Paramount Pictures
For 40 age , Tom Cruisehas been one of Hollywood ’s biggest motion picture stars . From heartbreaking monologue to death - defying stunts , Cruise has been fire up up the big screen since he slid across the floor inRisky Business . At 61 , Cruise has no plans of slow up down , withMission : unacceptable – drained Reckoning Part Twohitting theaters in 2025 .
Cruise went from budding star topology to acting ikon in the nineties as he starred in nine photographic film from 1990 - 1999 . Several of Cruise ’s photographic film during the nineties feature of speech some of the actor ’s fine oeuvre , and he even make two Oscar nominating address . From sorcerous dramedies to action tentpoles , Cruise did it all in the 1990s . Below , we rank Cruise ’s seven best films of the decade .
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7. Days of Thunder (1990)
Cruise master playing the untried , cocky wizard inTop Gun . Cole Trickle fall under the same archetype inDays of Thunder . After dominating in clear - cycle racing , Cole jumps to NASCAR , where he speedily forms a rivalry with old stager sensation Rowdy Burns ( Michael Rooker ) . After a crash sideline them with injuries , Cole and Rowdy put their differences away and become supporter . Cole also romances Dr. Claire Lewicki , played by Cruise ’s succeeding wife ( now x - wife ) Nicole Kidman .
daylight of Thunderis not as just asTop Gun , but it ’s still a fun sport movie with good racing sequences and a tacky Cruise performance . Fun fact : Days of Thunderis Cruise ’s only writing credit . Cruise receive a narration credit along with Robert Towne , the Academy Award - acquire film writer .
StreamDays of ThunderonParamount+ .
6. The Firm (1993)
Considering he ’s played lawyer in multiple movies , I wonder if Cruise ever wanted to try a career in law if acting did n’t work out . Luckily for Cruise , he take the proper profession . InThe Firm , Cruise bet Mitch McDeere , a promising Harvard Law School graduate who select a line with a honored firm in Memphis . The firm stick in Mitch to a life history of riches and power . However , the long hr strain his marriage with his wife , Abby ( Jeanne Tripplehorn ) .
Mitch by chance unwrap the house ’s illegal activities , from money laundering to tax fraud and murder . Approached by the FBI to flip on his associate , Mitch knows he ’s a dead man if he help the confidence . Cruise ’s perfervid persona and star power are a winning combination in Sydney Pollack ’s cat - and - mouse legal thriller . The Firmalso cheer Cruise ’s lifelong mission to become anelite runner .
StreamThe FirmonParamount+ .
5. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Looking at how Cruise gravitated toward activity in the 21st hundred , Eyes Wide Shutwas one of the doer ’s expectant risks . Stanley Kubrick ’s concluding filmstars Cruise as Bill Harford , a doctor who is stunned to learn that his married woman , Alice ( Nicole Kidman ) , has sexual fantasies about sleeping with other men . Jealous , Bill sets out to look for a intimate encounter .
Bill meets with his one-time friend , Nick Nightingale ( Todd Field ) , and learns about a masked sex party host by a secret social club . After hang one of the parties , Bill gain he ’s in peril , chair him to rethink his intention . Unfortunately for Cruise and Kidman , their real - life marriage ceremony ended a few year after this film , and when youread about the difficult production , it ’s well-to-do to speculate that it may have play a part . However , eye blanket Shutremains one of Cruise ’s most vulnerable performances .
RentEyes Wide ShutonPrime Video , YouTube , Apple , orGoogle .
4. A Few Good Men (1992)
Cruise star as a JAG lawyer inA Few Good Men . In the picture send by Rob Reiner and based on a script by Aaron Sorkin , Cruise play Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee , a attorney task with defend two U.S. Marines criminate of murdering another Marine on Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba . Kaffee foregather a squad , including Lt . Cdr . JoAnne Galloway ( Demi Moore ) , to mount a defence force and try out the Marines were carrying out an edict from a superior officer .
Cruise ’s court scenes are some of his fine playing moments . He wreak the proper amount of intensity and ferocity to the courtroom , leading to the film ’s climatical scene between Kaffee and Col . Nathan R. Jessup , played byJack Nicholson . Cruise versus Nicholson in acourtroom , what ’s better than that ?
RentA Few Good MenonPrime Video , YouTube , Apple , orGoogle .
3. Magnolia (1999)
Magnoliahas a lot of problems , but Cruise is n’t one of them . While Cruise was makingEyes broad Shut , directorPaul Thomas Andersonmet with Cruise to talk about working together on a future film . That film becameMagnolia , with Cruise starring as Frank T.J. Mackey , a conceited motivational speaker and date expert who teaches the great unwashed that life is about “ what you take . ”
While the misogynistic speech show Cruise ’s comedic chops , the single best scene of his vocation is whenFrank break down and weepsin front of his dying father . How the Academy watch that scene and did n’t award Cruise Best Supporting Actor is beyond me .
StreamMagnoliaonPrime Video .
2. Mission: Impossible (1996)
The role that has come to define Cruise for the last three decades is Ethan Hunt inMission : Impossible . Ethan is an elite agent who work for the Impossible Mission Force ( IMF ) , the cloak-and-dagger government way called upon for severe assignments . InMission : Impossible , a fail missionary work that results in the death of several IMF agents forces Ethan to go on the foot race as the government hold him the prime defendant .
Forced to crystallise his name , Ethan assembles a new team to pass through the CIA construction and slip an electronic list that could prove his innocence . By 1996 , Cruise mostly did dramas with a few natural action film mixed in . However , the success ofMission : Impossiblekicked off Cruise ’s run as a global action star who is not afraid to push himself to the rank terminus ad quem , even if that means driving a motorcycle off a cliff .
StreamMission : ImpossibleonParamount+orPrime telecasting .
1. Jerry Maguire (1996)
Jerry Maguireis Cruise ’s magnum opus . Everything we have a go at it about Cruise , from his born charisma and infective smiling to his exuberant vim and undying rage , is channeled into thefootball dramedyJerry Maguire . Written and direct by Cameron Crowe , Jerry Maguirestars Cruise as a sports broker who give up his in high spirits - profile representation to start his own direction firm , so he can focus on secure relationships with fewer clients .
Jerry ’s only guest is Rod Tidwell ( Cuba Gooding Jr. ) , a wide receiving system in the NFL who require Jerry to “ show him the money . ” Jerry ’s only employee is Dorothy Boyd ( Renee Zellweger ) , a single female parent and eventual love interest . Cruise flex his movie wizard charm up to 10 inJerry Maguire . And yes , Tom , you had us at hello , too .
RentJerry MaguireonPrime Video , YouTube , Apple , orGoogle .
