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The Best Tom Cruise Movies Ranked: Where to Stream the Actor's 30 Greatest Films

Ghezal Amiri

Official JustWatch writer

Tom Cruise is one of Hollywood’s most successful actors, known for his daredevil commitment to performing his own stunts in some of the top action movies of all time. He has worked continuously in films since the early 80s, earning his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his role in Risky Business . If you want to stream the best Tom Cruise movies online, you can check out this complete streaming guide.

Tom Cruise's best movies: From Top Gun to Mission Impossible

Cruise’s most iconic role is arguably Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell in Top Gun , which was the highest grossing film of 1986 and took Cruise's fame to new heights. The movie was followed up with a sequel, Top Gun: Maverick,  nearly forty years later – which became Tom Cruise's highest grossing film with $1.4 billion at the box office.

Aside from his role as Maverick, Tom Cruise also stars as Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible series. The first film,  Mission: Impossible , premiered in 1996 and the franchise is still ongoing with the Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. Released in 2023, the movie was the first part of a two-act finale which will come to an end with Mission Impossible 8 .

Tom Cruise may be world-famous for his action movie franchises, but he also has plenty of dramatic roles in his filmography – having worked with directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson and Cameron Crowe. He is a four time Academy Award nominee, twice for Best Actor in Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire ; once for Best Supporting Actor in Magnolia ; and once for Best Picture for Top Gun: Maverick . He also has an Honorary Palme d’Or, the highest honor at Cannes Film Festival, and was awarded three Golden Globe Awards which he later returned to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in May 2021 due to their lack of diversity and various other controversies.

Where can I watch Tom Cruise's best movies online?

You can use JustWatch's streaming guide to find out where all of Tom Cruise's best movies are available in the United States. From his iconic franchises like Top Gun and Mission Impossible to his performances in dramas like Jerry Maguire, you'll find all the streaming details below.

For Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell and his friend and co-pilot Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw, being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete's dreams of becoming an ace pilot.

Jerry Maguire

Jerry Maguire used to be a typical sports agent: willing to do just about anything he could to get the biggest possible contracts for his clients, plus a nice commission for himself. Then, one day, he suddenly has second thoughts about what he's really doing. When he voices these doubts, he ends up losing his job and all of his clients, save Rod Tidwell, an egomaniacal football player.

On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.

A Few Good Men

When cocky military lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee and his co-counsel, Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway, are assigned to a murder case, they uncover a hazing ritual that could implicate high-ranking officials such as shady Col. Nathan Jessep.

Top Gun: Maverick

After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

When an IMF mission ends badly, the world is faced with dire consequences. As Ethan Hunt takes it upon himself to fulfill his original briefing, the CIA begin to question his loyalty and his motives. The IMF team find themselves in a race against time, hunted by assassins while trying to prevent a global catastrophe.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Ethan and team take on their most impossible mission yet—eradicating 'The Syndicate', an International and highly-skilled rogue organization committed to destroying the IMF.

Born on the Fourth of July

Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, Ron Kovic becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.

Risky Business

Meet Joel Goodson, an industrious, college-bound 17-year-old and a responsible, trustworthy son. However, when his parents go away and leave him home alone in the wealthy Chicago suburbs with the Porsche at his disposal he quickly decides he has been good for too long and it is time to enjoy himself. After an unfortunate incident with the Porsche Joel must raise some cash, in a risky way.

When car dealer Charlie Babbitt learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond and that his father's $3 million fortune is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. Motivated by his father's money, Charlie checks Raymond out of the facility in order to return with him to Los Angeles. The brothers' cross-country trip ends up changing both their lives.

The Last Samurai

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Ethan Hunt and his team are racing against time to track down a dangerous terrorist named Hendricks, who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States. An attempt to stop him ends in an explosion causing severe destruction to the Kremlin and the IMF to be implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to disavow them. No longer being aided by the government, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks around the globe, although they might still be too late to stop a disaster.

Jack Reacher

One morning in an ordinary town, five people are shot dead in a seemingly random attack. All evidence points to a single suspect: an ex-military sniper who is quickly brought into custody. The interrogation yields one written note: 'Get Jack Reacher!'. Reacher, an enigmatic ex-Army investigator, believes the authorities have the right man but agrees to help the sniper's defense attorney. However, the more Reacher delves into the case, the less clear-cut it appears. So begins an extraordinary chase for the truth, pitting Jack Reacher against an unexpected enemy, with a skill for violence and a secret to keep.

Mission: Impossible

When Ethan Hunt, the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he's surprised to learn that he's the prime suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.

Minority Report

John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

Jack Reacher returns to the headquarters of his old unit, only to find out he's now accused of a 16-year-old homicide.

The Color of Money

Former pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson decides he wants to return to the game by taking a pupil. He meets talented but green Vincent Lauria and proposes a partnership. As they tour pool halls, Eddie teaches Vincent the tricks of scamming, but he eventually grows frustrated with Vincent's showboat antics, leading to an argument and a falling-out. Eddie takes up playing again and soon crosses paths with Vincent as an opponent.

Mission: Impossible III

Retired from active duty, and training recruits for the Impossible Mission Force, agent Ethan Hunt faces the toughest foe of his career: Owen Davian, an international broker of arms and information, who's as cunning as he is ruthless. Davian emerges to threaten Hunt and all that he holds dear – including the woman Hunt loves.

Jack Harper is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete. His existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.

War of the Worlds

An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.

Reflecting On Our Future: How a Tom Cruise Movie Predicted 9/11

Published September 11, 2014 Uncategorized By Noah Gittell Disclaimer When you purchase through affiliate links on our site, we may earn a commission.

Paramount Pictures

Picture yourself in a New York City movie theater. It’s December 14, 2001. The film you’re watching is Vanilla Sky , a sci-fi fantasy from director Cameron Crowe and Tom Cruise, who delighted the world with Jerry Maguire a few years earlier.

You are probably not enjoying yourself (it received a D- on Cinemascore) and as the film nears its twisty, trippy conclusion, your mind might be drifting towards more actionable realities, like which subway line to take home or what to eat for dinner. But then you come to the final scene, and you immediately snap to attention. You watch Cruise stand atop the tallest building in New York at dawn and willfully leap. He falls past endless office windows, braces for impact and hits the pavement.

It’s hard to imagine any New Yorker watching this scene and not immediately flashing back to the events that occurred just three months prior, when as many as 200 Americans either jumped or fell to their deaths to escape the inferno raging inside some of the tallest buildings in New York. It would have been easy to read the film as a shameless ploy by Crowe to cash in on one of the most traumatic events in American history. Or maybe, if we were feeling generous, we could have seen it as an attempt to help the nation heal by forcing us to re-live the trauma in a safe space, much like Paul Greengrass’s United 93  did.

But then you realize that, while Vanilla Sky was released in December 2001, it actually began shooting a year before. Does this mean that the film predicted the 9/11 attacks? No, not exactly. It’s a case of close-to-home coincidence. Yet when it comes to 9/11, we find coincidences wherever we look. Search “ movies that predicted 9/11 ” on YouTube, and you will find a nearly endless stream of supercuts of films that contained the numbers “9” and “11,” including a bridge in Terminator 2: Judgment Day whose height is listed at “9’11”,” and Neo’s passport in The Matrix , whose expiration date is 9/11/01. Of course, those filmmakers chose the combination of numbers for the great symbolic meaning it has in our culture, which is likely the same thing that motivated Osama bin Laden to choose it.

But we can also read the echoes between Vanilla Sky and the attacks on 9/11 as an example of how certain cultural, political and social conditions can express themselves in widely divergent ways.

No film released prior to the attacks seems so deeply, even spiritually, connected to the attacks. Years later, the journey of its protagonist remains perhaps the most useful cultural analogy for America at the end of the 20th century: riding a wave of economic and foreign policy successes that made it feel stronger and more invulnerable than we ever were or could be. Of course, no one saw anything profound in it at the time. At first, the critical consensus was that Vanilla Sky was just a forgivable lapse in judgment made by two otherwise successful filmmakers.

Cruise optioned the rights to the film after the Spanish film on which it was based, 1997’s Abre los Ojos , premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997. Moved by the film, he said, “[T]his was a universal story that was still open-ended, that still felt like it needed another chapter to be told.” Cruise convinced his friend and sometimes collaborator Cameron Crowe to write the remake ‐ a next chapter ‐ which Crowe moved onto after 1999’s Almost Famous . They worked quickly to avoid an impending Actors’ and Writers’ Guild strike that never materialized. Still, what Crowe described as the “adrenalized nature of the scriptwriting and filming” led to less of an adaptation and more of a shot-for-shot remake of Abre los Ojos .

If Vanilla Sky is a cultural antecedent to 9/11, so is Abre los Ojos , but the changes Crowe made, while scant, only reinforced the connection. To Americanize the film, Crowe moved the action from Barcelona to New York City, and, of course, Cruise took over the lead role. Viewing the film as a snapshot of America at the turn of the century, no one else could have played the part. Cruise’s ascension to super-stardom in the mid-‘80s with roles as young, arrogant jerks in Top Gun , Cocktail , and Days of Thunder epitomized the individualistic Reagan Era. He was cocky and good-looking, and it was hard to believe he would ever fail at anything. Vanilla Sky is a deconstruction of the Cruise persona and, by extension, that era’s values.

As the film starts, Cruise’s David Aames is a wealthy playboy who inherited a vast publishing empire after his parents’ death and has since coasted through life on his immense charm and wealth. He assumes the good times will last, telling the audience that “being young…is about believing you are the one person who will live forever.” By the late 1990s, Americans were feeling the same way. Our economy was the envy of the world, but it was built on the income inequality fostered the decade prior. The dotcom bubble and the post-Cold War boom fostered feelings of invincibility. As the 20th gave way, many Americans felt a sense of destiny about their hegemony, as if events were converging for the 21st century to be one long American victory lap.

Warner Bros.

Just like the United States of the moment, Aames’ delusions of invulnerability catch up to him. The night after meeting the would-be love of his life (Penelope Cruz), he is driven off a bridge by a former flame (Cameron Diaz) that he has been casually and carelessly sleeping with. The accident destroys his beautiful face and obliterates all his illusions. It also launches the film into a dream state with a plot that seems to oscillate between fantasy and reality. Is Ames awake, or is he dreaming? Is he alive or dead? It is not until the film’s final scene ‐ moments before he takes that prescient leap back to reality ‐ that we understand the true nature of his existence.

