The 15 best Tom Cruise movies rankedfrom Mission: Impossible to Magnolia

15. Jack Reacher (2012)

Perhaps the most underappreciated entry in the Cruise canonJack Reacher sees the titular drifter sucked into investigating a mysterious mass shooting in Pittsburgh.

Fans of Lee Child's original novels decried Cruise's casting as Reachera hulking figure akin to Alan Ritchson (who now plays the character on Prime Video's Reacher). But divorced from the source materialthere's an undeniable thrill in seeing a man of Cruise's stature (usually reported as 5′ 7″) taking on attackers far larger than him. The actor brings a hard-edged gruffness to a character whose anti-establishment cynicism feels unique in the performer's pantheon of protagonists.

Where to watch Jack Reacher: Paramount+

14. The Color of Money (1986)

Cruise's lone collaboration with Martin Scorsese came in this pro-pool drama — a sequel to 1961's The Hustler with Paul Newman reprising his role as "Fast Eddie" Felsonthe hard-edged mentor to Cruise's cocky nine-ball whiz Vincent.

The Color of Money and Cruise's other 1986 projectTop Gunestablished the star persona that he carries into almost every future film: a preternaturally talentedeffortlessly charming golden boy oozing confidence and intensitywhose biggest challenges arise not from a lack of skill or competencebut from the thorniness of his ego and his fraught relationships with father figures.

The film simultaneously functions as a passing-of-the-torch moment between two legendary stars and a celebration of Newmanwho won his only (and long-overdue) Oscar for his performance.

Where to watch The Color of Money: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)

13. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

In Oliver Stone's harrowing war dramaCruise plays Ron Kovica real-life Marine veteran whoin his autobiography Born on the Fourth of Julydocumented his worldview's radical shift after enlisting in the Vietnam War and becoming paralyzed on the battlefield. 

In the film's early scenesCruise displays a naiveunwavering patriotism that seamlessly meshed with the actor's military heroics in Top Gun three years earlier — which makes Kovic's stark transition to impassioned anti-war advocacy all the more surprising in the runtime's second half.

It's here that the actor first fully uncorks the bottled rage that seems to be simmering under the surface of most of his performanceschanneling it into the righteous fury of a man who feels betrayed by his country and misled by its values. 

Where to watch Born on the Fourth of July: Amazon Prime Video

12. Far and Away (1992)

One of Cruise's only attempts at a non-American accent came in Far and Awayan immigrant drama partially inspired by the Irish-American ancestors of director Ron Howard. In their second of three on-screen collaborations (between Days of Thunder and Eyes Wide Shut)then-real-life spouses Cruise and Nicole Kidman have their strongest romantic chemistrysharing more screentime here than in their other two projects combined.

The film sees tenant farmer Joseph (Cruise) reluctantly flee to the United States with Shannon (Kidman)the rebellious daughter of his wealthy landlord. The diametrically opposed companions barely know each other when they traverse the Atlantic and share a sizzlingcontentious flirtation while forced to adapt to a new culture.

Far and Away's sweeping scaleenergetic banterand gorgeous visuals ensure it's among Cruise's most romantic love stories.

Where to watch Far and Away: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)

11. Collateral (2004)

Michael Mann's tense crime thriller asks a chilling question: What if a Tom Cruise character was just straight-up evil (and also unironically used the word "homie")? As the mysterious contract killer VincentCruise brings his usual on-screen qualities — strict professionalismprecise physicalityruthless persistence — but turns them on their head to embody a terrifyingamoral murderer.

The film sees Vincent force Jamie Foxx's mild-mannered taxi driver Max to chauffeur him around Los Angeles as he performs a string of chilling assassinations. All the whileCruise maintains an unflinchingsteely gaze that suggests he's constantly considering the most efficient method of wiping out everyone in his field of vision. He's a coldunfeeling killing machine — especially in the film's standout nightclub shootout sequence that echoes The Terminator.

Where to watch Collateral: Paramount+

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10. Risky Business (1983)

Cruise's star-making turn in this stylish teen drama sees the his boyish charm at an all-time high. As wealthy high school student JoelCruise embraces his character's earnest dorkiness at the film's start. Considering the machismo and swagger of his future rolesit's almost jarring to see him play such a naïve sweetie-pie without an ounce of irony or cool factor.

Yet Cruise's inherent magnetism still shines through in even the corniest moments — the "Old Time Rock and Roll" underpants-and-socks dance endures for a reason. As the film progresses and Joel descends into a darker world of exploitation and crueltyCruise gradually chips away at his innocence to reveal a soberworld-weary demeanor. Concluding the movie as a surprisingly mature teenager is a fascinating transition into a decade-plus of Cruise playing immature grown-ups.

