The Tom Cruise Hall of Fame: A Look at His 10 Career-Defining Movies

Closing out my Tom Cruise series is the Tom Cruise Hall of Fame. When I make an actors hall of fame, I'm assembling the ten films that best define their career as a whole. This includes Oscar nominations, box office hits, breakout roles and works with standout directors. It is important to note that this list is going to differ than my top 10 on my ranking. Just because I thought a movie was better doesn't mean it was as important to his career. Basically this list would be the 10 movies I would give if someone asked me to summarize Tom Cruise's career.

The Toughest Cuts

Before I share the actual Hall of Fame, I wanted to share the 5 films that were the hardest to not make the list. I will give my reason as to why it should be in the Hall of Fame while also sharing why it didn't quite make the cut.

1. The Color of Money (1986)

The Color of Money is the film Tom Cruise did with Martin Scorsese. It was one of his early films, coming out the same year as Top Gun. This movie showed that Tom Cruise could actually act in a serious film and not just in comedies. Tom Cruise gives a great performance in this movie as Vincent and plays very well against the Paul Newman character. It made a case for the Tom Cruise Hall of Fame as it is by a great director, Martin Scorsese, and features Tom Cruise in one of his better-acted roles. The reason it didn't quite make the cut is that this movie is known for being a Martin Scorsese movie, not a Tom Cruise movie. Paul Newman is very much the lead with Tom Cruise as a supporting character that is absent for a large chunk of the second half.

2. Rain Man (1988)

Rain Man is probably one of Tom Cruise's best movies. His character, Charlie Babbit is so well written and acted. He also experiences such a great arc throughout the story going from a self-centered jerk to an actual caring person. He also has great chemistry with Dustin Hoffman's Raymond Babbit. The reason this has a case for the Hall of Fame is because of how well-made of a movie it is. But ultimately, the reason it didn't make the cut is because Dustin Hoffman's amazing performance greatly overshadows Tom Cruise. The movie is known for and was Oscar-nominated for that performance not so much for Tom Cruise's role.

3. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Eyes Wide Shut is another film where Tom Cruise works with a top-tier director. Eyes Wide Shut showcases Tom Cruise's ability to portray a character under a great amount of martial stress. He does a great job of showing the struggles of his wife having a potential affair which causes him to go on a night-long journey to find his own pleasure. This film almost made its way into the Hall of Fame is it is easily the best performance of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman together and really showcases his talent as an actor. In the end, I chose against including it as I feel that Stanley Kubrick's style choices and shocking scenes are more what makes the movie famous than Tom Cruise's performance.

4. Minority Report (2002)

Minority Report is the second and far superior collaboration Tom Cruise had with director Steven Spielberg. This movie has some great world-building and centers around a futuristic organization that stops murders before they happen. Tom Cruise is great in the lead as this movie showcases his abilities as an action hero. Its qualities deserving of the Hall of Fame are its world-building and Tom Cruise's charisma as an action star. While this is a very good movie, I thought this stood out more as a Steven Spielberg movie more so than a Tom Cruise movie. He is good in it but it is nothing really worthy of the Hall of Fame.

5. Collateral (2004)

This is the final film in the toughest cut section and was probably the hardest one to cut. This film sees Tom Cruise as a truly chilling hitman, Vincent. This is a great action thrilling with a lot of exciting sequences that keep you on edge from beginning to end. This movie shows that Tom Cruise can play something completely different than what he normally does. Ultimately I decided against putting it in the Hall of Fame as in the end, it is a Jamie Fox movie, not a Tom Cruise movie. Jamie Fox got nominated for the Oscar, not Tom Cruise. I went back and forth on this film until the very end but in the end, decided to go with something else.

The Tom Cruise Hall of Fame

1. Risky Business (1983)

This was a very easy entry into the Tom Cruise Hall of Fame. Risky Business was Tom Cruise's breakout film and one of his most iconic. The trajectory of his career changed significantly after this film. As a movie itself, it is a lot of fun. It has many funny moments and iconic scenes. Tom Cruise demonstrates his leading-man potential very well. While it definitely changed his career, this film is just so iconic and so heavily associated with Tom Cruise that it can't not be in the Hall of Fame.