Critics did not appreciate the film’s exploration of reality, and they lambasted the film for toying with the viewers. Entertainment Weekly’s Owen Gleiberman deemed it “a cracked hall of mirrors taped together by a What is reality? cryogenics plot scored to Cameron Crowe’s record collection.”

Maybe the critical community had just gotten tired of films with twist endings (a trend in the late 1990s), but a few years later, Chuck Klosterman led a critical re-evaluation. In his book “Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs,” he defended the film and the very concept of twist endings against Gleiberman:

“That particular question [What is reality?] is precisely why I think Vanilla Sky was one of the more worthwhile movies I’ve seen in the past ten years, along with Memento , Mulholland Drive, Waking Life, Fight Club, Being John Malkovich, The Matrix, Donnie Darko, eXistenz , and a scant handful of other films, all of which tangentially ask the only relevant question available for contemporary filmmakers.”

Klosterman’s list of films dealing with the nature of reality clearly demonstrates a pattern, but what was the meaning of it? Why were Vanilla Sky and those other iconic films wrestling with this issue at the turn of the century? One critic identified as the cause the incroachment of digital life into our everday realities. In a landmark piece for Artforum, J. Hoberman defined the character of American cinema at the turn of the century as one of “objective anxiety” over advances in computer-generated imagery in film. This anxiety reached its apex in 1999, when The Matrix (which also embedded these fears into its plot) and The Phantom Menace dominated cinemas, while paranoia over the dotcom bubble and the Y2K “bug” dominated our conversations off-screen.

In short, we were having trouble figuring out what was real, and Hoberman felt that terrorist attacks only further complicated the matter, asking if “the history-changing shock of 9/11 plunge[d] the nascent twenty-first century into an alternative universe ‐ or reveal[ed] a new reality.” You could argue that most of the political debates over our foreign policy that have occurred in the last 13 years have been asking the same question.

It is also the question Vanilla Sky asks. Or rather, the film wonders whether we want reality, or whether we prefer the fantasy. As we watch David Aames lose his mighty kingdom ‐ his publishing empire, his face and, of course, the girl ‐ there is a nagging feeling that he will regain it. This is Hollywood, after all. More importantly, this is Tom Cruise, America’s most cherished dream-maker, who has convinced audiences that their dreams can becomes reality for more than a quarter-century. Surely, his nightmare will end, and he will finally learn to appreciate all the wealth he inherited and never before deserved. Cue hand-holding. Cue sunset.

But in the film’s final scenes, Aames literally throws himself into a new reality. He learns that his body was frozen at the time of his death, and that his life has been a lucid dream of his own design. In that final scene, he is forced to choose between the fantasy he had bought and paid for, or an uncertain reality he has never known and has little control over (as a nod to the impending budgetary disasters of Iraq, Afghanistan and the collapse of 2008, Aames is told before he jumps that in the new reality his money “won’t last long”). There is little suspense which one he will choose. Once you recognize that you are living in a fantasy, it’s too hard to go back. You have to embrace the new reality. You have to take that leap. At least, that’s how it is in the movies.

After Vanilla Sky , Hollywood woke up to a post-9/11 reality. The films of the next few years reflected an entirely new set of anxieties. Iconic movie heroes like Batman and James Bond were rebooted into harsh and morally ambiguous franchises. Visceral action sequences produced by hand-held cameras and quick-cutting became de rigueur for action movies like the Bourne films directed by Greengrass. These aesthetics rejected Hollywood’s century-old commitment to fantasy and instead brought the violent, post-9/11 world into our cinemas and living rooms.

But each of those films came after the event. If there were ever an argument for how pop culture can reflect not just our past and our present but even our future, it is Vanilla Sky and, in particular, that last scene in which Tom Cruise becomes the Falling Man. That moniker, of course, was given to the individual immortalized in a photo taken on the morning of 9/11. It’s just what it says it is. A man has jumped or fallen from the top of the World Trade Center building, and he is captured in a shot taken by Associated Press photographer Richard Drew. In the photo, he seems suspended, upside-down.

The Falling Man has endured ‐ in books (Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”), television (the opening credits of Mad Men ), and here in film ‐ because it perfectly encapsulates what 9/11 meant to our nation. On that day, we were stuck between the past and the future, looking at the world through inverted eyes, trying in vain to get our bearings. That Vanilla Sky could have predicted that moment serves as a convincing argument for the importance of pop culture, which can tell us where we’ve come from, where we are and, sometimes, where we’re going.

Tagged with: Tom Cruise

Noah Gittell

All 44 Tom Cruise movies, ranked from worst to best

• Tom Cruise has done every type of movie you can think of over his nearly 40-year career.
• Here we rank every one from worst to best.
• See where his latest, "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One," ranks in his career filmography.

43. "Rock of Ages" (2012)

Somehow Cruise got roped into being part of this feature-film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. But leave it to him to lay it all out there.

Though the movie is unwatchable, Cruise provides its only memorable moments when his rock-star character belts out classic songs like "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Wanted Dead or Alive."

42. "Endless Love" (1981)

Cruise's first appearance in a movie is this 1980s teen romance drama starring Brooke Shields that's best known for giving us the Diana Ross/Lionel Richie title song.

Cruise gets a brief bit of screen time as one of the male lead's friends. It's quite forgettable, but it's still better than "Rock of Ages."

41. "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back" (2016)

Between "Mission: Impossible" movies, Cruise tried to kick off another action franchise by bringing the main character of the Lee Child novel series to the big screen.

Though the first movie just got over the $200 million mark at the worldwide box office, the performance (or lack thereof) by the sequel indicated no one wanted any more Mr. Reacher. It barely made $162 million worldwide.

40. "The Mummy" (2017)

Cruise was all set to be the Robert Downey Jr. of Universal's Dark Universe with the release of this movie and promises of more creature pictures to come. But playing a soldier of fortune who tries to stop an ancient Egyptian princess from taking over the world didn't grab audiences. It was another franchise not meant to be.

39. "Losin' It" (1983)

Still getting his legs under him in the movie biz, Cruise signed onto this teen comedy in which he's one of four friends who go on a hard-partying road trip to Tijuana in hopes of losing their virginity. Yes, even Cruise couldn't hide from the teen-sex-comedy genre when he started his career.

38. "Mission: Impossible II" (2000)

Man, John Woo deserved better than this. The legendary Hong Kong director took over the "Mission: Impossible" reins after Brian De Palma kicked things off with the first movie, but Woo didn't find the same success.

"Mission: Impossible II" did go on to become one of the highest-grossing movies of 2000, with over $546 million earned worldwide, but with its weak plot and character development, it has not aged anywhere near as well as the first movie (or the other movies in the franchise).

37. "Jack Reacher" (2012)

Though "Jack Reacher" was the first time Cruise worked with his longtime "Mission: Impossible" director, Christopher McQuarrie, and it features the legendary director Werner Herzog as the movie's villain, Cruise as Jack Reacher is a seen-it-before character who isn't exciting.

36. "Oblivion" (2013)

Here, Cruise attempted to go the sci-fi route in hopes of having a breakthrough "Minority Report"-like experience for the audience. But the story was nowhere as sharp, and its postapocalyptic vibe left us all feeling uninterested.

35. "Lions for Lambs" (2007)

Marking the first movie released by United Artists after Cruise and his producing partner Paula Wagner took over (the two left UA after a couple of years) was "Lions for Lambs," a tense drama set around the war in Afghanistan and directed by Robert Redford.

Cruise gave his all playing an agenda-pushing senator and has some strong scenes opposite Meryl Streep. But the movie is just dull.

34. "Far and Away" (1992)

Cruise and his wife at the time, Nicole Kidman, paired together in this 1890s-set epic directed by Ron Howard. The two play Irish immigrants seeking a fortune in America. Outside the lush photography, there isn't much to enjoy about this movie. And don't get me started on Cruise's awful Irish accent.

33. "Vanilla Sky" (2001)

At the tail end of Cruise's heartthrob phase, the director Cameron Crowe teamed with him again after their hugely successful collaboration on "Jerry Maguire" to make a very different love story.

Based on the Spanish movie "Open Your Eyes," Cruise plays a vain New York City media playboy who has a different outlook on life after being in a horrific car crash. Though Cruise, Cameron Diaz, and Penélope Cruz (who also starred in "Open Your Eyes") all give top performances, Crowe goes too weird with the story, leaving viewers out in the void by the time the movie gets into the home stretch.

32. "American Made" (2017)

Mixing action and dark comedy in telling the real-life story of the drug runner Barry Seal seemed like a nice pivot for Cruise, but at the end of the day, the director Doug Liman's movie is just too glossy to be taken seriously. (Accent update: Cruise delivers a tolerable Southern drawl.)

31. "The Last Samurai" (2003)

Cruise stars as an American soldier in 19th-century Japan who embraces the samurai culture. The movie went on to receive four Oscar nominations, but it's the kind of title in which one viewing is enough.

And on a side note: Wow, would this movie get hammered on social media if it came out today.

30. "Valkyrie" (2008)

Another release from the time Cruise was calling the shots at UA, "Valkyrie" sees him playing one of the rogue Nazi officers who attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

(Accent update: Cruise — and basically most of the other Nazi officers — decided to not even bother with a German accent. Good choice; the audience didn't even notice [ holds back giggles ].)

29. "Cocktail" (1988)

It's one of the movies in Cruise's career that ride fully on his good looks. Honestly, this movie should have just been titled "Sex." Cruise plays a hot New York City bartender who has dreams of making it big, and it's his hotness that's going to get him to the top. It's classic Hot Guy Cruise — who cares that the story is garbage.

28. "War of the Worlds" (2005)

Steven Spielberg teamed up with Cruise after "Minority Report" for this blockbuster remake of the classic sci-fi movie. Though it made a lot of money, it was dark in tone — maybe a little too dark. Be honest: Have you wanted to see this movie again?

27. "Knight and Day" (2010)

This is one of those movies that don't get enough credit. The director James Mangold cleverly takes all the common action-hero traits and has Cruise make fun of them. You might want to give this one another viewing.

