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To anyone who says there are no movie stars left, Tom Cruise is living proof that’s not true. For the better part of four decades, Cruise has been a box-office draw like few others.
Cruise has also starred in some truly terrific action movies over the years, and he’s got a new one out now.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is reportedly Cruise’s last film in the franchise that began in 1996. And since we’re talking about Cruise’s action movie track record, it was hard limiting the Mission: Impossible flicks to only three entries on our list.
Ahead of The Final Reckoning‘s opening weekend, the Watch With Us team has selected Tom Cruise’s 10 greatest action movies and ranked them from least to greatest.
Cruise shed his action hero persona for American Made, a semi-biographical look at the life of Barry Seal, a pilot turned drug smuggler in the early ’80s. Director Doug Liman and screenwriter Gary Spinelli turned Seal’s story into an action comedy, a genre that Cruise doesn’t have a lot of experience with.
Regardless of the occasional tonal whiplash in the film, Cruise still lights up the screen as Seal gets deeper and deeper into the cartel’s grasp with the implicit approval of the CIA. The rest of the U.S. government isn’t as forgiving about Seal’s drug running, and he can only avoid the consequences of his actions for so long.
American Made is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.
9. ‘Oblivion’ (2013)
Much like WALL-E, Jack Harper (Cruise) has to clean up after the end of the world in Oblivion. Decades prior, aliens attacked the Earth and destroyed the moon, leaving humans no choice but to unleash nuclear weapons against the invaders. Jack and his partner, Vika (Andrea Riseborough), remain on Earth as technicians for the last human ship in orbit.
Inexplicably, Jack is haunted by visions of a woman, Julia Rusakova (Olga Kurylenko), he doesn’t know. When Jack finally comes across Julia, it throws his whole life into question and makes him wonder what he’s really doing on Earth. This was Cruise’s first collaboration with director Joseph Kosinski, and their second film together was even bigger than this sci-fi epic.
Oblivion is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.
8. ‘Collateral’ (2004)
Cruise doesn’t usually play villains, but he embraced his dark side in director Michael Mann‘s stylish action thriller Collateral. The story revolves around a cab driver named Max Durocher (Jamie Foxx), who picks up a customer named Vincent (Cruise). When Vincent offers Max a large amount of money to ferry him around town, it seems like his lucky day.
However, Max learns pretty quickly that Vincent is a contract killer and he’s inadvertently helped him carry out his hits. Vincent also takes Max hostage to prevent him from escaping his grasp. When Vincent takes out his last target, Max may be next on his hit list unless he outmaneuvers this assassin.
If we explained what the title of Minority Report means in the context of the story, it would be too big of a spoiler. Cruise’s first collaboration with director Steven Spielberg was based upon a Philip K. Dick novella that introduced the concept of Precrime. In the future, murder is almost a thing of the past as a trio of precogs can see crimes before they occur. Almost all murder attempts are stopped by John Anderton (Cruise) and his Precrime team, and they’re about to take their program national.
Anderton’s world is turned upside down when the precogs predict that he will murder Leo Crow (Mike Binder), a man he’s never met. Suddenly, Anderton’s team is hunting him down, and he has to find a way to prove his innocence before he joins the rest of the would-be murderers in an extended state of suspended animation.
Cruise re-teamed with director Doug Liman in Edge of Tomorrow, an adaptation of the Japanese novel All You Need Is Kill. By the time Warner Bros. thought of calling it Live. Die. Repeat., it was already out on home video. This flick underperformed in theaters, but it’s so good that an audience has discovered it, and people are still clamoring for a sequel.
For this film, Cruise plays Major William Cage, a cowardly military reporter who mouthed off to the wrong superior officer. On the frontline of an alien invasion, Cage dies horribly alongside his fellow troops. But because he was infected by alien blood, Cage can now relive the same day endlessly. Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) — the only other person to have had that power — takes Cage under her wing and makes him a great warrior. And no matter how skilled Cage becomes, it never seems to change the outcome in humanity’s favor.
Edge of Tomorrow is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.
5. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
Cruise has been making Mission: Impossible movies since 1996, but Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation was truly a turning point for the films. Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is usually prepared for almost any threat, but The Syndicate — the titular rogue nation — completely outmaneuvers him. In short order, Ethan is branded a traitor by the U.S. government, and CIA director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) can’t wait to bring him down.
Luckily for Ethan, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) has his back. Ilsa’s a MI6 agent embedded deep undercover in The Syndicate, and she hates that group even more than Ethan does. Ilsa just doesn’t have a way out unless she joins forces with Ethan’s Impossible Mission Force to bring down The Syndicate from the inside.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is streaming on Paramount+.
It was still relatively early in his career when Cruise headlined Top Gun, one of the seminal action movies of the ’80s. The fact that he’s still so prominent in action flicks speaks to Cruise’s staying power as a star. You may feel “the need for speed” as LT Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise) and his wingman LTJG Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) enter Top Gun, the prestigious Naval program that teaches the elite pilots.
Maverick doesn’t take too long before he romances a Top Gun civilian instructor, Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood (Kelly McGillis), and finds a rival in LT Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer). Most of the action is in the air, and it’s incredible even by modern standards. This is the movie that put Cruise on the path to becoming an action icon.
The struggle against A.I. gets very personal for Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, even before he decides that the artificial being known as The Entity has to be destroyed. The Entity has already developed some level of sentience, and it has also recruited Ethan’s old adversary, Gabriel Martinelli (Esai Morales), to follow its agenda in the real world.
Ethan’s attempts to get the tools he needs to fight The Entity are thwarted by Grace (Hayley Atwell), a thief who has her own agenda. Even if Ethan can get on the same page with Grace, The Entity is still the one foe he can’t defeat by punching, shooting or kicking it. Since this film leads directly into Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, it doesn’t end as much as it stops. Regardless, it set another high-water mark for the franchise.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning is streaming on Paramount+.
2. ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (2022)
Maverick’s back in Top Gun: Maverick, a sequel that was 36 years in the making. For this film, Cruise re-teamed with director Joseph Kosinski and even his frequent Mission: Impossible director, Christopher McQuarrie, contributed to the script. When the story picks up, Maverick has successfully avoided getting promoted from Captain for decades because he loves flying too much.
When Maverick is called back to Top Gun, he’s given the reins to train a new generation of pilots for a deadly mission. Those recruits include Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Maverick’s late wingman, Goose. Rooster and Maverick are going to need to work out their issues because there’s a battle on the horizon, and Maverick doesn’t plan on sitting on the sidelines.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout isn’t just Tom Cruise’s best action movie; it’s the kind of movie all action flicks should aspire to be. This is a true sequel to Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, with the series’ first returning villain, Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). Fallout also introduces a new rival for Ethan who can match him punch for punch, but we’ll refrain from revealing his identity here.
This film and Dead Reckoning are pretty close in terms of quality. Fallout gets the edge for telling a complete story that continuously escalates the tension. It also gives each of Ethan’s team — Ilsa Faust (Ferguson), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and a surprise returning character — something important to pull off during the film’s grand finale.
If Cruise and company had stopped making Mission: Impossible films with this movie, then it would have been a fitting conclusion in its own right. Because they made a different choice, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will get a chance to top it.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout is streaming on Paramount+.
If you have sensitive skin, you know the body wash struggle: too harsh, and your skin flares up. Too scented, and suddenly you’re dealing with irritation or dryness. It’s a frustrating dilemma of wanting to feel clean and smell good without running the risk of skin issues. That’s why when a celebrity with great taste (hi, Courteney Cox) co-signs a body wash that’s actually gentle, we pay attention.
The Friends actress told Harper’s Baazar she “always uses” Nécessaire’s body wash, and coincidentally, this staple is a favorite among Amazon customers who rave about how soothing it is — especially for dry, reactive skin. The gel-oil hybrid texture provides a luxurious lather without stripping the skin of its natural oils. The luxurious scent is just the cherry on top!
The body wash is available in several scents including ‘santal,’ ‘olibanum,’ ‘hinoki,’ ‘eucalyptus’ and a fragrance-free version. It’s also non-comedogenic (so it won’t clog pores) and replaces harsh ingredients like sulfates, parabens and phthalates with good-for-you alternatives like niacinamide to support the skin barrier and liquid epsom salt to replenish tired-feeling skin.