Where to watch Risky Business: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)

9. War of the Worlds (2005)

In one of his only performances as an ostensibly normal guyCruise brings magnificent dirtbag energy to War of the Worlds' Raya working-class deadbeat dad whose one weekend with his kids (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin) overlaps with an alien invasion.

Director Steven Spielberg's body of work is notoriously full of divorced dadsbut this film marks a rare attempt at framing the absentee father figure as a sympathetic protagonistrather than an unsupportive side character or an unseen agent of disappointment.

Cruise excels at highlighting Ray's total parental ignorance. Though the character's survival instincts allow him to just barely navigate the apocalyptic landscapehis utter failure to understand children makes him one of Cruise's most incompetent charactersleading to numerous moments of comedic gold and even more instances of alarming patheticness. Herethe star and director successfully ride the cultural wave of post-9/11 anxietymaking the film one of the darkest projects in either of their filmographies.

Where to watch War of the Worlds: Paramount+

8. A Few Good Men (1992)

Cruise's most verbose role comes in Rob Reiner's adaptation of the fast-paced play by Aaron Sorkinwho also wrote the screenplay. Te actor stars as Daniel Kaffeethe cocky lieutenant junior grade naval attorney who reluctantly defends two Marines (Wolfgang Bodison and James Marshall) accused of murdering their fellow officer at Guantanamo Bay.

Like most Sorkin venturesA Few Good Men romanticizes process and procedure. Many of the movie's most thrilling moments come from Kaffee working through the shoe leather of crafting a defense with his associates (Demi Moore and Kevin Pollak) and arguing their case in the courtroommaking the screenwriter's detail-oriented dialogue sing.

Yet there's also a stirring tension in the film's — and Kaffee's — view of order and disciplineas strict adherence to the chain of command ultimately enables cruelty and abuse. Cruise deftly portrays Kaffee's gradual disillusionment with the institutions to which he's dedicated his life.

Where to watch A Few Good Men: Pluto TV

7. Vanilla Sky (2001)

Cameron Crowe's audacious genre-bender — a remake of Alejandro Amenábar's 1998 Spanish film Abre Los Ojos — fuses psychological thrillsromantic yearningand existential sci-fi into an absurd fantasy melodrama.

Vanilla Sky allows Cruise to do pretty much everything he’s good atas his character David Aames runsjumps off a buildingjuggles multiple romantic interests (Penélope Cruz and Cameron Diaz)plays up his bro-chemistry with his best friend (Jason Lee)and questions his reality alongside an impossibly idealized father figure (Kurt Russell). 

The film is also an introspective interrogation of Cruise's stardomconfronting its main character with uncomfortable realities: his world is artificialinsulatedand fleetingand his multimillion-dollar good looks could disappear in an instant. Does he actually possess any meaningful power or control? Does the life of a superstar mean anything at all? Is any of this real? It's a deeply paranoid feature that asks more questions than it cares to answerdrawing fascinating parallels to Cruise's singular position in American culture.

Where to watch Vanilla Sky: Paramount+

6. Minority Report (2002)

In Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Philip K. Dick's futuristic sci-fi novellaCruise portrays Detective John Andertona Washington D.C. investigator who heads the city's Precrime division. His job is to arrest would-be criminals before they break the law using predictive technology — until he's prophesied to commit a murderand goes on the run to clear his name.

Minority Report is Spielberg's most thrilling action movie outside the Indiana Jones seriesboasting tightly constructed chase scenes and suspense set pieces that feel like Alfred Hitchcock crafted a cyberpunk dystopia. It's also as thoughtful as it is entertaininggrappling with choicefateand knowledge while considering the flaws of the justice system. Cruise grounds the film with quiet pathosgiving Anderton a hauntedremorseful desperation as he reels from the death of his son and tries to survive an invasive surveillance state.

Where to watch Minority Report: Paramount+

5. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Stanley Kubrick's final film stars Cruise as Bill Hartforda young doctor in New York City who stumbles past the boundaries of polite society and into the mysterious underworld of the ruling classrife with cultish orgiesexploitationandseeminglymurder. The movie concerns paranoia and infidelityboth real and imaginedas Bill struggles to reconcile potential flaws in his marriage to Alice (Nicole Kidman).

Hartford is one of Cruise's more empty-headed characters. He's just smart enough to understand that there are vast worlds — both in the upper crust's shadowy underbelly and within his wife's subconscious — that he's fundamentally incapable of graspingbut not smart enough to realize he'll never figure them out despite his persistent curiosity.