26. "Taps" (1981)

Unlike in "Endless Love," Cruise really capitalized on this small role. As a military cadet who takes his responsibilities way too seriously, Cruise is a standout in the movie and showed audiences (and Hollywood executives) that he had leading-man potential.

25. "Mission: Impossible III" (2006)

J.J. Abrams takes over the franchise for this one and does an impressive job. It also helps that you have the talents of Philip Seymour Hoffman playing the villain. It's better than "Mission: Impossible II," so we're going in the right direction.

24. "The Outsiders" (1983)

Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of the classic novel brought all the biggest names from young Hollywood together, and Cruise was right there in the mix. With Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Emilio Estevez, and Rob Lowe, the movie is pretty heavy-handed with the drama, but it's fun to watch all these amazing talents on the screen together.

23. "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation" (2015)

Rebounding from the so-so performance of "Jack Reacher," McQuarrie jumps on the "Mission: Impossible" franchise and ups the action stakes. Yep, this is the one where Cruise hangs from the side of a giant plane taking off. The movie also got an extra jolt with the inclusion of Rebecca Ferguson in the supporting cast.

22. "Mission: Impossible — Fallout" (2018)

This "Mission: Impossible" could go down as one of the best action movies ever — its stunts and action sequences are that amazing. This time, McQuarrie gives us a deeper look at what makes Ethan Hunt tick and the values he lives by. But it's really the action that stays with you.

21. "Minority Report" (2002)

With its breakthroughs in CGI and tech, the first teaming of Spielberg and Cruise lived up to the hype. This movie was so advanced in its execution and what it showcased that it had a "Jurassic Park"-style ripple effect, in the sense that it has influenced countless action and sci-fi movies since.

20. "Tropic Thunder" (2008)

Though Cruise doesn't have a lot of screen time, his presence in this movie cannot be ignored. Playing a despicable movie executive named Les Grossman, he brings that patented intensity to a role that for most actors would have been a mail-it-in cameo role. In Cruise's hands, it's one of the best comedic performances of the early 2000s.

19. "All the Right Moves" (1983)

Two months after Cruise hit theaters with his first lead movie, "Risky Business," he was back again with this very different movie about a Pennsylvania high-school football player who clashes with his coach.

"Risky Business" showed that Cruise had no problem being the face of a movie, but "All the Right Moves" proved he could be more than the charming lead with good looks. This one showed he could be a serious actor.

18. "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol" (2011)

It's the movie that breathed life back into the "Mission: Impossible" franchise. It came five years after "Mission: Impossible III," and in that time Cruise struggled with an image problem and a string of underperforming movies. He had a lot to prove with this one. And with the casting of Jeremy Renner, Cruise probably sensed he could lose his beloved franchise if the movie didn't work.

However, Brad Bird's direction and Cruise's disregard for common sense — in this one he climbs the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai — put him back on top, as the movie became a global hit.

17. "Top Gun" (1986)

Before "Days of Thunder," Cruise and Tony Scott teamed up for what would become one of the actor's most iconic roles: the fighter pilot Maverick. What Cruise doesn't pull off acting-wise he makes up for with brooding looks and shirtless volleyball skills.

16. "The Firm" (1993)

In "The Firm," based on the best-selling John Grisham novel, Cruise gives a fantastic performance as a hotshot lawyer who signs on with one of the most prestigious US law firms only to find it has quite a dark side. The era of "Tom Cruise runs" really launched with this movie.

15. "Legend" (1985)

Ridley Scott's beautiful fantasy movie is still a marvel of moviemaking. The practical effects and production design put into this movie, made back when CGI was scarce, are a treasure. And at the center is a fresh-faced Cruise who tries to get his girl back from the villain who gave me the most nightmares as a kid, Darkness (played perfectly by Tim Curry).

14. "Collateral" (2004)

We really don't talk enough about this one enough. Michael Mann's slow-burn crime movie stars Cruise as a hitman who forces a cab driver (Jamie Foxx) to drive him around Los Angeles as he goes on his "jobs." The acting by both Cruise and Foxx in this movie is some of their best work.

13. "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One" (2023)

There are many things to love about the "Mission: Impossible" franchise: Its James Bond-like gadgets. Cruise's disregard for his life and safety when it comes to pulling off amazing stunts . But the biggest thing to love is that the films just seem to get better and better.

The first "M:I," directed by Brian De Palma, set the bar very high. However, since McQuarrie took the reins in 2015 with "Rogue Nation," the franchise has gotten a jolt in the arm. It seems to always outdo itself, and "Dead Reckoning" makes good on that promise.

The high stakes, the timely villain being AI, and, of course, Tom Cruise in the middle of some amazing thrills makes this film one of the best in the franchise.

13. "Eyes Wide Shut" (1999)

Cruise and Kidman teamed up again, this time under the watch of Stanley Kubrick in what would be his final movie. Both actors are pushed to the limits as the movie explores a marriage at a crossroads. Though "Eyes Wide Shut" is not close to Kubrick's best work, Cruise and Kidman are riveting.

12. "Top Gun: Maverick" (2022)

Thirty-six years after playing Pete "Maverick" Mitchell he returns to the role in the rare legacy sequel that's better than the original movie.

Though Tony Scott's landmark "Top Gun" made Cruise a superstar and became an instant 1980s classic, the director Joseph Kosinski has elevated the story with more death-defying dogfight jet stunts and a more compelling story.

This time Maverick returns to the Top Gun school to be a teacher of the new hot-shot pilots. But he must deal with his own demons as one of the students is the son of his best friend, Goose, who died in his arms in the first movie.

Cruise delivers one of his best performances in years.

11. "Days of Thunder" (1990)

It's pretty much everything you would think would be in a Tony Scott movie: lots of fast cars and big egos. Cruise is in his glory in every scene playing the hot-shot Nascar driver Cole Trickle (and Kidman appears as his love interest).

10. "Risky Business" (1983)

It's the movie that made Cruise a star. The coming-of-age story doesn't shy away from its mature storyline, and Cruise delivers a playful performance but also shows sparks of his dramatic chops that he'll showcase in the decade to come.

9. "Mission: Impossible" (1996)

Boy have things changed since the first "Mission: Impossible." With De Palma at the helm, the movie had its action, but it was encased in a tense whodunit thriller. Since then the action has only gotten bigger (and the story, well, less of a concern), but Cruise has always been fantastic as Hunt.

The first movie is his best acting work of the franchise. (Accent update: Cruise delivers another Southern accent while disguised at the beginning of the movie — one of those classic face-rip-off disguises. It's brief but effective in the scene.)

8. "Interview with the Vampire" (1994)

Cruise gives one of his best performances as Lestat, a vampire from the 1700s who finds a lot of drama in his undead life once he recruits Louis (Brad Pitt). (Accent update: His little hint of a French accent to stay true to the character's portrayal in the classic Anne Rice book is perfectly subtle.)

7. "Edge of Tomorrow" (2014)

Whether you want to call it "Edge of Tomorrow" or "Live. Die. Repeat.," it's just a really great action movie. With Liman directing and McQuarrie as a screenwriter, Cruise is surrounded by people he trusts to make a risky project: a soldier who relives the same day. But the MVP of the movie is Emily Blunt, who delivers a performance that makes Cruise kick it up a few notches.

6. "Rain Man" (1988)

Always at his best when he's playing a character with major conflict, Cruise plays a guy always looking to capitalize on the angles until he's finally in a situation in which he has to be on the level: building a relationship with his autistic savant brother (Dustin Hoffman).

5. "Jerry Maguire" (1996)

Receiving a best-actor nomination for his performance as a slick sports agent whose life turns upside down after having a moment of clarity, Cruise was, thanks to this movie, at his height of stardom and power in Hollywood.

4. "A Few Good Men" (1992)

Rob Reiner's courtroom drama has Cruise going up against Jack Nicholson, and it's pure magic. Yes, there's the "can't handle the truth" scene, but for us, it starts earlier in the movie when the two characters meet for the first time.

Thanks to the incredible dialogue by Aaron Sorkin, both actors subtly trade off with each other, but it's the fire being held back that makes the ending when they are face-to-face again so memorable.

3. "Magnolia" (1999)

No matter what you think of Paul Thomas Anderson's epic look at family, love, and forgiveness, it's hard to dispute that it has the most powerful performance of Cruise's career.

Playing a pickup artist who uses his talents to build a public-speaking career, Cruise appears as we've never seen him before. Anderson and Cruise connected over dealing with the loss of their fathers and use that darkness to create the character of Frank T. J. Mackey.

2. "The Color of Money" (1986)

Paul Newman won only one Oscar in his iconic career, and it was for this movie. But you have to give a big assist to Cruise.

Playing the protégé to the pool player "Fast Eddie" Felson — the role Newman first played in 1961's "The Hustler" — Cruise is a cocky player, and you can never tell whether he's on the level with Felson. Cruise proved once again that he's more than just a pretty face.

1. "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989)

Cruise got an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the veteran and activist Ron Kovic, who was paralyzed fighting in Vietnam. Oliver Stone traces Kovic's journey from being a wide-eyed soldier thinking he's doing what's right for America to coming home from the war to find everything has changed. Including the way he views his own country.

Cruise has never been better as he delivers a tour de force performance that still gives us chills.

• Main content

• All His Movies, Ranked
• What He's Like to Work With
• Crazy Stunts He's Actually Done
• Over-the-Top Performances
• Wild Facts All Fans Should Know
• Favorite Characters
• Moments That Are So Tom
• Stunts That Could Have Ended Him
• Scientology Rumors

The 40+ Best Tom Cruise Movies, Ranked By Fans

Vote up the films starring Tom Cruise that complete you.

When it comes to Hollywood royalty, few can hold a candle to Tom Cruise. Over the years, this megastar has delivered one jaw-dropping performance after another, solidifying his place as a cinematic legend. It's a formidable task to narrow down the best Tom Cruise movies of all time, but hey, someone's got to do it. From high-octane action flicks to soul-stirring dramas, Cruise's filmography is as versatile as it is impressive.

Take, for instance, Top Gun , the adrenaline-pumping story of competitive fighter pilots that catapulted Cruise to international stardom. Or A Few Good Men , where he delivered one of his most powerful performances, proving that he could handle weighty dialogues with the same ease as he does action-packed sequences. These films are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to top Tom Cruise films that have left an indelible mark on cinema.

