retreated deep into the shadows of the earth, plotting his return to power....by banishing light forever. But precious light is protected, harbored into the souls of Unicorns, the most mystical of all creatures. Unicorns are safe from the Lord of Darkness, they can only be found by the purest of mortals....Such a mortal is Jack, who lives in solitude with the animals of the forest. A beautiful girl named Lily loves Jack with all of her heart. In their innocence, they believe only goodness exists in the world. Together they will learn there can be no good without evil....No love without hate....No heaven without hell....No light without darkness. The harmony of the Universe depends upon an eternal balance. Out of the struggle to maintain this balance comes the birth of Legends.
I do not like Tom Cruise, and for years have dubbed him alternately "The Evil Troll" "The Ugly Troll" or "The Evil Ugly Troll".
You know how I feel about the MI series. (Hated it.)
I do not like Legend. (I would need to see it again. I found it pretty incomprehensible. Tim Curry, though, Rocks my Socks.)
War of the Worlds was one of his best, IMHO, and I really liked it, with the exception that I wanted to throw the kids out of the car as soon as they started screaming, and the Hollywood ending really sucked.
Days of Thunder, Top Gun, Color of Money -- all pretty much the same movie. Not bad movies, just similar.
Risky Business - great flick, especially for the 80s.
Some Football movie - meh.
Jerry McGuire - avoided it like the plague.
Eyes Wide Shut - waste of celluloid, shame it was Kubricks last film.
Never saw Last Samauri, Collateral, or Magnolia, although I would, just haven't had time.
Which brings us to Minority Report. You really don't want to know what I thought of this "movie". You really really don't. It is along the same lines as X3, and we know how that turned out.
As I've always said, Tom Cruise can't make a good movie bad, but he can make a bad movie unwatchable.
I like Tom Cruise as an actor.
My favorites of his films: MI, MI3, Last Samurai, A Few Good Men, Top Gun, War of the Worlds.
I think he's a very good actor. If he wasn't so pretty, and now insane, he'd be much more respected as an actor than he already is.
I'll agree that Top Gun and Days of Thunder are the same movie. I prefer Top Gun, because jet fighters are 100X cooler than stock cars.
I liked A Few Good Men and Rain Man. Hard to believe its been almost 20 years ???
Rain Man was a good movie. I have not seen A Few Good Men, but that's mainly because I walked into a room at the end, and it was ruined for me.
I enjoyed MI & MI3.
I loved Top Gun, but then I was 13 and lived near a Naval Air Station when it came out.
Days of Thunder was a fun, if completely unrealistic view of NASCAR.
Risky Business was just a great '80s movie.
All The Right Moves is the movie that Locutus was referring too...an '80'S teen angst football movie
War of the Worlds was MUCH creepier thatn I thought it would be.
A Few Good Men was an excellent court room drama that had a great supporting cast for an OK Cruise.
The Last Samurai was a good flick but was much better the first time around when it was called Shogun. Shogun has basically the same plot, a much deeper and richer story and much better character development and stories.
The rest of his movies I was not interested in seeing or have seen and have a given a great big MEH too.
All the right moves - that was it. Thanks.
In the case of Shogun, to be fair ;) , it was a 5 night miniseries. Not that I've seen the Last Samurai, and not that Shogun wasn't better, and not that I'm even disagreeing with you, but it did have a much richer source material in James Clavell's 5830 page novel and a longer time to tell it's story.
I'm not saying, I'm just saying. :)
I have only seen a few of his movoe, but did like A Few Good Men and The Mission Impossible movies.
I enjoy a lot of his movies. It's a shame he went insane, and pretty much is thought of as a crazy scientology guy, and not as the actor who stared in Rain Man, A Few Good Men, and Born on the Fouth of July.
Interview with a Vampire and Top Gun are my favorites. My personal opinion of Mr Cruise is very poor.