To most of the world at large, Tom Cruise is primarily known as an action star, and I can totally see why. The Mission: Impossible film series alone has ingrained the image of the Dead Reckoning actor risking life and limb to top himself each time he steps in front of a camera.
However, with Cruise’s post-Mission: Impossible 8 movie seeing the actor teaming up with auteur director Alejandro González Iñárritu, it looks like it’s once again time to reintroduce the world to another side of the famed actor’s chops. Which, as a fan of Michael Mann’s Collateral, has me obsessed with this potential career shift.
Tom Cruise’s Potential Return To Auteur Movies
As mentioned above, there’s a mysterious project forming that’s brought the director of The Revenant and Birdman together with the star of Top Gun: Maverick. Under his new deal to make films with Warner Bros., Tom Cruise’s first effort has no plot points released to the public. All we know is that he and Alejandro González Iñárritu are looking to work together on this clandestine cinematic effort.
On one hand, I know I probably shouldn’t get too excited; which is why I said “potential” return in this section’s header. I too remember that time it looked like Tom Cruise was going to be cast in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, only for that to never pan out. Even on the blockbuster side of things, I’m still hoping that movie intending to send Tom Cruise to space is still in the works, and we’ve here very little on that front.
So what’s really got me excited about a Cruise/Iñárritu collaboration? Once again, I direct your attention to the Michael Mann directed/Jamie Foxx co-starring wonder that is 2004’s Collateral.
Why Collateral Is A Prime Example Of Tom Cruise’s Auteur Era
I know some people are probably wondering why I haven’t gone with a movie like Magnolia or Eyes Wide Shut when it comes to Tom Cruise’s “auteur” era. Frankly, the reason is because that’s the Cruise film I’m most familiar with that also fits into that mold. Michael Mann really tapped into something with his casting of Tom as taxi passenger/assassin Vincent, and that in turn left a huge impression on me, a young Mission: Impossible fan, when I first saw it in theaters.
There’s plenty of action for Tom Cruise to get into as he chases targets throughout nocturnal L.A. However, what’s truly impressive in Collateral is how reserved Tom is with depicting a cold blooded killer. He’s done it plenty of times before, especially when you consider his part as Lestat in Interview with the Vampire. But instead of tossing out delicious one-liners and full tilt villainy, Cruise filled that spot with cold, calculated cunning.
To this day, Collateral is one of the best non-action Tom Cruise movies around, and this new film with Alejandro González Iñárritu just might be setting up shop in that same ballpark. Which is perfect, as another Cruise blockbuster seemed to have already primed him for this sort of return to a different form.
Top Gun: Maverick Is Another Good Reminder Of Tom Cruise’s Acting Range
If you need a more recent reminder of what Tom Cruise can do when breaking out of his comfort zone, I have you covered. You might not think it on face value, but I’d recommend revisiting director Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick to reinforce your understanding of Tom and his acting range. In fact, it’s one of the reasons Maverick makes the original Top Gun even better.
Gone is the completely cocky Captain Pete Mitchell, and in his place is a man who still has charm and confidence to spare, but is more world weary. Top Gun 2 mined both action and emotion well enough that I actually found myself shedding tears while watching it.
Watching a more hesitant Cruise acting as a mentor to the next generation of hot shot aviators was a real treat. Moments like Maverick's emotional response to Iceman's funeral only heightened the presence of a purely adrenaline-fueled third act, proving that even the more blockbuster-friendly projects of the Cruise oeuvre can dig deeper when allowed.
Those Action Blockbuster Days Are Numbered For Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise can obviously still hang with the stunt professionals of our modern age, and his Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning stunts are the latest case that proves it. Unfortunately, the seventh Ethan Hunt-led caper also seems to suggest another notion, and for two different reasons. That notion is that Tom Cruise’s action blockbuster days are numbered.
On the financial side, Mission: Impossible 7’s seemingly middling performance at the 2023 box office could suggest that it’s finally time for Ethan to hang it up. That was already the rumored plan for Mission: Impossible 7 and 8, so this wouldn’t be much of a surprise. However, while the 61 year old star of the Top Gun franchise is still in pretty awesome shape, recovering from incidents like a broken ankle is going to only get longer. After over 30 years of missions, Tom Cruise has earned a break that doesn't involve a major bodily system.
Tom Cruise Could Return To Other Non-Action Genre Fair As A Result
Seeing Alejandro González Iñárritu potentially break Tom Cruise out of his blockbuster streak is exciting for many reasons. The final one I’m about to share is something that not only could set him up for more auteur movies, but really anything that’s not an action stunt spectacular.
Should Cruise make this secretive film of seemingly non-action origins, it could give him a taste to branch back into other genres again. Think about it! Could Tom Cruise’s fixation with Les Grossman finally yield a Tropic Thunder spinoff? Or even better, what if an enterprising director asked him to reprise Lestat in another Anne Rice adaptation, or a role similar to that ilk?
Tom Cruise could be opening the door to return to old haunts or even kick the tires on any remaining new frontiers he’s yet to conquer. That's all because he’s set to take a chance and dive into the deep end of the acting challenges he’s previously bested in the past. If this new project is close to any of the options mentioned above, the public would go as wild as I am at the moment.
I don’t care how many more Mission: Impossible movies Tom Cruise makes, I’ll still show up whenever he and his IMF team break into a theater near me. But now that he’s showing renewed interest in racking up some unconventional hits again, I’m going to be quite fixated on a potential renaissance for weird, deadly and absolutely hysterical Cruise movies to return.
If he needs a project that’ll help warm him up for the crossing beyond the realm of action, then maybe Tom Cruise needs to get Edge of Tomorrow 2 back on the board. It's just a thought, really. In the meantime, what do Top Gun: Maverick, Collateral and Tropic Thunder have in common, besides the obvious? All of those titles are, at the time of publication, streaming for the masses through access to a Paramount+ subscription.