But how did we curate such a coveted list? Well, it started with movie experts who have an eye for performances that define careers, creating a shortlist of films that truly showcase Tom Cruise at his best. Then, we turned it over to the fans, whose votes have shaped this definitive ranking. Whether you're a die-hard Cruise fan or just a movie buff looking to revisit some cinematic gold, this list has got you covered.

A Few Good Men

In this tense courtroom drama, audiences are captivated by the exceptional performance as a young military lawyer assigned to defend two Marines accused of killing a fellow comrade. Alongside powerful performances from Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore, the film flawlessly showcases the protagonist's gradual transformation from a cocky, fresh-faced attorney into a fierce, skilled advocate determined to uncover the truth. The iconic line "You can't handle the truth!" immortalizes the film's memorable climax and solidifies the protagonist's status as one of Hollywood's most dynamic actors.

• Released : 1992
• Directed by : Rob Reiner

As an adrenaline-pumping display of aerial combat and rivalry, this movie takes viewers into the world of elite fighter pilots, with the lead actor embodying the brash, fearless pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. The audience follows Maverick's journey through the prestigious Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School as he battles his own ego, engages in astonishing dogfights, and learns the true meaning of teamwork. The sizzling on-screen chemistry with Kelly McGillis, the thrilling action sequences, and the beloved rendition of " Take My Breath Away " make it an unforgettable 80s classic.

• Released : 1986
• Directed by : Tony Scott

Top Gun: Maverick

Returning to the iconic role of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell after decades, the anticipation for this sequel has been immense, and it promises to deliver the same captivating thrills and aerial combat sequences of the original. As a mentor to the next generation of fighter pilots, including the son of his late best friend Goose, the protagonist guides these young talents while still facing his own personal demons and unresolved past. The combination of a compelling storyline, breathtaking stunts, and a nostalgic return to the character that made him a household name ensures this will be another hit.

• Released : 2022
• Directed by : Joseph Kosinski

The lead character delivers a heart-wrenching performance as Charlie Babbitt, a hustler who discovers he has an autistic savant brother named Raymond after their father's death. Through their cross-country road trip, Charlie learns to appreciate the gentle genius of his older brother while he evolves from a selfish, money-driven man to a compassionate and loving brother. This emotional journey resulted in a Best Actor nomination, and the film itself won numerous awards, including Best Picture, highlighting the powerful and touching bond between the two main characters.

• Released : 1988
• Directed by : Barry Levinson

Mission: Impossible

In the role of super-spy Ethan Hunt, the leading man had audiences on the edge of their seats with the thrilling action and elaborate plots of this espionage thriller series. As Hunt, he displays an unrivaled level of physicality and commitment to his craft, performing most of his own stunts, resulting in a rollercoaster ride of adventure and suspense for moviegoers. The franchise has become synonymous with jaw-dropping stunts, twisty plots, and an evolving ensemble cast that perfectly complements the main character's charisma and determination.

• Released : 1996
• Directed by : Brian De Palma

Jerry Maguire

In this romantic dramedy, the audience witnesses a sports agent's fall from grace and subsequent redemption through his relationship with his sole client and love interest. Audiences are charmed by the stunning performances, emotional vulnerability, and undeniable chemistry between the characters, as well as the classic line, "You complete me." The film earned the lead actor an Academy Award nomination and remains an enduring favorite for its heartwarming relationships, brilliant dialogue, and bittersweet exploration of ambition and love.

• Directed by : Cameron Crowe

Edge of Tomorrow

Featuring a mix of action-packed sequences, science fiction elements, and dark humor, this film showcases the protagonist as a reluctant hero, forced to live the same day repeatedly while fighting alien invaders. The compelling story of survival and personal growth, alongside the intriguing concept of time loops, make this an unforgettable cinematic experience. Supported by a strong performance from Emily Blunt, this thrilling, fast-paced adventure cements its status as a modern sci-fi classic.

• Released : 2014
• Directed by : Doug Liman

Risky Business

As the high school senior who turns his family's home into a brothel after getting involved with a call girl, the lead actor delivers a charming and iconic performance that launched his career as a Hollywood heartthrob. The famous scene of the character dancing in his underwear to " Old Time Rock and Roll " has become a pop-culture staple, and the film itself remains a beloved 80s classic. With its unique blend of teen angst, dark comedy, and romance, this coming-of-age story showcases the beginnings of a truly remarkable talent.

• Released : 1983
• Directed by : Paul Brickman

Minority Report

Set in a dystopian future where crime is predicted and prevented by a specialized police force, this Steven Spielberg-directed sci-fi thriller sees the lead actor as a detective accused of a crime he has yet to commit. With its unique premise, thought-provoking themes, and stunning visuals, the film became an instant classic and served as a showcase for the protagonist's range and versatility as an actor. The combination of gripping storytelling, groundbreaking special effects, and a strong ensemble cast cement its status as one of the best sci-fi films of the 21st century.

• Released : 2002
• Directed by : Steven Spielberg

The Last Samurai

Set in 19th-century Japan, this epic historical drama follows the journey of Capt. Nathan Algren, an American military officer who becomes deeply immersed in the samurai culture. The protagonist brilliantly portrays a tortured soul seeking redemption and finding it through his connection with the titular warriors, resulting in a soulful and emotional performance. Aesthetically stunning and emotionally engaging, this film is impressively crafted and features outstanding performances from Ken Watanabe and the rest of the cast.

• Released : 2003
• Directed by : Edward Zwick

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

The fourth installment in the adrenaline-fueled franchise sees the protagonist perform even more heart-stopping stunts, including scaling the world's tallest building, Dubai's Burj Khalifa, further solidifying his reputation as a fearless action star. With a fresh team of dynamic actors, including Simon Pegg and Paula Patton, this film raises the stakes and balances its thrilling action with lighter moments of humor. Picking up where its predecessors left off, the film delivers an exhilarating, globetrotting adventure that leaves audiences eager for more.

• Released : 2011
• Directed by : Brad Bird

In this gripping adaptation of John Grisham's best-selling novel, the protagonist plays an ambitious young lawyer who becomes entangled in a dangerous web of deceit and corruption at his prestigious law firm. The intense plot and stellar performances from the ensemble cast, including Gene Hackman, Holly Hunter, and David Strathairn, keep the audience absorbed and guessing until the very end. The smart script, thrilling twists, and central performance make it a must-watch for legal thriller enthusiasts and fans of the leading man alike.

• Released : 1993
• Directed by : Sydney Pollack

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

The fifth installment of the popular action franchise sees the protagonist reprise his role as Ethan Hunt, this time facing a powerful, clandestine organization known as the Syndicate. With incredible stunts, including a breathtaking underwater sequence and a thrilling motorcycle chase, the lead actor continues to push the boundaries of what's possible in action cinema. Alongside new additions to the cast such as Rebecca Ferguson and Sean Harris, this thrilling adventure offers non-stop excitement and intrigue that maintains the high standards of the series.

• Released : July 31, 2015
• Directed by : Christopher McQuarrie

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

In his sixth turn as super-spy Ethan Hunt, the main character's commitment to performing his own stunts reaches new heights with a harrowing high-altitude-low-opening (HALO) jump. Additionally, the film's electric helicopter chase and intense fight sequences showcase the actor's relentless dedication to delivering pulse-pounding action. With a gripping storyline that delves deeper into the personal life of Hunt and an exhilarating finale, this entry is widely regarded as one of the best in the long-running series.

• Released : 2018

In a rare turn as the villain, the lead actor plays a cold and calculating contract killer in this crime thriller directed by Michael Mann. Sharing the screen with Jamie Foxx's unsuspecting taxi driver, the actor's menacing performance offers a fascinating look into the psyche of his character and contrasts sharply with the vulnerable, heroic roles that have defined his career. With its gritty atmosphere, taut pacing, and unforgettable performances, the film stands as a testament to the versatility and range of the protagonist.

• Released : 2004
• Directed by : Michael Mann

Interview with the Vampire (1994)

Portraying the tormented vampire Lestat in this adaptation of Anne Rice's novel, the protagonist delivers a mesmerizing and seductive performance that captivated audiences worldwide. Sharing the screen with Brad Pitt and a young Kirsten Dunst, the actor's portrayal of an immortal craving companionship and grappling with the morality of his actions is both chilling and heartbreaking. Though controversial at the time for its dark themes and explicit content, the film has since become a cult classic, showcasing a different side of the leading man's abilities.

• Released : 1994
• Directed by : Neil Jordan

Jack Reacher

Adapted from Lee Child's bestselling novels, the movie features the leading man as the tough-as-nails former Army investigator and drifter who finds himself entangled in a complex conspiracy. Showcasing his impressive range as an actor, the protagonist delivers a gritty and physical performance that captivates audiences and brings the beloved literary character to life. The film's thrilling action sequences, unexpected twists, and solid supporting cast make it a standout in the action-thriller genre.

• Released : 2012

Days of Thunder

Reuniting with the Top Gun director, the protagonist stars as hotshot NASCAR driver Cole Trickle in this high-octane racing drama. With thrilling race sequences and an exploration of the competitive world of stock car racing, the movie allows the lead character to demonstrate his undeniable screen presence and physical prowess. The electrifying on-screen chemistry between the actor and his future wife, Nicole Kidman, adds to the allure of this compelling sports drama.

• Released : 1990

The Color of Money

In this sequel to the 1961 classic The Hustler, the lead character plays pool protegé Vincent Lauria, who is mentored by Paul Newman's "Fast" Eddie Felson. A dynamic on-screen duo, they brilliantly convey the tension and rivalry between their characters, making for a compelling examination of ambition, redemption, and the cost of success. The film stands as a worthy follow-up to its predecessor, with a superb performance that further cemented the protagonist's status as a versatile leading man.

• Directed by : Martin Scorsese

The Outsiders

Based on the classic novel by S.E. Hinton, this coming-of-age drama set in the 1960s features the lead actor as part of an ensemble cast that includes Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, and Rob Lowe, among others. As the youngest member of the "Greasers" gang and the brother of Ralph Macchio's Johnny, the actor delivers a tender performance that showcases his talent at an early age. The film has since become a cult classic, with its heartfelt portrayal of friendship, loyalty, and the trials of growing up.

