In an age where individual movie stars struggle to drive anticipation for upcoming films, Tom Cruise stands out as one of Hollywood’s most captivating actors. Since his breakthrough role in the iconic teen comedy Risky Business, Cruise has showcased his talent across a diverse range of successful films spanning various genres. With a track record of mostly hits and very few misses, Cruise’s name alone signifies top-tier quality, Just check out our list of Tom Cruise Movies and enjoy your hoildays, few movies are also avaiable on Netflix.
While he’s gained global fame through franchises like Top Gun and Mission: Impossible, Cruise’s filmography extends far beyond action blockbusters. Garnering three Academy Award nominations, Cruise often opts for challenging projects helmed by unique filmmakers. Despite the critical acclaim and commercial success of much of his work, some of Cruise’s finest performances have been overlooked. Here’s a list of the ten most underrated Tom Cruise movies, ranked.
Top 10 Tom Cruise Movies
10: ‘The Outsiders’ (1983)
9: ‘All the Right Moves’ (1983)
8: ‘The Color of Money’ (1986)
7: ‘Days of Thunder’ (1990)
6: ‘The Firm’ (1993)
5: ‘Vanilla Sky’ (2001)
4: ‘War of the Worlds’ (2005)
3: ‘Valkyrie’ (2008)
2: ‘Oblivion’ (2013)
1: ‘American Made’ (2017)
10: ‘The Outsiders’ (1983)
Although he has worked with many great directors, Cruise got a great start to his career when he appeared in the coming-of-age drama The Outsiders. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the adaptation of the acclaimed novel by S.E. Hinton served as a breakthrough film for actors like Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, and Emilio Estevez. Cruise has a brief, albeit memorable, role as the defiant greaser Steve Randle.
Cruise proved in The Outsiders that he could stand out within a packed ensemble, and managed to make the most of his limited screen time. While not always acclaimed as one of the best films of Coppola’s career, The Outsiders is a refreshingly grim take on adolescence that goes to surprisingly dark places in its final act. It set a precedent that Cruise wasn’t intimidated by intense stories or challenging material.
9: ‘All the Right Moves’ (1983)
Some films simply pop when the right actor is cast, and that was certainly the case with All the Right Moves. Although the story is vastly different from other films about high school football, All the Right Moves succeeds thanks to Cruise’s undeniable star power. Set in the highly competitive world of a small-town sports program, All the Right Moves stars Cruise as the Serbian American running back Stefen Djordjevic, who is desperate to attain a scholarship to maintain his star trajectory.
Although the story is not without clichés, Cruise’s sense of realism ensures that All the Right Moves does not become a melodrama. His strong romantic chemistry with Lea Thompson and commitment to the physicality of the football scenes allowed All the Right Moves to transcend the trappings of its genre and become a coming-of-age classic.
8: ‘The Color of Money’ (1986)
While the “term legacy” sequel can suggest some creative laziness, The Color of Money is a worthwhile sequel to the classic gambling film The Hustler. Set years after the pool shark “Fast Eddie” (Paul Newman) abandoned the game for good, The Color of Money introduces the iconic character to the new, younger hustler Vincent Lauria. Cruise’s inherent confidence and snarky attitude were perfect for the role of Vincent, as he managed to make the character cocky without being obnoxious.
Although Newman finally won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Color of Money, Cruise managed to hold his own against an acting legend. The two stars are on equal footing throughout the film and help elevate The Color of Money from “light entertainment” to a genuinely moving story about the ramifications of a life of hustling.
7: ‘Days of Thunder’ (1990)
Although the racing movie concept is by no means an original one, Days of Thunderserved as a way for Cruise and director Tony Scott to repeat the success of their work on Top Gun. Cruise stars as the NASCAR driver Cole Trickle, whose relationship with his neurosurgeon Dr. Claire Lewicki (Nicole Kidman) is rested by a particularly competitive arm of the racing circuit.
While it didn’t become a popular culture phenomenon in the same way that Top Gun did, the chance to see Cruise in a high-octane sports thriller is reason enough to watch Days of Thunder. The film is unabashedly silly, but Cruise’s self-seriousness helps ensure that the story never feels like complete camp. A thoroughly underrated example of pure pop entertainment, Days of Thunder feels like a type of Hollywood crowd-pleaser that the industry simply isn’t interested in making anymore.
