Tom Cruise, the generational movie star of the postmodern Hollywood era, has been stuck in his good guy reputation for far too long. Unlike some characters who were born to play the hero or the archnemesis, Cruise toes the line between the two just as he keeps his audience increasingly fascinated with an over-the-top show of what he is actually capable of.
In a world where Homelander is a clear villain because he dares to spill blood to preserve the sanctity of his own beliefs, Tom Cruise is a clear hero because he dares to risk his own neck to protect the sanctity of the theatrical experience. And although the comparison may be too far-reaching, the point stands that Cruise is only a modern-day hero whose sole mission in life is to leave behind a legacy that is unparalleled and unquestionable in its own right.
Tom Cruise Needs to Play to His Strengths
It has been a long four decades since Tom Cruise made a lasting mark in Hollywood’s history books with his role in the late Tony Scott’s Top Gun. The film has its moments glorifying Maverick while pitting Iceman against him to make sure the audience understands the clear distinction between who they are supposed to cheer for and who is meant to be booed at.
However, a short character study into the character of the recklessly self-serving and brash pilot who would rather play by his own rules and live for the thrill than shoulder the team’s shared responsibilities clearly demonstrates whether Maverick was really the hero he was carved out to be. A golden hour playing beach volleyball should not be enough incentive to dust that thought under the rug.
Meanwhile, Tom Cruise’s delectably maniacal performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia as a neo-noir neurotic predecessor of Andrew Tate is a winning example of the actor’s ability to easily slip into the role of a villain.
Cruise’s defining role as Lestat in the supernatural (gay) horror flick, Interview With the Vampire once had the source text’s author issue a public apology for ever doubting his ability to play the role with such an intensely terrifying precision. The list can go on to include some of Cruise’s most critically acclaimed films but the case still stands in favor of the actor’s far better arc at playing a convincing villain than an impossibly slick international superspy.
Tom Cruise: An Oscar-Worthy Movie Villain?
In a day and age where Tom Cruise is more recognized by the scale of his movie stunts than the actual movie itself, the savior of theatrical distribution is not much of a legacy to leave behind. Instead, Cruise can walk in the footsteps of history’s greatest villains who are so impressive that they manage to hijack the entire plot itself – case in point, Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight.
However, Cruise did once play a purebred turbo-charged villain in Michael Mann’s 2004 thriller, Collateral. The only point of contention about the film is its 2-hour runtime – a constraint that prevented the audience from enjoying more of the actor’s deliciously crazed and psychopathic assassin who stalks his prey at night with as much efficiency as he stands up for a hapless cabbie’s moral and ethical rights by standing up to his demeaning boss.
There is no doubt about the extent of Cruise’s talents. After all, he hasn’t been the crème de la crème of A-listers in his career spanning 40 years for nothing. The only remaining question is whether the 62-year-old actor and producer can pull off one last act that can finally nab the much-deserved and long-awaited Oscar.
With his next star-studded drama with the Oscar-child Alejandro G. Iñárritu, whose films attract the Academy’s undivided attention like a moth to a light, Tom Cruise has one final shot at taking that elusive golden statuette home. The director who has done the same for a defeated Leonardo DiCaprio with his role in The Revenant can be the long-awaited page-turner in Cruise’s career as well.