• Directed by : Francis Ford Coppola

In this 80s drama, the leading man portrays an ambitious bartender who dreams of success and navigates the trials and tribulations of love and friendship. The role allows the protagonist to showcase his charm, charisma, and signature smile, resulting in a captivating performance that further establishes him as a Hollywood heartthrob. With memorable scenes and quotable dialogue, the film has earned a special place in pop culture nostalgia.

• Directed by : Roger Donaldson

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

The upcoming seventh installment in the blockbuster franchise promises to deliver even more breathtaking stunts, explosive action, and intriguing espionage as the lead character reprises his iconic role of Ethan Hunt. As the first part of a two-part cinematic event, the film will undoubtedly raise the stakes and further solidify the protagonist's status as an unstoppable action hero. With returning and new cast members, fans are eagerly anticipating the next thrilling chapter in the ever-evolving series.

• Released : 2023

Born on the Fourth of July

In a powerful and transformative performance, the lead actor takes on the real-life story of Ron Kovic, a disillusioned Vietnam War veteran who becomes an anti-war activist. Earning his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, the protagonist impeccably portrays the emotional turmoil, physical pain, and ultimate redemption of his character. The film's unflinching depiction of the war's aftermath and its impact on soldiers makes it a poignant and unforgettable viewing experience.

• Released : 1989
• Directed by : Oliver Stone

Mission: Impossible III

With J.J. Abrams at the helm, the third installment of the blockbuster franchise brings a personal and emotional depth to the series, as protagonist Ethan Hunt faces a ruthless villain with ties to his personal life. The leading man's captivating performance, along with an incredible supporting cast and intense action sequences, make this entry a standout in the spy thriller genre. Fans of the series appreciate the balance of character development, emotional stakes, and adrenaline-pumping action that this installment delivers.

• Released : 2006
• Directed by : J.J. Abrams

Tropic Thunder

In a surprising and hilarious turn, the protagonist takes on the role of an over-the-top Hollywood producer in this satirical war comedy. Sporting a bald cap and thick prosthetic makeup, he is nearly unrecognizable as he lampoons the movie industry with biting humor and infectious dance moves. His comedic prowess and willingness to poke fun at himself contribute to the film's status as a modern classic in the comedy genre.

• Released : 2008
• Directed by : Ben Stiller

In this visually stunning sci-fi thriller, the protagonist plays a drone repairman tasked with maintaining Earth's defense system after an alien invasion. Unraveling a twisted web of secrets and lies surrounding his mission, the lead actor delivers a gripping and emotional performance that keeps audiences engaged from start to finish. With its breathtaking cinematography, thought-provoking themes, and memorable score, the film solidifies its place as a captivating entry in the science fiction genre.

• Released : 2013

In this gripping historical thriller, the lead actor portrays German army officer Claus von Stauffenberg, who leads a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler during World War II. With a strong supporting cast and a suspenseful narrative, the protagonist delivers a compelling performance that highlights his versatility as an actor. The film is a riveting exploration of moral courage and determination in the face of insurmountable odds.

• Directed by : Bryan Singer

War of the Worlds

In this modern adaptation of H.G. Wells' classic novel, the protagonist portrays a divorced father who must protect his children during a sudden alien invasion. Under the direction of Steven Spielberg, the lead actor excels in conveying the terror, desperation, and determination of his character while navigating a world on the brink of destruction. The film's riveting storyline, impressive special effects, and powerful performances create a thrilling and suspenseful ride for viewers.

• Released : 2005

Far and Away

Starring alongside Nicole Kidman, the protagonist takes on the role of an Irish immigrant seeking his fortune in America in this sweeping romantic epic. The film's lush landscapes and stirring score provide an exquisite backdrop for the passionate love story between the main characters. Despite some mixed critical reception, the undeniable chemistry between the lead actors and the film's grand scope make it a memorable viewing experience.

• Directed by : Ron Howard

American Made

Based on a true story, the protagonist plays a commercial airline pilot turned drug smuggler and CIA informant in this fast-paced crime drama. The lead actor's charismatic performance, combined with a fascinating real-life plot and a vibrant 80s aesthetic, makes for an entertaining and thrilling ride. The film showcases the protagonist's ability to tackle complex characters and deliver engaging performances in diverse roles.

• Released : 2017

All the Right Moves

In this high school football drama, the lead actor stars as a promising young athlete from a struggling Pennsylvania steel town, determined to earn a college scholarship and escape his bleak surroundings. The film allows the protagonist to showcase his talent for embodying relatable and ambitious characters, earning him praise for his performance as a driven, passionate teenager. Capturing the spirit of blue-collar America, this coming-of-age story resonates with its themes of perseverance, loyalty, and the pursuit of a better life.

• Directed by : Michael Chapman

Mission: Impossible II

The second installment in the blockbuster franchise features the protagonist returning as super-spy Ethan Hunt, this time facing off against a rogue former agent with a deadly virus at his disposal. Directed by action maestro John Woo, the film amps up the thrills and jaw-dropping stunts, including a gravity-defying rock climbing sequence performed by the lead actor himself. Although met with mixed reviews, the film remains a notable entry in the series for its memorable action sequences and its continued exploration of the character's personal life.

• Released : 2000
• Directed by : John Woo

Knight and Day

In this action-comedy, the protagonist partners with Cameron Diaz as a mysterious secret agent and an unwitting civilian who become entangled in a perilous mission. The lead actor's charm and charisma shine through in this lighthearted adventure, making it a fun and enjoyable romp for audiences. The film's blend of humor, romance, and thrilling action showcases the main character's ability to balance different genres with ease.

• Released : 2010
• Directed by : James Mangold

In one of his earliest roles, the protagonist plays a military cadet who takes part in a student-led revolt against the closing of their school in this gripping drama. The film features a strong ensemble cast, including Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn, and allows the young actor to display his burgeoning talent and screen presence. The movie's exploration of loyalty, authority, and camaraderie remains a powerful and thought-provoking examination of human nature.

• Released : 1981
• Directed by : Harold Becker

In this ambitious and sprawling ensemble drama from director Paul Thomas Anderson, the protagonist delivers a memorable performance as a morally conflicted self-help guru. With a complex narrative structure and an immense ensemble cast, the film delves into the interconnected lives of characters who are all experiencing their own personal crises. The movie's bold storytelling and the lead actor's nuanced performance contribute to its status as a modern classic in American cinema.

• Released : 1999
• Directed by : Paul Thomas Anderson

Eyes Wide Shut

In this final film from legendary director Stanley Kubrick, the protagonist stars alongside then-wife Nicole Kidman as a couple experiencing a crisis of sexual desire and jealousy. With its atmospheric cinematography, haunting score, and daring erotic scenes, the movie pushes the boundaries of traditional Hollywood storytelling. The lead actor's immersive performance and the film's controversial exploration of human sexuality make it a provocative and unforgettable entry in his filmography.

• Directed by : Stanley Kubrick

Vanilla Sky

Reuniting with Jerry Maguire director Cameron Crowe, the protagonist stars in this mind-bending psychological thriller that explores themes of love, loss, and the blurred boundaries of reality. The film's enigmatic plot, paired with the lead actor's intense and emotional performance, makes for an immersive and captivating viewing experience. Despite its polarizing reception, the movie remains an intriguing example of the protagonist's willingness to take on challenging and unconventional roles.

• Released : 2001

In this visually stunning fantasy-adventure, the main character takes on the role of Jack, a pure-hearted hero who must save a magical land from eternal darkness. Directed by Ridley Scott , the film features lush landscapes, elaborate costumes, and a memorable performance from Tim Curry as the sinister Lord of Darkness. Though considered a commercial failure at the time of its release, the movie has since developed a cult following thanks to its fantastical world-building and the protagonist's earnest performance.

• Released : 1985
• Directed by : Ridley Scott

Rock of Ages

In this star-studded musical adaptation, the lead actor portrays an aging rock star amidst the backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles. Embracing the era's iconic style, music, and larger-than-life personalities, the protagonist delivers an entertaining and energetic performance that showcases his singing abilities. The film may not have been a commercial success, but it offered audiences a chance to see the actor in a new light, embracing a fun and campy departure from his action hero roles.

• Directed by : Adam Shankman

Austin Powers: Goldmember

In a brief but memorable cameo, the protagonist hilariously lampoons his own action-star persona by portraying the titular character in a film within the film. The self-referential and irreverent nature of the cameo makes it a delightful surprise for fans and demonstrates the actor's willingness to engage in self-deprecating humor. The scene remains a standout moment in the popular comedy franchise.

• Directed by : Jay Roach

In this reboot of the classic horror-adventure series, the protagonist takes on the role of a soldier-turned-treasure hunter who accidentally unleashes an ancient evil upon the world. Though the film received mixed reviews, the lead actor's charisma and commitment to performing his own stunts add an undeniable appeal for fans of action-packed adventure films. The movie offers an entertaining and thrilling ride that showcases the main character's enduring appeal as an action hero.

• Directed by : Alex Kurtzman

Losin' It

In this early 80s teen comedy, the protagonist plays one of a group of high school friends heading to Mexico for a weekend of debauchery. The film, while not critically acclaimed, offers a glimpse into the early days of the lead actor's career and his natural talent for comedy. With its raucous humor and nostalgic setting, the movie remains an interesting snapshot of the protagonist's beginnings in Hollywood.

• Directed by : Curtis Hanson

Lions for Lambs

This thought-provoking political drama features an ensemble cast, including the lead actor as a Republican senator advocating for a new military strategy in Afghanistan. The film delves into complex themes of ethics, politics, and the human cost of war, showcasing the protagonist's versatility as an actor. While it may not have drawn major box-office success, the movie's timely subject matter and strong performances make it a compelling watch.

• Released : 2007
• Directed by : Robert Redford

Endless Love

In this romantic drama loosely based on Scott Spencer's novel, the protagonist makes his feature film debut in a supporting role as the brother of the female lead. Though the film received mixed reviews, it offers a unique opportunity to witness the early days of the lead actor's career. With its passionate love story and memorable soundtrack, the movie has become a cult classic over time.

• Directed by : Franco Zeffirelli
• Entertainment
• Watchworthy

All about the life and career of the ageless actor Tom Cruise.

Tom Cruise’s 16 Best Performances: From ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ to ‘Magnolia’

By Clayton Davis

Clayton Davis

Senior Awards Editor

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With six decades around the sun, Tom Cruise still feels the need for speed and has crafted himself into one of the most successful and undeniably talented movie stars of his generation.

