Tom Cruise is doing his own stunts at 62 for the Mission: Impossible finale — is he a genuine icon of cinema or just a man who desperately can't let go?

• QM

  Quinn M.3h ago

  I work in insurance and I don't even want to imagine what his policy looks like lmaooo

  201Reply
• N

  Nina5h ago

  Top Gun Maverick made over a billion dollars and proved people will go to theaters for a real movie with real craft. He literally saved theatrical exhibition during a period when streaming was eating everything alive. Call that legacy whatever you want.

  199Reply
• H

  Hana4h ago

  honestly at this point just accept that the man IS the stunt and the stunt IS the man and that this is what cinema looks like when one person refuses to let the machines take over. controversial opinion: we'll miss him enormously when he's gone and only realise it too late

  192Reply
• J

  Jamie1d ago

  The man jumped out of a plane 106 times to get one shot for Rogue Nation. ONE shot. You can argue about his personal life all you want but that level of commitment to cinema is almost pathological in the best possible way.

  187Reply
• I

  Iris2h ago

  saw maverick three times in theaters and cried every single time during the penny lane scene and I'm a 34 year old man who hasn't cried at anything else since my dog died. something about the sincerity of it breaks me open

  183Reply
• DK

  Drew K.5h ago

  I took my son to Dead Reckoning when he was 11 and after the movie he said "dad that man actually did all of that for real?" and when I said yes he went quiet for like five whole minutes. That's the power of practical filmmaking. Kids can tell.

  178Reply
• T_

  Taylor _x7h ago

  Icon. Utter icon. Name me one other person making original big-budget action films that aren't based on comic books or existing IP. Just one. The man is holding up an entire genre by himself.

  171Reply
• Y

  Yuki9h ago

  He broke his ankle on Fallout and they FILMED IT and put it in the behind the scenes. A normal person would have sued the production and retired. He hobbled off set, got it taped and came back. That's not normal dedication. That's something else entirely.

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• A

  Alex9h ago

  the franchise is called the FINAL reckoning and somehow i don't believe for one second they're actually ending it. if the film does $1.2B they'll find a reason for Ethan Hunt to come back. mark this comment.

  162Reply
• T

  Theo18h ago

  Let's be real, the stunts ARE the movie at this point. The plots have been roughly the same since 2000. Ethan Hunt gets betrayed, Ethan Hunt runs really fast, Ethan Hunt does something insane, Ethan Hunt saves the world. The stunt IS the product.

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• T

  Theo12h ago

  Have you seen Magnolia. Born on the Fourth of July. Collateral. The man can act. He just CHOOSES this.

  148Reply
• O

  Omar3h ago

  Cinema needs people who are a little unhinged. The totally rational safe choice always produces the totally forgettable film. Give me the obsessive maniac every time.

  145Reply
• TL

  Taylor L.7h ago

  Icon. Full stop. When CGI has made everything look fake and weightless, here is a real human body in real danger doing real things. The audience can FEEL the difference even if they can't articulate why.

  143Reply
• A

  Alex1d ago

  genuinely cannot think of another A-lister in his generation still doing this. not one. everyone else phoned it in with green screens and stunt doubles a decade ago

  134Reply
• LB

  Liam B.9h ago

  Collateral is genuinely one of the most underrated performances of the 2000s and if you haven't seen it please go watch it immediately before commenting on his range

  134Reply
• AS

  Avery S.6h ago

  Jacky Chan was doing his own stunts into his 60s and we called him a living legend. Tom Cruise does it and suddenly it's a psychological crisis? The double standard is interesting.

  129Reply
• C2

  Casey 212h ago

  Can we acknowledge that the woman doing his stunt coordination and the entire team behind these sequences deserve enormous credit that they never get? Cruise is the face but it is genuinely a massive collaborative effort every time.

  122Reply
• O

  Omar14h ago

  ok but the biplane sequence in the trailer literally made me gasp and I was watching it on my phone at 7am eating cereal. whatever his motivations are, it WORKS

  119Reply
• H

  Hana7h ago

  Whether he can let go or not, The Final Reckoning will make $900M minimum and everyone will watch it. We can have the psychological debate after.

