So, what do you think of Tom Cruise?

[CTTT]

Say what you will about his personal beliefs, but the man is a very good actor. It's kind of a shame that he's settled into this action hero thing these last few years. I'd love to see him sink his teeth into another drama. A Few Good Men, Magnolia, and Born on the Fourth of July are good examples of that. I do enjoy his M:I movies though. I appreciate that he always gives 100% to his movies and does his own stunts even at 57. He is a machine.

Oscar nominations:

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)- Any other year that Oscar would have been Tom's but he was up against Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot who gave a really terrific performance. His work in BOTFOJ is exceptional.

Jerry Maguire (1996)- At first I didn't understand why he was nominated but after watching it recently I can see why. He's really good at channeling the change in Jerry after one of his clients get hurt and it's so quick too. But Cruise does great the whole way through and it's an enjoyable performance.

Magnolia (1999)- He should have taken home the statue that year. At least he won the Golden Globe. But come on, I love Michael Caine but he did not deserve it for The Cider House Rules. Tom Cruise was fantastic as Frank T.J. Mackey. That role was made for him.

Anyway, looking forward to Top Gun: Maverick. Looks like that funeral scene in the trailer might be Iceman's funeral. Sad...

[Marvelgirl]

Say what you will about his personal beliefs, but the man is a very good actor. It's kind of a shame that he's settled into this action hero thing these last few years. I'd love to see him sink his teeth into another drama. A Few Good Men, Magnolia, and Born on the Fourth of July are good examples of that. I do enjoy his M:I movies though. I appreciate that he always gives 100% to his movies and does his own stunts even at 57. He is a machine.

Oscar nominations:

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)- Any other year that Oscar would have been Tom's but he was up against Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot who gave a really terrific performance. His work in BOTFOJ is exceptional.

Jerry Maguire (1996)- At first I didn't understand why he was nominated but after watching it recently I can see why. He's really good at channeling the change in Jerry after one of his clients get hurt and it's so quick too. But Cruise does great the whole way through and it's an enjoyable performance.

Magnolia (1999)- He should have taken home the statue that year. At least he won the Golden Globe. But come on, I love Michael Caine but he did not deserve it for The Cider House Rules. Tom Cruise was fantastic as Frank T.J. Mackey. That role was made for him.

Anyway, looking forward to Top Gun: Maverick. Looks like that funeral scene in the trailer might be Iceman's funeral. Sad...

His personal beliefs changed how I think of him. He has not seen Suri in 7 years. I see him as a jerk when I watch his films.

[WillieMorgan]

Sorry, but the Scientology stuff will always affect my opinion of him. It's a nasty and pervasive cult that I'm happy to say is struggling like mad to establish itself here in the UK.

The cult laughably claims to have around 118,000 members here. It's actually closer to 2000. Both Conservative and Labour governments have treated Scientology with suspicion down the years and refuse to officially classify it as a religion.

Tom Cruise is the public face of this insidious organisation. Ick.

[Kirby101]

He makes incredibly entertaining movies. He is both a good actor and a top action star. His beliefs are ridiculous and Scientology is a dangerous organization.
There is a saying, "Trust the art, not the artist." But I can understand how some might have problems watching his films.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Tom Cruise is a good enough performer that his personal beliefs don't affect how I see his movies.

He's a good actor, not a great one. Range is limited. One thing that people grasp is that he used to be bland all-American straight arrow but he was secretly a major weirdo (which was a big surprise when he jumped on that couch) and some of his best roles lean into that.

As an actor, he's done good movies like The Color of Money, A Few Good Men, Eyes Wide Shut, Minority Report, Collateral, War of the Worlds...and he's excellent in his weirder turns like Magnolia, and Tropic Thunder (a movie which made many people fall in love with Cruise again).

Don't care for Mission Impossible movies to be honest.

As for the Scientology stuff, I try to be reasoned. The truth is that I don't think Tom Cruise has been as bad as Mel Gibson who's a devout Catholic but an abusive husband and anti-semite. To the extent that I ever liked Gibson as a performer, I can no longer stand to watch anything he acts in, and any movie he directs. I think Cruise is on a personal level, emotionally needy, and he's being exploited by these Scientology types, either because he came to them when he needed personal help and didn't seem to find it anywhere, and now they have blackmail and other stuff on him, or to that end. I don't think he's otherwise a bad guy. From what I heard of people who worked with him, and so on, he's actually a decent collaborator and good on the set.

[CTTT]

Oh, I forgot, Interview with the Vampire was great too.

[TriggerWarning]

I don't really care about his religious beliefs. I find them nutty but I also find christian, muslim, and other religions to be equally nutty. Scientology is no crazier or less believable than them.

As an actor he usually tends to put on good performances.

[j9ac9k]

He was a good actor, but like some of the best ones, he's become a bit of a parody of himself where I only see him and not the role anymore.

[AnakinFlair]

I've gotten to the point where I just have to separate the actor's acting life from their personal life, since they all seem to go batshit crazy after 40.

For Cruise, I respect the sheer effort he puts into each of his roles. He does as many of his own stunts as he can, despite getting up there in years. And I like seeing him in action movies, even if sometimes he is miscast (Jack Reacher).

[AnakinFlair]

As for the Scientology stuff, I try to be reasoned. The truth is that I don't think Tom Cruise has been as bad as Mel Gibson who's a devout Catholic but an abusive husband and anti-semite. To the extent that I ever liked Gibson as a performer, I can no longer stand to watch anything he acts in, and any movie he directs. I think Cruise is on a personal level, emotionally needy, and he's being exploited by these Scientology types, either because he came to them when he needed personal help and didn't seem to find it anywhere, and now they have blackmail and other stuff on him, or to that end. I don't think he's otherwise a bad guy. From what I heard of people who worked with him, and so on, he's actually a decent collaborator and good on the set.

My sister feels the same way about Gibson. Me, I can still watch his older movies and fondly remember a time when we didn't know he was an anti-semetic ass.

[Powerboy]

I don't really care about his religious beliefs. I find them nutty but I also find christian, muslim, and other religions to be equally nutty. Scientology is no crazier or less believable than them.

As an actor he usually tends to put on good performances.

I am on the same page regarding his religion. Yes, it's ridiculous and without any foundation in fact and evidence but it's not different than any of the major religions. It's just that we grew up with Christianity and hearing about other major religions so we have familiarity and don't usually step back and think about them being essentially just as lacking in reality.

I have not seen a lot of Tom Cruise movies. I respect that he is willing to stretch himself and take risks such as playing Lestat. My impression of him is that he's a decent actor but not a great one. If he looked like Pat Hingle, he'd have been simply a character actor rather than rising to be a star.

[titanfan]

I don't really care about his religious beliefs. I find them nutty but I also find christian, muslim, and other religions to be equally nutty. Scientology is no crazier or less believable than them.

As an actor he usually tends to put on good performances.

The problem is that the crazy **** Scientology "has done in it's past", really isn't that far in it's past. (Nor can they claim it's a weird minority offshoot or something like other churches can) One disadvantage it has when it comes to other religions.

[jetengine]

Scientology is a terrible con and Cruise being its face is a frustration since it increases its popularity.

[Jim Kelly]

I'd like to say what I think of Tom Cruise but it would probably get me in a world of trouble.

[Michael Watkins]

he was very popular when i was a kid. can't say that i ever liked him or understood his popularity. he's very much an 80s heart throb. but he hasn't evolved much from that. i feel the same way about Madonna.