On a success cruise

With his boyish looks and indomitable performances, Tom Cruise, reached the paramount in Hollywood

Tom Cruise, with his ever-green charisma and drop dead looks, has indeed come a long way. Actually, in 2012, he was sitting pretty as the highest paid Hollywood actor. Although distinguished for his super-hot looks, what really sparks an attention is his awesome acting and incredible pick of movies.

His career took off with the movie ‘Endless Love’, what catapulted him to recognition is ‘Risky Business’ a romantic comedy which won Cruise top reviews from critics and audiences alike. Although successful, he was still treated as just another promising artiste and was never ascribed the due credit.

It was the action-drama movie ‘Top Gun’ in 1986 that made his career soar to brilliant heights and credited him as a full-fledged professional artiste. Starring as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell pitched against actors like Val Kilmer and other prominent stars, the movie overnight won him accolades and fans.

The markedly differentiating aspect of this incredible flick was that it stayed high on emotional quotient. In the movie, Cruise’s friend and co-fighter pilot is killed as a result of his nonconformist attitude. That apart, his falling in love with his instructor, Charlie (Kelly McGillis) also sports on the maverick’s rebel attitude quite intensely, which incidentally was against the grain during the 80s.

Incidentally, the song in the movie “Take My Breath Away”, sung by Berlin, resonated well with the audiences and had won an Academy Award and Global Award for the Best Original Song. With the firepower the movie generated, Tom Cruise was seen as a rising star and Hollywood was swift enough to seize advantage and what followed was a slew of exhilarating movies, which saw Cruise don roles that have gone down the memory as unforgettable.

His flicks include ‘Top Gun’, ‘The Color of Money’, ‘Rain Man’, ‘Cocktail’, ‘Born on the Fourth of July’, ‘A Few Good Men’, ‘Jerry Maguire’, ‘Eyes Wide Shut’, ‘Vanilla Sky’, ‘Minority Report’, ‘Tropic Thunder’, ‘Valkyrie’, ‘Jack Reacher’, ‘Rock of Ages’ and ‘Edge of Tomorrow’. Each movie had its own charm and these movies elevated the esteem of Cruise.

‘A Few Good Men’ movie is a gripping drama with an appeal no drama-based movie could easily match. Set in the court rooms of law and drawing on the acting prowess of Tom Cruise, Demi Moore and Jack Nicholson, the movie has high-tension drama that keeps the audience hooked. No matter how many times you watch it, you simply can’t get over it. ‘Jerry Maguire’ is another such movie that makes you fall in love with Tom Cruise for his boyish enthusiasm and brilliant charm – the same reasons the heroine falls head over heels for him.

Among all his movies, what stands him apart as an actor par excellence is the ‘Mission Impossible’ series. The movies’ suspense that gripped the audience was something the fan had always looked forward to, and Cruise delivered it time and again with impeccable precision. Starring as the secret agent, Ethan Hunt, in the ‘Mission Impossible’ series, he performs stunts that are not less than James Bond’s, if not more.

After the spectacular success of ‘Mission Impossible – 1’ (1996), Ethan Hunt seems to have sworn not to ever let down his audiences. Because what followed, were consistent hits of Mission Impossible franchise. ‘Mission Impossible – II’, ‘Mission Impossible – III’, ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’, each had the audiences waiting for the next release! Helicopter rides, car chases, high-tech gadgets, jujitsu fights… you got every scene and sequence that could send your adrenaline pumping!

With the fifth in the series ‘Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation’ already released, the audience’s expectations are really soaring high! The movie sounds promising too because Cruise is doing what he does best - racing bikes at break-neck speeds, hanging on to Airplanes in midair, fighting with his hands tied back… all of which are done without using a stuntman.

If the movie rating is anything to go by, IMDB gives it 8/10, Rotten Tomatoes, 93% and Metacritic, 75%. Which means the movie is bound to make you spill your popcorn with its fast-paced excitement. If you haven’t seen this movie, you better catch up on it, because life in the fast lane is always thrilling!

By:Daniel Indrupati