Variety is ranking his 15 best film performances to celebrate the actor’s 60th birthday.

With a breakthrough that started in the coming-of-age film “Risky Business” (1983), the Syracuse, N.Y.-born actor became a darling of Hollywood and consumer audiences around the world. As Joseph Kosinski’s “Top Gun: Maverick” still goes strong, making more than half a billion dollars domestically, Cruise has continued to etch himself into the cultural zeitgeist, crossing multiple generations.

Also a producer, Cruise has continued to elevate the entertainment medium with the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, which began in 1995. With five very successful sequels and two more on the way, he continues to push the boundaries for himself as a fearless stuntman and an advocate for the silver screen.

A career that only the most daring actors and creatives can dream of, Cruise has worked alongside two best actor winners — Paul Newman (“The Color of Money”) and Dustin Hoffman (“Rain Man”) — and has earned himself three Oscar nominations in “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989), “Jerry Maguire” (1996) and “Magnolia” (1999). But it hasn’t been about the accolades for Cruise. In May 2021, he returned his three Golden Globe Awards after the expose on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s lack of diversity, specifically no Black members.

Cruise’s films have grossed over $10 billion dollars worldwide and there are no signs of slowing down. Will he ever win a coveted Oscar? That remains to be seen, but the narrative is there if the Academy rewards an upcoming project.

Read Variety’s list of Tom Cruise’s best performances below:

Honorable mentions : “Far and Away” (1992); “The Last Samurai” (2003); “Rock of Ages” (2012)

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Role: Major William Cage

Director: Doug Liman Writers: Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth Distributor: Warner Bros.

The scene that proves it: Getting the device from Brigham

Kicking ass, taking names, then rinse and repeat. A military major goes through a “Groundhog Day” loop but it’s Cruise that ensures it’s not a gimmick, slithering into each scene with charm, raw magnetism and wonderful chemistry with an awards-worthy Emily Blunt. The science-fiction drama has been all too undervalued. Doug Liman’s thriller shows more than special effects and explosions. It also presents capable and talented stars at the helm, which makes all the difference.

Risky Business (1983)

Role: Joel Goodson

Director: Paul Brickman Writer: Paul Brickman Distributor: Warner Bros.

The scene that proves it: Dancing to “Old Time Rock & Roll”

All it took was a button-down shirt, briefs and a Bob Seger track to make Tom Cruise one of the defining movie stars of his generation. In Paul Brickman’s directorial debut, Cruise’s turn in the teen comedy was as culturally massive as it was monetarily successful. With lots of praise also going to his co-star Rebecca DeMornay, this is just as enjoyable as any film that ranks in the listing.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Role : Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell

Director : Joseph Kosinski

Writers : Peter Craig, Justin Marks, Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie (based on characters created by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.)

Distributor : Paramount Pictures

The scene that proves it : “Maverick’s Test Run”

Cruise’s 80s high-flying sequel feels like it saved the movies. His return to “Maverick,” his beloved character has showmanship, charisma and the ability to shoot down planes with the enemy’s plane. Having great chemistry with his co-stars, particularly Miles Teller and Jennifer Connelly, Cruise is only getting better as he gets older.

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

Role: Lestat de Lioncourt

Director: Neil Jordan Writer: Anne Rice (based on “Interview with the Vampire” by Anne Rice) Distributor: Warner Bros.

The scene that proves it: “Claudia, you’ve been a very, naughty little girl.”

As the sinister and entrancing Lestat, Cruise hypnotized the audience with his soft-spoken flirtations with the living while persuading them to join the undead. Alongside memorable turns from Brad Pitt and a young Kirsten Dunst, Neil Jordan’s horror adaptation of the Anne Rice novel is still a popular selection.

The Firm (1993)

Role: Mitch McDeere

Director: Sydney Pollack Writers: David Rabe, Robert Towne, David Rayfiel (based on “The Firm” by John Grisham) Distributor: Paramount Pictures

The scene that proves it: “Did you ever think I would make a six-figure salary?”

Sydney Pollack’s invigorating legal thriller boasts an all-star cast and a dynamic Cruise as lawyer Mitch McDeere. While also featuring my personal favorite Tom Cruise signature run as he chases down his movie wife Jeanne Tripplehorn, the adaptation of the John Grisham novel was a box office success and even pulled in an acting nom for his co-star Holly Hunter.

Mission: Impossible (1995)

Role: Ethan Hunt

Director: Brian De Palma Writers: David Koepp, Robert Towne, Steven Zaillian (based on “Mission: Impossible” by Bruce Geller) Distributor: Paramount Pictures

The scene that proves it: “You’ve never seen me upset.”

The spy thriller from Brian De Palma still holds up almost 30 years later. Likewise, the action franchise that’s still going (with two more films on the way) keeps on delivering, thanks to Tom Cruise.

The cinematic remake of the classic television series has spawned multiple territories, generating massive revenue and showing Cruise’s defining action star beats, jaw-dropping stunts and magical smiles that have a way with the ladies as Ethan Hunt.

Keep dropping from those ceilings, Tom.

Rain Man (1988)

Role: Charlie Babbitt

Director: Barry Levinson Writers: Barry Morrow, Ronald Bass Distributor: MGM/UA

The scene that proves it: “You’re the Rain Man?”

The best picture winner of his arsenal, alongside an Oscar-winning turn from Dustin Hoffman, the film stands as one that hindsight has allowed us to rediscover as one of the bright spots of his filmography. If only Oscar were willing to recognize two leading actors as they did earlier that decade with “Amadeus.” Cruise would have made a fine addition.

Collateral (2004)

Role: Vincent

Director: Michael Mann Writer: Stuart Beattie Distributor: DreamWorks Pictures

The scene that proves it: Searching in the club.

At best a co-lead to Jamie Foxx (who was nominated for best supporting actor in one of the most recent cases of category fraud), Cruise’s silver fox Vincent in Michael Mann’s thriller is an underrated delivery. He sends chills down the spine, moving like a shark through a club and listening to his prey with a mischievous grin. He keeps us at the edge of our seats, before finally allowing us to exhale by the end of the credits.

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Role: Bill Harford

Director: Stanley Kubrick Writers: Stanley Kubrick, Frederic Raphael (based on “Traumnovelle” by Arthur Schnitzler) Distributor: Warner Bros.

The scene that proves it: Listening to the story about Cape Cod.

Under the thumb of Stanley Kubrick and his final outing with his then-wife, Nicole Kidman, Cruise dives into the erotic drama that feels among the actor’s bravest character outings. Marking the last directorial outing of Kubrick, you can feel the ripple of his legacy hanging on the words of each of Cruise and Kidman’s interactions or in the defined stare as one pours their heart out to another.

Top Gun (1986)

Director : Tony Scott

Writers : Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr. (based on “Top Guns” by Ehud Yonay

The scene that proves it : Tossing Goose’s dog tags.

Cruise feels the need… the need for speed in Tony Scott’s pulse-pounding action flick — a cemented classic in the 1980s. His undeniable charisma led to the following post-release and now has the global cinematic world taking in its sequel “Maverick” to more than half a billion dollars. There’s always been something about Maverick tossing Goose’s (Anthony Edwards) dog tags overboard following his death that always struck a chord.

Tropic Thunder (2008)

Role: Les Grossman

Director: Ben Stiller Writers: Justin Theroux, Ben Stiller, Etan Cohen Distributor: Paramount Pictures / DreamWorks Pictures

The scene that proves it: “G5”

It’s a transformation of epic proportions in Ben Stiller’s classic comedy. While Robert Downey Jr. received the lion’s share of praise, earning an Oscar nom for supporting actor, Cruise could only muster a Golden Globe nom for his turn as Hollywood producer Les Grossman. Screaming one-liners and a dance finale that still makes the world chuckle, it stands as his single best comedic outing.

Jerry Maguire (1996)

Role: Jerry Maguire

Director: Cameron Crowe Writer: Cameron Crowe Distributor: Sony Pictures

The scene that proves it: “You complete me.”

Writer and director Cameron Crowe pulled a movie star performance out of Tom Cruise for his sports agent dramedy. As the titular character, he lights up the screen with his Oscar-winning co-star Cuba Gooding Jr. and the Oscar-snubbed Renée Zellweger in a finale that had people quoting it for decades. And let’s not forget “Show me the money” and its stapled place in movie history.

A Few Good Men (1992)

Role: Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee

Director: Rob Reiner Writer: Aaron Sorkin (based on “A Few Good Men” by Aaron Sorkin) Distributor: Columbia Pictures

The scene that proves it: “I want the truth…”

Cruise is entitled to answers in Rob Reiner’s courtroom drama, maneuvering prominent personalities and moments alongside Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore and Kevin Pollack. Although nominated for best picture, Cruise’s work was passed over in lead actor. His defender of marines standing trial, under the words of Aaron Sorkin and one of his finest writing efforts, Cruise soars to new heights.

Minority Report (2002)

Role: John Anderton

Director: Steven Spielberg Writers: Scott Frank, Jon Cohen (based on “The Minority Report” by Philip K. Dick) Distributor: 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios)

The scene that proves it: Listening to Abigail about Sean’s life.

It’s a quiet and commanding standout in Cruise’s filmography when looking back on Cruise’s work in Steven Spielberg’s futuristic drama. However, as John Anderton, a police officer trying to clear his name for a murder he has yet to commit, it’s Cruise’s precise choice of listening to Abigail (played by a magnificent Samantha Morton) that breaks the heart in two.

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Role: Ron Kovic

Director: Oliver Stone Writers: Oliver Stone, Ron Kovic (based on “Born on the Fourth of July” by Kovic) Distributor: Universal Pictures

The scene that proves it: “I love America.”

Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone introduced what Cruise could achieve beyond sliding floors and jet planes. His Vietnam veteran spans years, with each chapter feeling authentic and layered. The film was nominated for best picture and earned Cruise his first Oscar nom for best actor.

Magnolia (1999)

Role: Frank T.J. Mackey

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson Distributor: New Line Cinema

The scene that proves it: “I hate you.”

Pouring in every ounce of himself, Cruise’s Oscar-nominated performance is (currently) the last time he’s been recognized by the Academy, and it stands as his finest hour in Paul Thomas Anderson’s mosaic drama. Full of life, energy and heartache, he invites the viewer on the journey, fearless in his interpretation and perfect in his execution.