2. Top Gun (1986)

Top Gun is another very obvious entry in the Hall of Fame. While it doesn't change his career as much as Risky Business, this movie is just so famous and beloved by many that it has to be in the Hall of Fame. The film is just oozing with coolness and American pride. It is so cool that it lets us listen to Danger Zone three times. Risky Business may have put Tom Cruise on the map in Hollywood but Top Gun is what cemented his as a movie star.

3. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Born on the Fourth of July is the film that really shows Tom Cruise as a great actor. Top Gun and Risky Business are fun but this film shows Tom Cruise diving deep into the role of a traumatized Vietnam vet. This film also earned Tom Cruise his first Oscar nomination for Best Leading Actor which is rightly deserved. This film also effectively shows Tom Cruise's seriousness with a movie that is much darker in tone than many on this list.

4. A Few Good Men (1992)

A Few Good Men is the best of the multiple lawyer movies Tom Cruise has done and deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame. With lawyer movies having a somewhat significant role in his career, it seems fitting that one should be on this list. A Few Good Men features a great performance from Tom Cruise as he delivers several great monologues and even manages to match the energy of Jack Nicholson when they have scenes together. This is easily one of Tom Cruise's best movies and the peak of his era of more prestige films.

5. Mission: Impossible (1996)

While Mission: Impossible may not be one of his best films or even the best in the franchise, it still played a vital role in his career. If you aren't thinking of Top Gun, the other movie most people associate with Tom Cruise is Mission: Impossible. This film and its sequels are what made Tom Cruise known for being the guy who does all of his own stunts. This movie started the franchise that contains some of his greatest movies and is instrumental to his career.

6. Jerry Maguire (1996)

Jerry Maguire is the second film to earn Tom Cruise an acting Oscar nomination. This is another of Tom Cruise's more iconic roles featuring the iconic line "Show me the money". It also features one of Tom Cruise's better acting performances in a film. This movie combines an underdog sports story with a typical romance and does a decent job on both of them. This is another movie that cements Tom Cruise as a great actor and shows that he can be both an action stunt guy and a prestige actor.

7. Magnolia (1999)

Magnolia is the final of the prestige films in the Hall of Fame and also gave Tom Cruise his third Oscar acting nomination. This movie allowed Tom Cruise to work with another stand-out director Paul Thomas Anderson. This is up there with Born on the Fourth of July in terms of the quality of Tom Cruise's performance. In this film, he plays Sex Guru Frank Mackey who is a character that is just so different than anything else he has played. This role and film really showcase his range as an actor and prove that Tom Cruise can play more than just the same type of character.

8. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Edge of Tomorrow is the start of Tom Cruise's action stunt career section of the Hall of Fame. This movie is essentially Sci-fi Groundhog Day and shows that Tom Cruise can put out movies with very interesting concepts and make them work purely because of his star power and charisma as an actor. This movie also shows Tom Cruise in a bit of a different role than normal as he isn't the top-tier soldier that is good at everything like in his other action movies. I was juggling between this film and Collateral and ultimately chose Edge of Tomorrow as I think Tom Cruise was more vital to the production.

9. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

This is the representative on the list for the newer era of Mission Impossible films. I wanted to include one of the 4-7th entries of Mission Impossible to showcase Tom Cruise's insane stunt work. I ultimately decided to go with this film as it is the most rounded on both a plot and stunt level. This film featured stunts such as Tom Cruise skydiving, driving a helicopter, and leaping across rooftops. While it wasn't in this movie, I also wanted to mention that Tom Cruise has also done things like climb up the tallest building in the world, drive a motorcycle off of a mountain, and hang off the side of an airplane. Tom Cruise doing his own stunts just puts him on another level than other actors and a Mission: Impossible film showcasing that definitely deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame.

10. Top Gun: Maverik (2022)

Top Gun: Maverik is the final entry in the Hall of Fame and cements Tom Cruise as the king of the blockbusters. Top Gun: Maverik is so crucial to Tom Cruise's career as it is his first film to gross over a billion dollars, and his first film in over 20 years to get a Best Picture nomination. This movie also shows how passionate Tom Cruise is about the movie-making business. He didn't want to jeopardize the quality of this movie so he waited until the technology caught up with what he wanted to do. He also refused to release this movie straight to streaming in 2020 and insisted it be delayed until it could go in theaters which paid off in the end. Overall, I would say that this film is probably the magnum opus of his career and rightfully earned its spot in the Hall of Fame.