One Amazon shopper who has sensitive, overly-reactive skin wrote, “Good for sensitive skin. I have been buying the Nécessaire body washes for years. [They’re] one of the few body washes that my skin doesn’t react to.”
Another customer who struggles with liking “things that smell good” but has “very sensitive skin” said that their “[skin didn’t react to this at all” and that “the smell is great! Super relaxing and perfect for after a long day.”
With praise this good, it’s no wonder stars and everyday shoppers alike are stocking up on Nécessaire’s body wash at Amazon!
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Pamela Anderson is probably always going to be known for playing lifeguard C.J. Parker for five seasons on Baywatch during the ’90s. The images of Anderson in Baywatch‘s famous red swimwear are also what helped her became an icon.
That’s been both a curse and a blessing for Anderson, who never fully shed her reputation for being a sex symbol. It’s also what made Anderson the perfect choice to take the lead in Gia Coppola‘s The Last Showgirl.
There are also some unmistakable parallels between Anderson and her character, Shelly Gardner, as she faces the end of the long-running revue that defined her career.
The Last Showgirl didn’t get a lot of love during the awards season earlier this year, but that should change now that the film is available to stream. It’s Watch With Us‘ pick for the one Hulu movie that you have to watch in May 2025.
Most of the roles Anderson played early in her career revolved around her physical attributes rather than the intangibles that she offers as a performer. If you ever had any doubts about her talent, Anderson dispels them in The Last Showgirl with by far the best performance she’s ever given. For three decades, Shelly (Anderson) was one of the leading showgirls in a Las Vegas show called Le Razzle Dazzle. Once Shelly learns the show is ending, she has no backup plan, and her future suddenly becomes very frightening to her.
Anderson is very relatable as she conveys Shelly’s fear of a life without the thing that defined her. But that isn’t the full extent of Anderson’s range in the film. Shelly is also seen in her lowest moments feeling despair and anger. To cope with the loss of a career that defined her identity, she’s engaged in a certain amount of wishful thinking that doesn’t reflect the reality of her situation. Shelly seems broken, but that only makes Anderson’s performance more compelling.
The Supporting Cast Helps Carry the Weight of the Story
Anderson does a lot of the heavy lifting with her performance, but she doesn’t carry the film alone. Coppola surrounded her with a veteran cast that includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista and Kiernan Shipka. Curtis plays a character named Annette who has fallen even further than Shelly. Annette was kicked out of the revue years earlier over her age, and she barely gets by as a cocktail waitress while battling a gambling addiction. She’s a cautionary tale for Shelly about what the next chapter of her life may hold for her.
Bautista embraces his dramatic side with his character, Eddie, a man who has largely escaped the consequences of his choices. His connection with Shelly is revealed in the film, but she’s also deeply resentful that Eddie gets to keep his job with the new revue while she’s essentially being cut loose. Bautista strikes the right balance of showing some sympathy towards Shelly, a desire to remain friends with her and harboring some anger over the personal issues that link them together.
The Last Showgirl Isn’t Afraid to Show Shelly’s Flaws
RoadsideFlix/YouTube
Perhaps it’s a good thing that Hulu waited until after Mother’s Day to drop The Last Showgirl, because Shelly’s greatest failing is as a mother and a surrogate mother. Billie Lourd — the daughter of Hollywood legend Carrie Fisher — was an inspired choice to play Shelly’s daughter, Hannah Gardner. Hannah’s relationship with her mother is very strained in the movie, because she feels that Shelly always loved the show more than her own child. And she’s not wrong.
Shipka and Brenda Song play two of the younger showgirls, Jodie and Mary-Anne, who regard Shelly as a mother figure. And she constantly lets them down even after they lend her moral support. There are also scenes in the movie where Shelly treats the two younger women so poorly that it risks turning the audience against her.
The film is ultimately better because it embraces Shelly’s character flaws. She’s perfectly imperfect as a mom, mentor and friend, and Anderson commands the screen when she gets to show off Shelly’s darker impulses.
"I said no because I had already unpacked, and honestly, I didn’t want to deal with moving just because of her imaginary haunted-room theory," the man explains
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