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Every Tom Cruise Movie from the '80s, Ranked

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In an era where most actors can no longer sell movies by their name alone, only a few Hollywood personas have enough charisma and on-screen presence to draw in an audience by themselves. Though there's still a handful, none have stood the test of time like Tom Cruise . Of course, stars don't happen overnight. There is a certain formula to becoming a Hollywood Icon. Cruise spent most of the 80s perfecting it; going from small thankless roles in Endless Love to supporting roles in quality films like The Outsiders and finally leading hit films like Top Gun .

While it's easy to write him off as another pretty-faced actor, Cruise is far more calculated than some notice. In the 80s he gained audience trust, making a point of being in crowd-pleasing four-quadrant films while still working with respected directors like Martin Scorsese , Oliver Stone , and Francis Ford Coppola . This cemented Cruise as a serious Thespian and box office draw. By the end of the 80s, there were no longer merely movies with Tom Cruise but Tom Cruise movies. Audiences knew any movie starring Mr. Top Gun himself would be good whether that was true or not. That's the true testament to Cruise's '80s legacy.

12 'Losing It' (1982)

Directed by curtis hanson.

Cruise's reluctant first leading role as a teen who goes to Tiawana with his friends to lose his virginity was so lackluster even he didn't want to star in it, only agreeing to participate after being convinced by his agent.

This underwhelming movie fails to deliver on the Porkies -like raunch or the outrageous comedy delivered in its first fifteen minutes. That said, it does highlight Cruise and Cheers alumni Shelly Long's immense talent with their surprising ability to emote depth and have fun chemistry, even in a movie as bare as this.

WATCH ON APPLE TV

11 'Cocktails' (1988)

Directed by: roger donaldson.

In what's essentially Top Gun with a bartender, a selfish hot-shot bartender changes after being humbled by life. While not remembered fondly these days, this hit was the eighth highest-grossing film of 1988 and helped introduce Middle America to the rise in trendy bar culture.

As strange as it sounds, some films are entertaining purely for their nostalgic nature. Cocktail features lots of 80s hits, big hair, greed, and cheesy dialogue that Cruise and the rest of the cast committed to no matter how mellow dramatic making this a fun time capsule. While fans may have fun laughing at this film, there are exciting moments between Brian and his frienemy Doug where fans can see the smart and edgy drama it was aiming to be.

Cocktail (1988)

Not available

10 'Legend' (1982)

Directed by ridley scott.

Ridley Scott's dream-like fantasy about a vagabond who attempts to rescue a princess was a box office failure and one of Cruises' rare badly reviewed performances. However, it's recently been lauded for Ridly's breathtaking cinematography with many confused about how something filmed in a studio in the 80s can look so good.

While having the campiness of a 80s kids' movie, Legend did what most fantasy films of the day would not: take fantasy seriously. There are a lot of subtexts about the duality of people; nightmarishly creepy creatures including Tim Curry as Satan, and an uncharistically imperfect fair maiden. The set design and costuming are also taken seriously, feeling more like Lord of the Rings than the typical 80s childs-fair. This has led some to call Legend an imperfect masterpiece.

9 'Endless Love' (1981)

Directed by: franco zeffirelli.

Tom Cruises' first feature , about a teen girl whose parents forced her to break up with her boyfriend, was controversial because it depicted real teens having sex as well as the director twisting a teenage Brook Shields toe during a sex scene to get the reaction he wanted.

This movie starts like a sweet teen romance , but the tone dramatically shifts as the mother gains a crush on her daughter's boyfriend and these teen's unceremonious split causes him to become obsessed. What's interesting is the film views this as youthful love instead of disturbing like the novel and critics of the time. This makes this film and its protagonist unintentionally creepy and fascinating.

Endless Love

8 'all the right moves' (1983), directed by michael chapman.

Tom Cruise's first leading dramatic role may have come and gone, but fans cite this gem as being the first sign that Cruise had bigger aspirations than being another Hollywood pretty boy. It also shows how Cruise would be instrumental behind the scenes of his films, with him convincing the director to remove one of the nude scenes after Lea Thompson threatened to quit.

This hidden gem looks at the grim outlook of teens from small mining towns in the 80s. The setting and characters suck the audience into this dreary small town, so audiences can feel their angst or fear about escaping. Cruise gives a heartbreaking performance as an aspiring football player who desires more from life than working in the coal mine. While the movie is not perfect, Cruise's acting prowess and the movie's surprisingly realistic look at small town life make this film a diamond in the ruff.

RENT ON APPLE TV

7 'The Outsiders'

Directed by francis ford coppola.

Believe it or not, this cult hit would never exist without a school librarian writing Francis Ford Coppola with a signed petition by the children in her school asking him to make a movie out of the classic novel. Coppola's film adaptation, about a gang of greasers, also stars up-and-comers like Cruise, Matt Dillon , Emilio Estevez , and Diane Lane , with many considering it the first Brat-Pack film.

The Outsiders could have been and probably should have been a standard teen drama. However, in typical Coppola fashion, he tries to make an art film with odd pacing, interesting camera shots, and quiet, reflective moments. To his credit, this makes the movie stand out all these years later and brings depth to these characters and the film.

The Outsiders

6 'the color of money', directed by martin scorsese.

It's Ironic, this movie is about a pool hustler going back to pick up what he left behind in life since acting legend Paul Newman developed this sequel, even picking Cruise and Martin Scorsese so he could play a character he left behind and finally nab that elusive Best Actor Oscar.

Similar to The Hustler before it the layered and complicated characters are what make this film so interesting. Everyone is morally gray as Scorsese slowly reveals what motivates and drives these personalities. This leads to an interesting power shift between the exploitive Eddie and the naive Vincent, who goes from being hustled to the hustler.

The Color of Money

5 'taps' (1981), directed by harold becker.

Apparently, Tom Cruises' onscreen intensity is nothing new with him showing it in spades as a crazed machine gun-wielding cadet who helps his classmates take over their military school.

It's safe to say Taps makes Lord Of The Flies look like child's play. The cast may be younger, but they have an intense presence and delivery of actors twice their age as their characters are forced to grow up overnight. The film has children wielding machine guns and grenades like water guns, warning of the dangers of military schools preparing kids for war over making good decisions.

Taps (1981)

WATCH ON HULU

4 'Top Gun' (1987)

Directed by tony scott.

If Risky Business put Cruise on the map, then this film about an arrogant pilot in a prestigious naval academy made him a full-blown star. His maverick is so admirably arrogant that 40 years later, fans would rush to theaters to see him back on the big screen in Top Gun Maverick resuscitating a sluggish post-pandemic box office.

This quintessential 80s action flick took Cruise to new heights with its crowd-pleasing nature. From real-life plane sequences for action junkies to comedy, even Romance, this film has something for everyone, making it hard for anyone to feel left out. While Valkilmers hesitancy to make the film because of its silly dialogue is understandable, Top Gun wouldn't be the same without it. More importantly, it has Cruise being the magnetic action star fans would come to love.

3 'Born On The Fourth Of July' (1989)

Directed by oliver stone.

Despite Cruise starring mostly in action flicks these days, he was once known for searching for challenging roles to prove himself, like in this drama film about a disillusioned Vietnam War vet. Ironically, Oliver Stone originally could not see the clean-cut Top Gun playing a gritty dramatic role. However, the idea of seeing America's golden-boy morph into a wild-shelved veteran helping drive the point of the movie home convinced him otherwise.

Cruise proves he's more than just a pretty face and stunts in his transformative and career-changing performance from Suburban Boy next door to an angry handicapped war veteran. While most films focus on the insanity of the Vietnam War, this film focuses on its aftermath and how many veterans felt lost and unappreciated. While in most hero journeys, the protagonist finds himself, by the end of the movie, neither the viewer nor the hero recognizes who he is, leaving the audience shaken.

Born on the Fourth of July

WATCH ON NETFLIX

2 'Risky Business' (1983)

Directed by: paul brickman.

Every Hollywood icon has that first film and performance that puts them on the map. For Cruise, it was this teen comedy about a high school virgin who starts a brothel while his parents are away. Believe it or not, Cruise's stellar performance helped this movie become the tenth-highest-grossing film of 1983 stateside.

It's easy to see why this film turned Cruise into a star , with his character being the avatar for what every teenage boy wishes he could do when his parents are away. Relatable scenes like a school-weary Joel dancing in the house alone in his underwear endeared him to fans because of how relatable it was. However, this is no average teen flick. It aims to be high art. The director has several unconventional story beats and stylistic choices that make everything feel surreal and meaningful, elevating it far above the other raunchy 80s teen comedies.

Risky Business

1 rain man (1988), directed by barry levinson.

Most films can't make a scene of two men silently on an escalator a classic scene in cinema. However, this drama about a selfish businessman reuniting with his older brother he didn't know existed is just that immersive.

If one person can play lovable and arrogant , it's Cruise. He turns a movie about a selfish man kidnapping, mistreating, and exploiting his brother into hilarious and heartwarming. While Dustin Hoffman gives a career-high performance as an autistic shut-in, it's Cruise's self-absorbed and money-hungry character, Charlie, learning to care for someone else that goes through the most growth in one of his more underrated performances.

NEXT: The 10 Most Rewatchable Tom Cruise Movies, Ranked

Famous Movie Car: Why We Love The 1973 Porsche 911 S From Top Gun

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12 biggest-displacement four-cylinder engines ever produced, how these audi and mercedes-benz sleepers saved porsche from bankruptcy.

Both Variety and Vanity Fair reported that Top Gun: Maverick grossed $156 million in the U.S. over the Memorial Day weekend, surpassing the record held by 2007's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End . Since then, the Tom Cruise film has broke record after record, and fans can’t stop raving about the testosterone-heavy movie packed with courageous pilots, insane fighter jets, and big boys’ toys like a beautiful sailing boat and the most insane Porsche 911.

Given that Millennials are the most nostalgic generation, it does not surprise us that they are excited about Tom Cruise running around with other gents, trying to save America’s interests around the globe. Interestingly enough, faithful fans didn’t even mind that the movie seems a replica of the 1986 Top Gun , using the same recipe for success: exotic fighter jets, young careless pilots, an insane beautiful Porsche, and an outrageous Maverick-frankly, we are surprised he is still testing R&D planes after all these years of insubordination. Considering the crazy times we are living in, it’s nice to believe there are still good guys out there putting themselves at risk for the Greater Good.

