Between Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise, the middle-aged action star has definitely been on the rise in the last few years. Heck even “over-the-hill” talents like Liam Neeson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone are still going strong in Hollywood. But, the most impressive has to be Tom Cruise. Come on, the man hung off the side of a plane and scaled the Burj Khalifa for Mission: Impossible. Even Will Smith took inspiration from the actor. In the words of the Bad Boys For Life star:
I'm trying to hang on. There were a couple of the action sequences that I was like 'oooh.' I started and I told myself I was doing all of my stunts. I was doing -- you know, Tom Cruise was just hanging on the side of an airplane at 50. I was like 'Man, I'm better than Tom Cruise!' And I did like two stunts and I was like 'I'm not better than Tom Cruise!'
But, seriously: How does Tom Cruise do it? The actor is 57 years old and always pulling off the most mind-blowing stunts! Of course, he’s had time to work up to it throughout the six Mission: Impossible movies and other stunt-heavy flicks, such as learning swordplay on horseback in 2003’s The Last Samurai and riding on a motorcycle with Cameron Diaz during the Running of the Bulls in Spain for Knight and Day.
At 51, Will Smith is a few years younger than Tom Cruise and he attempted to do some Cruise-like stunts. He must be in great shape as well, but he just couldn’t keep up with the Top Gun actor’s level of intensity. Don’t worry, Will – not even Superman himself, Henry Cavill, could do all the stuntwork when he showed up on the set of Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
Will Smith is set to return to his famous Bad Boys role with Martin Lawrence next weekend for the sequel 16 years in the making. Bad Boys For Life will see the pair partnering for “one more” mission after Lawrence’s character decides he wants to retire from all the action-packed detective work. The movie will focus on the duo’s friendship at its core as their dynamic sees a shift.
Along with talking about his stuntwork on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Will Smith also admitted Bad Boys For Life took so long to make because he really wanted to get it right. He said he “fumbled” on other sequels such as Men in Black 3. Interestingly enough, Tom Cruise is also returning to one of his old roles this year for Top Gun: Maverick. The movie will follow the iconic original 34 years later.
Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick hits theaters this summer and he has two more Mission: Impossible movies on the way. They will be shot back-to-back for summer release dates in 2021 and 2022. According to writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, Cruise already has “world-topping shit” planned for stuntwork.
Check out Bad Boys For Life in theaters on January 17 and these nine other exciting movies coming to theaters this month!
