Tom Cruise is a cinematic juggernaut. Since making his debut with a minor role in 1981's Endless Love, the actor and producer has made billions at the box office playing super spies, jet pilots, pre-crime cops, and hotshot sports agents.
In this feature, we're ranking his 15 best films. But don't take our word for it. We're throwing this to review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes for the final verdict. The people have spoken, so here's the global consensus on Cruise's top releases in terms of critical score.
Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018), 97%
Otherwise known as 'the one with Superman', Cruise's super spy series hits its highest form as Hunt joins with Man of Steel Henry Cavill in an attempt to stop arms dealer John Lark and a group of terrorists known as the Apostles launch three simultaneous nuclear attacks on the Vatican, Jerusalem and Mecca. Thumping action set-pieces, powerful performances, and impossibly high stakes make this the best-rated M:I film yet.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022), 96%
The top-rated non-Mission: Impossible film, Cruise returns after more than thirty years as top aviator Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell. As his nickname implies, he's too rogue to run missions, so he's stuck training recruits. However, Maverick is soon drawn into a one last call of duty with the bitter son of an old navy nemesis.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023), 96%
Cruise's most recent Mission: Impossible is his third-most-loved. It's also his most abstract. Here the villain isn't a person but an incredibly advanced AI with the power to destabilize the world. The filmmaking on the other hand is classic cinema, with solid set-pieces and dramatic stunts owing a debt to the silent age of filmmaking.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), 94%
As the IMF disband, terrorist threat the Syndicate move in to fill the void and risk the safety of the entire world. This is the movie that introduced long-time love interest Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), a British agent with nefarious motives. There's also a high-speed car chase through Morocco, a tense heist set underwater, and Cruise clinging onto a plane as it takes off (he actually did that).
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011), 93%
AKA the one where Cruise scales the Burj Khalifa. The extended sequence in which Hunt and his IMF team attempt to steal vital documents in a top secret handover elevated the series and secured its status as must-watch cinema. Jeremy Renner also joins the fold in an enigmatic role that promises to take over the mantle from Cruise, but as we saw later, Cruise outlasted him.
Risky Business (1983), 92%
A star-maker for Cruise, the actor plays high school senior Joel Goodsen, who has the house to himself when his parents leave on vacation. After racking up an immense bill by spending the night with an escort, however, Cruise attempts to generate funds fast by turning his house into a brothel.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014), 91%
Cruise doesn't play an invincible hero in this sci-fi epic. Instead, he's killed within moments of the opening battle against a horde of vicious alien invaders. However, he wakes up from his dirt nap and finds himself trapped in a time loop, doomed to repeat the same battle over and over until he can find a way to turn the tide and, alongside Emily Blunt, help humanity win.
Minority Report (2002), 89%
Cruise teams with director Steven Spielberg in this near-future thriller by esteemed sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick. Set in 2054 Washington D.C., police have the power to stop crimes before they happen with the help of three superpowered humans who can see the future. However, when Cruise's character is himself accused of committing a pre-crime, he goes on the run from Colin Farrell's dogged agent.
Rain Man (1988), 88%
Dustin Hoffman steals the show in this classic '80s drama about a pair of siblings who embark on a cross-country road trip. He plays Raymond, autistic older brother to Cruise's Charlie, and set to inherit their father's $3 million fortune, which is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. From first seeing him as a burden, Charlie discovers an unbreakable brotherly bond with Raymond.
The Color of Money (1986) 88%
Old Hollywood meets new as Vincent (a young Cruise) joins forces with pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) in order to tour pool halls and make stacks of cash. While Vincent is an eager pupil, his brash ways soon create a rift with Felson, and after a falling out, they meet up on the circuit as opponents.
Collateral (2004) 86%
Jamie Fox is the NYC cab driver who dreams of making a break to the Maldives. Cruise is his passenger, a ruthless hitman who pays Fox to drive him around wiping out targets. With Fox a witness and accomplice to Cruise's crimes, however, getting to the Maldives might be easier said than done.
Born on the Fourth of July (1989), 84%
One of Cruise's most tough-to-watch movies, he plays a permanently paralyzed former marine who accidentally kills a fellow soldier. Now, after serving two tours in Vietnam, he finds no fans from an uncaring public, and develops his own strong criticisms of the war that claimed so many lives.
American Made (2017), 85%
The true story of Barry Seal, a pilot recruited by the CIA to help in their war against communists in Central America. They want to outfit his plane with sophisticated aerial surveillance cameras and provide reconnaissance. Barry is soon in over his head, however, when he's forced to smuggle drugs for the cartel and gets plunged into one of the biggest CIA operations in history.
A Few Good Men (1992), 84%
Cruise acts alongside Demi Moore as the military lawyers defending two U.S. Marines charged with killing a fellow Marine at Guantanamo Bay. Instead of seeking a plea bargain, however, they attempt to unravel a deeper conspiracy by calling Jack Nicholson's imposing colonel to the stand. Powerhouse performances by Cruise and Nicholson, and a brilliant script from a young Aaron Sorkin.
Jerry Maguire (1996), 84%
"Show me the money." Cruise is on charismatic form as the hotshot sports agent forced to start his own management firm when he's fired from his job. Desperate to sign star athletes, only one agrees to join him on what seems to be a doomed venture: Cuba Gooding Jr. in an electric performance as Rod Tidwell. As Cruise struggles with his business, love blossoms between him and single mother Dorothy (Renee Zellweger).
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