Related: Why The Kawasaki GPz900R Top Gun Motorcycle With Tom Cruise Was Super Cool

The 1973 Porsche 911 S From The Top Gun Movie

This is a collector’s dream car, and by far, one of the most spectacular high-performance vehicles that Porsche ever assembled. In the movie, Penny played by Jennifer Connelly, is the one driving this beauty. Apart from that, we didn’t understand how Penny lived such a plush life having a collector’s car, a fast sailing boat, and a house on the beach from the income she made with her bar, we loved she was a strong female character who drove a silver 1973 Porsche 911 S.

“Penny sails fast boats, so I liked the idea that she drove a vintage Porsche as well,” director Joseph Kosinski told Bloomberg in an email. “I think the 1973 911 S model is one of their most timeless designs.”

Bloomberg points out that in the 1986 Top Gun, Tom Cruise’s love interest, the astrophysicist "Charlie" Blackwood drove around in a black 1958 Porsche 356 Speedster, which was a replica, not an original. This time, the female lead had the pleasure of driving a numbers-matching original 1973 Porsche 911 S. The Porsche came from the private collection of long time Porsche collector, Nick Psyllos.

Lending the Porsche 911 S for the Top Gun movie was a smart marketing move, and Nick Psyllos increased the value of the car significantly. Just to put things into perspective, Bloomberg reports that a cameo in a James Bond movie can boost a car’s value by 1,000 percent. Meanwhile, Hagerty comes up with an even more impressive number, pointing out that a cameo in a James Bond movie can boost the car’s value by nearly 5000 percent. Hagerty highlights the case of the 1977 Lotus Esprit S1 featured in the 1977 movie The Spy Who Loved Me . In 2013, RM Sotheby’s auctioned the vehicle in London for $997,000. This represents a staggering 4,908 percent increase over the standard Hagerty Price Guide value of the model at the time. To be fair, Top Gun doesn’t have the same star power as the James Bond franchise, but this doesn’t mean Tom Cruise and his pilot drama won’t boost the price of the 1973 Porsche 911 S. With that being said, the 1979 Porsche 928 that Cruise drove in Risky Business was auctioned for $1.9 million.

Related: The F-14 Tomcat: What You Didn’t Know About The Original Top Gun Fighter

Why The 1973 Porsche 911 S Is A Valuable Classic Car

This was a limited series and Porsche manufactured only 1430 “911S” Coupes for the 1973 year. Naturally, the limited production boosted the value of the car in the past years. But this is not the only reason why this particular Porsche is so in demand right now. This model year represented the last with the 2.4-liter flat-six engine (which was replaced with the 2.7-liter engine for 1974) as well as the last year for the small bumpers (for 1974 the 911 received the larger "impact" bumpers). Accordingly, it is an even more appealing model to Porsche fans.

The 2.4-liter flat six that came on the 1973 Porsche 911 S could produce 190-horsepower, a massive output for a non-V8 engine back then. This beauty was capable of speeding from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6.5 seconds, and it reached the top speed of 144 miles per hour.

The 1973 Porsche 911 S was expensive when new, and today values are through the roof for pre-1974 911s, especially the "S" version. Penny’s model in Top Gun is valued at anywhere from $160,000 to $200,000.

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7 best Tom Cruise movies to stream on Netflix, Prime Video and more

Where to stream these iconic movies starring Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise is one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. For good reason, too. With jaw-dropping stunts, a gleaming smile and an intense gaze unmatched by many, Tom Cruise is a household name in Hollywood. He's had the lead actor role in at least 39 films and counting and has a box office total that has grossed over 10 billion. He has also produced some of his own films, including the hit Mission: Impossible franchise.

While Cruise may be known as an invincible action star, he has also played numerous characters with incredible depth and range. He has been the charming yet competitive romantic lead, the cold, calculating killer, and the greedy but misguided younger brother. Cruise has worked alongside some of the most famous actors and directors of our time. While it's hard to narrow down his greatest roles in such a short list, we've put together a few of the best Tom Cruise movies. 

In the Oscar award-winning film, Rain Main, Cruise plays Charlie Babbitt, the selfish brother of Raymond as played by Dustin Hoffman. Charlie finds out that his brother Raymond has inherited a great deal of money. Determined to get hold of what he believes is rightfully his, Charlie absconds Ray away from his residential home, sending the two on a memorable road trip neither will forget.

Hoffman took home an Academy Award for his role. So did the director, the screenwriter, and the picture as a whole. While Tom Cruise may not have received an Oscar nomination for his role in the film, he is the perfect actor to play alongside Hoffman. You have the reward of watching him shed his character's shallow, flashy demeanor and embrace a subtle maturity as he learns why his brother was sent away. A must-watch film that is one of Tom Cruise's best.

Watch on Prime Video

No one but Cruise could have played the part of Mitch McDeere in The Firm, an adaptation of the book by John Grisham. It could be why the 2012 television series of the book was canceled after only a single season. In the film, Cruise's McDeere is hired by a "small" firm from Memphis right out of law school. Although everything seems on the up-and-up, it isn't long before he realizes that he is surrounded by crooks.

It's the transformation of McDeere's smugness over landing such a top-notch job into an intensity over uncovering the truth and protecting his career — and life — that makes this such a powerful Tom Cruise film. However, what may surprise many is that Holly Hunter took home the Oscar for her role as Tammy Hemphill, the secretary of the private detective that McDeere hires. Despite Cruise's lack of Oscar recognition, this is one of his best movies.

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Watch on Netflix , Prime Video or Paramount Plus

A Few Good Men

A Few Good Men is a movie best known by many for its famous line spoken by Jack Nicholson who retorts, "You can't handle the truth!" However, it wouldn't be the same without Cruise playing the cocky Military lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee. 

When defense lawyer Kaffee gets to defend two Marines accused of killing one of their colleagues, many expect him to simply settle the case out of court. Cruise's natural overconfidence as portrayed in his character, Kaffee, becomes a quality that people plan to manipulate to keep the truth a secret. When he realizes this raw reality, Cruise's stone-cold determination to take the case to court shocks many. Nicholson, who plays Colonel Nathan R. Jessup, was nominated for the Oscar. However, Cruise wows the audience when he plays opposite Nicholson in the famous court scene that prompted the line we all know so well.

Watch on AMC Plus

Going against his typical role, Tom Cruise plays a ruthless killer in the movie, Collateral. Vincent, as played by Cruise, is visiting Los Angeles to finish off a few people who are supposed to testify in court against a drug lord as well as a couple of other lawyers involved in the case. When he gets into the cab of Max, played by Jamie Foxx, not everything goes according to plan.

Cruise takes out all the charm in his personality to depict a heartless killer — although what remains is a certain reasonableness to his personality as he almost convinces Foxx's Max to stick with him for the long haul. However, Foxx's Max becomes braver by the moment. In yet another film where another actor was Oscar-nominated over Cruise — this time it was Jamie Foxx — it still remains one of Cruise's most complex characters, making it one of his best movies.

Watch on Paramount Plus

Jerry Maguire

This time an Oscar nominee, Cruise plays the part of Jerry Maguire, a sports agent at the top of his game. However, Cruise's Maguire gets a crisis of conscience when one of his clients gets seriously hurt. Confronted by the client's son, Cruise realizes he has no heart for those he is supposed to represent. 

When Cruise's Maguire writes a mission statement, encouraging his agency to change their ways, he loses it all. However, despite the falling out, he connects with potential love interest, Dorothy Boyd, played by Renee Zellweger. He also manages to keep a single client, Rod Tidwell, played by Cuba Gooding Jr. It's a perfect blend of excellent acting, a strong script, and superb directing that makes this one of the most memorable romantic comedies. It also happens to include the famous Tom Cruise line that gives us all the feels, "You complete me."

Rent/buy on Amazon or Apple  

Top Gun: Maverick

Timing is everything, as the old adage says. That is possibly why the movie Top Gun: Maverick was such a success. Cruise starred in and produced the film, a sequel to his career-making film, Top Gun. While it was ready to go in 2020, he delayed its release for when people could actually see it in theaters. And for good reason. With incredible stunts and minimal usage of CGI, the movie is an experience as much as it is entertainment.

Playing a character many became familiar with in the '80s, Cruise adds a level of maturity to his role as Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. Cruise's Maverick returns to the school that molded him to train younger pilots, one of whom is the son of his now-deceased best friend. The emotional depth Cruise brings to the film makes it almost better than the original, a feat that's near impossible for sequels. 

Watch on Prime Video or Paramount Plus

Risky Business

How can any of us forget that famous scene when Cruise dances in his underwear to the Bob Seger song, "Old Time Rock & Roll"? One of the movies that made him who he is today, Cruise plays Joel Goodsen, a college-bound high school senior who itches to cut loose from his parents' ties. Finally having the opportunity to live a little when his parents go on vacation, things for Goodsen go from bad to worse as each rule is broken.

Acting alongside Rebecca De Mornay who plays the elusive and appealing call girl, Cruise's Goodsen learns about life, love, and consequences in this iconic film. Coupled with a strong script and excellent music from the 80s, this is one of Tom Cruise's best and most memorable movies.

Rent/buy on Amazon or Apple

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Nicole Pyles is a writer in Portland, Oregon. She loves movies, especially Lifetime movies, obscure TV movies, and disaster flicks. Her writing has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens, Mental Floss, WOW! Women on Writing, Ripley's Believe it or Not, and more. When she isn't watching movies, she's spending time with family, reading, and writing short stories. Say hi on Twitter @BeingTheWriter.

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All Tom Cruise Movies

1. The Outsiders

2. Risky Business

3. All the Right Moves

6. The Color of Money

7. Rain Man

8. Cocktail

9. Born on the Fourth of July

10. Days of Thunder

11. Far and Away

12. A Few Good Men

13. The Firm

14. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles

15. Jerry Maguire

16. Mission: Impossible

17. Magnolia

18. Eyes Wide Shut

19. Mission: Impossible II

20. Vanilla Sky

21. Minority Report

22. The Last Samurai

23. War of the Worlds

24. Mission: Impossible III

25. Lions for Lambs

More to explore, recently viewed.