It's one of the actor's funniest performancesas his unearned confidence and fragile ego leave him befuddled and offended in both ridiculous and mundane situations.

Where to watch Eyes Wide Shut: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)

4. Top Gun (1986) / Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Cruise's highest-grossing project(s) remain some of his finest work. In his first turn as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in 1986the actor shows off the greatest assets of his early career: his inherent hotshot charisma. That swagger helps clarify his character's natural skills (in this caseaerial combat in the Navy) and his barely-concealed grief.

In the 2022 follow-upCruise returns as a middle-agedweary Maverickburdened by responsibilityguiltand the difficulty of passing down his wisdom to the next generation. The film's somber romanticism grounds the immaculate airborne action with a rich emotional corepaving the way for overwhelming catharsis at the conclusion.

Much like the latter-day Mission: Impossible filmsMaverick doubles as a meta meditation on Cruise’s place in Hollywood — the movies might have moved on from passionate superstar specialists like Cruisebut Cruise hasn't yet given up on the moviesand he's going to show everyone how it's done before it's too late.

Where to watch Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick: Paramount+

3. The Mission: Impossible franchise (1996-2025)

Cruise has played fearless IMF agent Ethan Hunt in eight movies spanning 30 years — longer than any one actor has played James Bond — and the sheer insanity of the films (and the actor's stunts) only continues to ramp up.

While they all deliver breathless globe-trotting thrillsthe franchise's first four entries are emblematic of their directors' distinct strengths: Brian De Palma's paranoid Hitchcockian suspense in the kickstarter (1996); John Woo's goofy maximalist action in M:I 2 (2000); J.J. Abrams' character-driven gritt in M:I 3 (2006); and Brad Bird's bravura visual storytelling in Ghost Protocol (2011).

The latter four entries are all helmed by Cruise's strongest contemporary creative partnerChristopher McQuarrie. They place further emphasis on the performer's daredevil stuntsincluding but not limited to: clinging tojumping out ofand balancing atop airplanes; dangling from helicopters and cliffs; high-octane car and motorcycle chases; andof coursesprinting against a backdrop of world-famous landmarks. 

It's perhaps the most reliablecarefully crafted American franchise of the last 30 years. All the whileCruise carries the spirit of Buster KeatonHarold Lloydand Jackie Chan by putting his body on the line for our entertainment.

Where to watch the Mission: Impossible franchise: Paramount+

2. Jerry Maguire (1996)

The actor's strongest lead performance arrived in Cameron Crowe's sports-dramedy Jerry Maguirewhich is perfectly calibrated to Cruise's unique strengths. As hot-shot agent Jerryhe gets to be charmingunhingedoverly sentimentaland puzzlingly distantoften simultaneously. His unusual combination of intense directness and inscrutability is one of the film's key conflictsas Jerry and Dorothy (Renée Zellweger) struggle to build a new life together.

Jerry Maguire is both down-to-earth and larger-than-life thanks to Crowe's unique sensibilitiesallowing snappy dialogue and sweeping romance to coexist with complexunderstated character drama. It's a charmingmeandering portrait of a flawed man trying to do his job — his arrogance upends his careerhis fear of loneliness fosters questionable relationshipsand those relationships unspool because of his inability to be vulnerable. After several somewhat disconnected scenes in which very little happensyou’re suddenly left with the impression that everything has happened.

Where to watch Jerry Maguire: Pluto TV

1. Magnolia (1999)

Though many films put Cruise's star power to good use in complexcantankerous charactersnone match the nuance and raw emotion of Paul Thomas Anderson's sprawlingmelodramatic Magnolia. 

As "Seduce and Destroy" mastermind Frank T.J. Mackeythe actor embodies an evasive unknowabilitya seemingly bottomless intensityand a piercing glarespending the majority of the film antagonizing an interviewer and riling up a crowd of insecure incels.

Mackey's aggressive misogyny borders on sociopathy. It feels like a facade concealing something elseyet there are so many layers of posturing that it's not completely clear if there's anything below the surface. Thenin perhaps the finest scene of his careerCruise unearths the overwhelming pain at Mackey's core in a disarmingly honest breakdown at his father's deathbed.

It's Cruise's most stunning performance and most challenging assignment to date. Herehe crafts a profoundly unlikable character — with limited screen time in a film with eight other similarly compelling leads — and manages to generate immense sympathyboth in spite of and because of his surface-level monstrosity.

Where to watch Magnolia: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)