Opinion Battles Round 21
Favourite Tom Cruise Role
Tom Cruise is arguable the biggest movie star in the business today and over his 30 plus career he has become one of the most popular choices for a range of different films. Nearly always the leading man and his willingness to take on the most dangerous stunts. While he will always be surrounded by controversy because of his attachment to Scientology no one can question his ability as an actor.
If you want to take part in the next round of Opinion Battles we will be taking on our Favourite Franchise Serial Killer and you will need to have your entries sent to [email protected] by 30th October 2016.
Darren – Movie Reviews 101
Vincent – Collateral
Vincent is a hitman who has come to Los Angeles to kill a certain number of people, he hires a taxi to drive him around so he can get his job done professional but finds himself in a game of cat and mouse with this taxi driver. I have picked this as my favorite because this is one of the only times Tom has taken a villainous role in a movie but even in this movie he has his strict rules which he wants to follow to get the job done. While I do think there will be many better performances out there I can’t help but find myself respecting his choice to take a role against the heroic typecast he was starting to get involved in during the time of release.
Kim – Tranquil Dreams
Ethan Hunt – Mission Impossible
Ethan Hunt is possibly the man that we can all believe will get anything done no matter what it takes from free falling into whatever space or scaling the tallest building in the world. He is a hero even if we don’t necessarily see it because he is also a spy. Tom Cruise embodies this role by wowing us continuously with the stunts that he pulls challenging himself over and over again to higher and higher limits.
Maverick – Top Gun
My favorite Tom Cruise character is Maverick from Top Gun. I wouldn’t say that Cruise has ever been a favorite actor of mine & I’ve really not liked him in much in recent years. Until Edge Of Tomorrow, that is – that was an excellent film! It was nice to see him in a really good film again since I hadn’t liked many of his movies since the Eighties. In the Eighties, though, he was such a massive superstar! Which half the bloggers here won’t remember (you’re so young….). Anyway, I think Maverick in Top Gun is his defining role. I know he’s done stuff more “Oscar worthy” since but the gung-ho testosterone-fuelled movies like Top Gun just aren’t made to the same degree nowadays and, when they are, they’re certainly not as much fun. Top Gun is made fun of sometimes but, screw it, it’s an 80’s classic & I can’t imagine Maverick as anyone other than Tom Cruise.
Tom – Plain Simple Tom Reviews
Les Grossman – Tropic Thunder
Brief but so memorable, Cruise is barely recognisable as the bespectacled, overweight, balding studio boss from hell with a short fuse and a rather colourful vocabulary.
It’s great to see Cruise cut loose in this role, having a blast playing the crude, unsympathetic Grossman and you certainly remember him long after the credits have rolled.
Plus, he has KILLER dance moves!
Alan – Content for you
Vincent – Collateral
I have to select Vincent from Collateral as my favorite Tom Cruise role, he manages to pull off the cold, menacing, genial sociopath who uses others to reach his own goals externally well. It is a pretty different type of movie for him, far away from his franchise and Sci Fi characters, so we get a better look at how well he can act when given the right role
Rachel – 54 Disney Reviews
Cage – edge of tomorrow
My favorite Tom Cruise role is Cage in Edge of Tomorrow. He has certainly had roles that required more swagger or gravitas but I love this movie and I think his performance is a crucial component to making it work. If we didn’t like Cage than experiencing day after day with him would be interminable but Cruise makes each day different and we see his character grow with each new version he encounters. He of course is game for the action but his chemistry with Emily Blunt is also electric. It draws you in and makes the movie work. Edge of Tomorrow (or whatever they have decided to call it) is kind of like a video game in the way you get to game over and then have a chance to try again. I love it!
Richard – The Humpo Show
Chief John Anderton – Minority report
Probably one of the hardest choices I have had to make so far as there are so many films and roles of Cruise’s that I have enjoyed immensely. But after lots of thinking, I have decided Minority Report is my favorite. The premise is outstanding, the action brilliant, the story line perfect and Cruise’s performance is brilliant. It is a must watch for Sci-Fi and Action fans. It just edges out the others for me due to the combination of all the aforementioned points.
Emma – Emma Explains It All
Les Grossman Tropic Thunder
I am not a fan of Tom Cruise. In fact I find it hard to think of another major actor I find less appealing and charismatic. I don’t really like any of his movies (and that’s including the few I’ve actually seen) but in some ways this made it an even easaier Opinion Battles. Apart from when he’s a factory operative worker in South Park (I chose my words carefully) pretty much the only time I’ve smiled watching him and found him marginally likable is when he plays Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder.
Take Our Poll