Tom Cruise is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, gracing our screens way back in the early 1980s, appearing in some exquisite break out films before becoming an all-out action star, an expert within drama, and so, so much more.
He’s appeared in dozens upon dozens of movies, grossing a staggering $10.1billion worldwide. That puts him amongst the real major players when it comes to highest grossing stars, but what exactly are his best films?
He’s back again with another Mission Impossible, with Dead Reckoning not quite doing what was expected at the box office. But that shouldn’t put us off the star, with a huge back catalogue of hits. We certainly have our favourites, but whittling them down to five certainly felt like mission impossible, but in true Cruise style, we’ve just about managed it…
Rain Man
Rain Man won Best Picture at the Oscars and it’s an incredible film that delves deep into a number of different emotions. He plays Charlie Babbitt, a wheeler dealer in debt, but when his father dies and the inheritance doesn’t go to him, he visits the older brother he never knew he had, Raymond.
Played by Dustin Hoffman, Raymond is autistic and a whizz with numbers, so Cruise takes him to Las Vegas to enjoy the many casino games which Raymond may be successful in. Of course, we’ve all heard about card counting in casinos, which is largely frowned upon. Of course, it’s not something that could be done these days, with it impossible to do such a thing in the online game on sites like casino777.nl, while in Las Vegas casinos security is more stringent and sophisticated than ever before.
However this is 1988, so Cruise sets about manipulating Hoffman into playing a number of different casino games, most notably blackjack where the “Rain Man” is counting cards. Cruise wins enough to cover his debts. But of course, there is plenty of drama along the way in what is among career bests for both stars.
Jerry Maguire
“Show me the money!”
It’s one of Cruise’s best known sayings and earned Cruise his second Best Actor Golden Globe award. Playing a young but talented sports agent, the movie is full of drama, humour and is one of the few comic sports films that is actually good.
Released in 1996, it also stars Renee Zellweger as Cruise’s love interest, as well as Cuba Gooding Jr. a world famous sports star who Maguire manages to secure as a client. It’s a fantastic movie that really does showcase Cruise at his pomp.
Magnolia
Magnolia earned Tom Cruise his third Oscar nomination and is a fantastic movie directed by the superb Paul Thomas Anderson, who most recently wrote the excellent Licorice Pizza. This movie sees Cruise taking a supporting role with Philip Seymour Hoffman the leading man. Cruise plays Frank Mackey, a self-help guru who is hiding a number of secrets from his family and is ultimately in need of help himself. The movie itself tells several stories, all with a connection of trying to find happiness in the San Fernando Valley.
Top Gun
Of course Top Gun makes the list. It’s the movie that still takes our breath away and is one of Cruise’s most iconic roles. Playing Lt. Pete Mitchell, or Maverick as he was so commonly referred to, the movie follows a team of navy pilots aboard the USS Enterprise.
However, the maverick nature of Cruise and co-star Goose (played by Anthony Edwards) sees them sent off to Top Gun training school, where Maverick meets Charlie. It’s love at first sight and adds another element in this absolute classic about love, friendship and loss.
Risky Business
It was the movie that turned Cruise into a star. His breakthrough role in 1983 saw him play high school kid Joel Goodson who opens up a knocking shop in his house while his parents are away.
Tossing aside his good-boy, Princeton University hopeful image, he gets involved in the seedier side of life and all sorts of mishaps and drama happens along the way in this brilliant comedy drama from Paul Brickman.