  116Reply
• NL

  Noah L.3h ago

  The real conversation should be about the crew members who are ALSO taking massive risks every time Cruise decides to do something death defying. We always talk about him but there are hundreds of people around him when things could go wrong.

  111Reply
• JR

  Jordan R.8h ago

  studios don't retire profitable IP. the word "final" in a movie title means absolutely nothing and has meant nothing since Fast and Furious Final Chapter Part One or whatever they called it

  108Reply
• H

  Hana9h ago

  he seems like the kind of person who specifically gets rid of people who say something

  104Reply
• Y

  Yuki21h ago

  My dad is 64 and can barely climb a ladder without my mum panicking. Tom Cruise is out here riding motorcycles off Norwegian cliffs. I don't know whether to be inspired or genuinely concerned for him.

  98Reply
• H

  Hana4h ago

  Hopkins and Cruise are doing completely different things. Comparing them is like comparing a painter to a sculptor because they both make art. Mission Impossible is spectacle cinema, that's its PURPOSE.

  97Reply
• NB

  Noah B.7h ago

  Something else entirely being... a cult conditioning him to equate physical suffering with righteousness? I'll just leave that there.

  94Reply
• M

  Maya8h ago

  What actually gets me is that Cruise apparently has a clause in his contracts that ensures he's always the best fighter in any fight scene. Like no villain can convincingly beat him, ever. THAT is where I start seeing ego over art.

  93Reply
• A

  Alex4h ago

  this is actually such an important point and nobody ever brings it up. the cinematographer and the safety team are right there with him on that biplane. their choice too but still.

  89Reply
• A

  Avery11h ago

  The financial reality is that these films cost $300M+ to produce and Cruise's physical commitment is literally what the marketing is built on. It's not just artistic pride, it's a calculated brand decision. Not saying that's bad, just saying let's not romanticize it purely as passion.

  88Reply
• R

  Ravi6h ago

  Or maybe he's a grown adult who has assessed the risks fully and decided this is what he wants to do with his life. We're awfully quick to pathologize male ambition.

  88Reply
• ZL

  Zara L.3h ago

  Fair point but Jackie Chan's stunts were genuinely goofy and joyful, Cruise's are this intense grimly serious thing. Different energy completely.

  85Reply
• M9

  Marco 9210h ago

  At 62 the risk of catastrophic injury is so much higher than at 40. Bones don't heal the same. Recovery time doubles. He's one bad landing from ending his career permanently or worse. Is no one advising him? Does he not have people around him who can say something?

  79Reply
• H

  Hana4h ago

  can we stop bringing up his religion every single time his name is mentioned. it has nothing to do with whether the movie is good

  76Reply
• T

  Theo14h ago

  He's not doing it for cinema. He's doing it because his entire identity is wrapped up in being Tom Cruise action hero and the thought of growing old terrifies him. That's not dedication, that's avoidance.

  72Reply
• A

  Avery3h ago

  It's not about gender it's about whether the people around him feel genuinely free to push back. That's a reasonable question for anyone with that level of power and fame.

  71Reply
• OL

  Omar L.5h ago

  Wait is that actually true? Because if so that explains so much about why the tension never fully lands in these films

  67Reply
• LL

  Liam L.3h ago

  I'll say something unpopular: Tom Cruise is actually a mediocre actor who built a massive career by being physically extraordinary. The stunts aren't supplementing his performances, they ARE his performance. So yes, he physically cannot let go because there's nothing underneath.

  61Reply
• T

  Taylor4h ago

  I've heard that rumor too but I'm not sure it's verified. The fight choreography does feel like it's designed to make him look invincible more than natural though, you're not wrong.

  58Reply
• A

  Alex10h ago

  It has EVERYTHING to do with understanding who he is as a person and why he makes the choices he makes. You can't separate them so cleanly.

  53Reply
• E2

  Elena 212h ago

  Desperate. It's giving desperate. There's a dignity to accepting your age and evolving your performances accordingly. Anthony Hopkins is 86 and still commanding every room he enters without jumping off anything. Acting is supposed to be the craft.

  44Reply

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