6: ‘The Firm’ (1993)
Although the Deep South legal thriller seems to have gone out of fashion, The Firmis one of the most richly intelligent films that Cruise has ever starred in. Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by John Grisham, The Firm stars Cruise as the hotshot Harvard Law graduate Mitch McDeere, whose skills gain the attention of the senior partner Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman). Despite his enthusiasm about his new job, Mitch begins to suspect that his employer may have insidious intentions; Cruise depicts this crisis of confidence perfectly.
While densely plotted and running over 150 minutes long, The Firm never fails to lose its momentum thanks to Cruise’s electrifying performance. While it didn’t receive the acclaim that other legal thrillers of the era received, The Firm was evidence that Cruise could work on prestigious material and fit within the dramatic parameters.
5: ‘Vanilla Sky’ (2001)
Although Cruise and writer/director Cameron Crowe made a perfect romantic comedy with Jerry Maguire, their follow-up collaboration, Vanilla Sky, is one of the most ambitious science fiction films ever made. With multiple plot twists and several alternate endings, Vanilla Sky maps the complex story of the publisher, David Eames (Cruise), whose life is uprooted by a car crash. Amidst his recovery, Davis is forced to question the nature of his reality as he’s questioned by the psychologist Dr. Curtis McCabe (Kurt Russell).
Although it’s a film that’s nearly incomprehensible on an initial viewing, Vanilla Sky is a film that gets better with each rewatch. Interlaced within the film’s jumbled narrative structure is insightful commentary on the nature of stardom, the challenges of body image, and the plight of morality. It’s much better than the toxic reputation it earned and features one of Cruise’s most earnest performances.
4: ‘War of the Worlds’ (2005)
Although the novel by H.G. Wells has fascinated science fiction fans since its release in the 19th century, the 2005 remake of War of the Worlds modernizes the source material to create a disturbing parallel to 9/11. Cruise stars as the neglectful father Ray Ferrier, who is forced to transport his son Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and daughter Rachel (Dakota Fanning) to safety when a Martian invasion threatens to level humanity’s infrastructure.
Similar to Cruise’s previous collaboration with director Steven Spielberg on the science fiction neo-noir thriller Minority Report, War of the Worlds is by no means a traditional summer blockbuster. It’s a disturbing analysis of how easily society can collapse that features Cruise in a rarely vulnerable performance; it’s a film that continues to hold more relevance with each passing year and deserves to be considered on the level of Cruise’s other blockbusters.
3: ‘Valkyrie’ (2008)
Although the last two decades of his career have been mostly spent making action movies, Valkyrieserved as proof that Cruise could still make compelling historical epics. Set during the final days of World War II, the film follows the German Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) as he leads a resistance group that plans to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Despite a somewhat shaky accent, Cruise perfectly embodies the persona of a proud military leader who takes action to ensure the future of his nation.
Given how popular his films tend to be, Valkyrie indicated that Cruise was interested in exposing audiences to underrepresented stories from history. While it wasn’t necessarily a major critical or commercial success, Valkyrie took decidedly edgy material and turned it into the basis of a great thriller. The attention to detail in crafting the climactic rebellious endurance makes Valkyrie worth watching by Cruise fans and history buffs alike.
2: ‘Oblivion’ (2013)
Although they would reach an unprecedented level of success with their collaboration on Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise and director Joseph Kosinksi first teamed up for the underrated science fiction mysteryOblivion. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Oblivion follows the technician Jack (Cruise) as he operates a remote base on the ruins of an uninhabited Earth. After discovering a human survivor of a space crash, Jack discovers that the basis of his mission may have been a deceit.
While not necessarily as action-packed as Cruise’s other sci-fi films, Oblivion presents a compelling mystery and speaks to deep questions about the fate of humanity and overreliance on technology. While it was considered a financial disappointment considering the talent attached, Oblivion is a far more interesting film than many failed blockbusters due to Cruise’s dynamic performance and its ambiguous ending.
1: ‘American Made’ (2017)
While it wasn’t the first time that he played a controversial historical figure, American Madejust may contain the most audacious performance of Cruise’s career. Based on an unbelievable true story, American Made stars Cruise as the commercial pilot Barry Seal, who became a liaison to both the CIA and Mexican drug cartel. Seal was truly a larger-than-life character, and Cruise does a great job at fleshing out his idiosyncrasies.
Although director Doug Liman adds an undercurrent of dark humor to the film, Cruise conveys the traumatic effect that Seal’s actions had on his family’s livelihood. American Made is unafraid to engage with the dark side of the “American dream” and explore the complexities of the drug war; despite its fall release, the film failed to earn Cruise the Academy Award nomination for Best Actor that he certainly deserved for his daring performance. Source