Should Tom Cruise Stick to Action Films?
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Box Office, Fandom, Tom Cruise
I was watching my local news last night on Fox when during their entertainment portion (we love ya Toni Senecal), they absolutely bashed Tom Cruise. Which is odd for them because they don't usually go after someone hard like that. Toni? What's up? Over the weekend, Cruise's latest film Lions for Lambs -- and his first for the revived United Artists -- took in a little over $6 million. You have to go all the way back to 1986 (The Color of Money) to find another film starring Tom Cruise that opened so poorly. And this was a big deal for Cruise and United Artists; they went and snagged Robert Redford to direct, star; they got Meryl Streep and even Cruise stepped in to up the ante. They wanted raves. They wanted Oscar nods. They got ... $6 million and bad reviews.
To add insult to injury, when Fox was done ripping apart Lions for Lambs and its poor box office take, they next went after Valkyrie saying the buzz was not good and making fun of Cruise for wearing a "silly" eye patch, with a weird hairdo. Of course they spoke about the film with little to no information -- as if their core audience were a bunch of third graders who would stay away from a film simply because Cruise wears an eye patch throughout. While folks might not dig seeing Cruise in an eye patch, one thing is for sure -- they like to see the guy in action/adventure films. Mission Impossible 3 ($133 million), War of the Worlds ($234 million), Minority Report ($132 million) and even The Last Samurai ($111 million) all did very well at the box office. Are the people trying to send the man a message? And does that message go something like: "Look dude, we're not crazy about your off-screen antics. The Scientology thing is a little warped, you may have brainwashed Katie Holmes and your new baby may or may not be an alien. But we like it when you run and blow stuff up. The whole talky drama thing? Not so much. How can we take one of your films seriously when we don't take you seriously? So stick to that and we'll pay to see your movies." So, should he stick to action flicks? Should he try a comedy? Or, quite possibly, could Lambs' poor opening spell the beginning of the end for Mr. Cruise?









Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
11-13-2007 @ 12:39PM
actorpull said...
Where's the "Magnolia" option?
I think people just like it when Tom is in good films. Lions for Lambs isn't a good film.
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11-13-2007 @ 1:20PM
Zach S said...
Yeah, personally I like Tom Cruise and I think part of that is because you generally can't go wrong with a flick if he's in it. He makes very good choices, and you know what? He's a good actor, too.
I think the whole scientlogy thing and all that puts people off, but I mean, I don't care about the man's personal life! I just care that he's acting well in good movies!
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11-13-2007 @ 1:41PM
Travis Johnson said...
I couldn't have said it better Zach S.
His whole odd scientology kick throws people off but damnit he's a good actor.
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11-13-2007 @ 2:50PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
The idea of this article doesn't make sense. Cruise has had many successful non-action movies:
A few Good Men
Jerry Maguire
Vanilla Sky
Interview with the Vampire
The Firm
Rain Man
Born on the 4th of July
Risky Business
The Outsiders
I loathe the guy as an actor (he's like Bruce Willis - zero range) but I can't deny that he's had many, many successful films that weren't action flicks.
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11-13-2007 @ 3:06PM
ML said...
I can't say I'm a big fan of Cruise, but it's not because of Scientology, I just tend to find him rather bland. I didn't like War of the Worlds, but that was because I hated the script - I don't think I can blame Mr Cruise for that! But ripping him for wearing an eye patch -- which the actual historical person he's playing wore? That's unfair and, frankly, ignorant. I guess they'd prefer that he disregard history to "improve" the movie. Whatever. That's local news for you.
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11-13-2007 @ 3:15PM
elessar said...
Once again, I must disagree with Tick on this--his own list proves that Tom DOES have range. BTW, why isn't there a "Born on the Fourth of July" option?
As for the Foxbots, I wouldn't put much credibility into anything said on a Fox news program (even if it's local news). If they knew anything about the real Valkyrie operation, they'd know that Clause von Stauffenberg (Tom's character) does indeed wear an eyepatch. I have no clue on where they're getting the "bad buzz". The only problems this film experienced were the Benderblock refusal (which was quickly reversed, even though Singer never even asked to film there) and the snafu in the development lab (which was remedied very quickly). Many other films experienced troubled productions and went on to do just fine (American gangster, Apocalypse Now, etc).
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11-13-2007 @ 4:14PM
Gary said...
So i am not a Tom Cruise fan as such, and by that i mean his name is not enough to make me want to see a film. Though rarely do i chose a film based on the stars anyway - Christian Bale apart who at the moment seems to do no wrong and is probably the only actor around at the moment who's films i would watch blindly based only on his presence.
Anyway, I digress, Tom Cruise is an enigma, he really is a great actor - anyone who doubts that has not seen Magnolia. Jerry Maggiore, Rain Man and A Few Good Men are very good movies with a great performance by Cruise. I do not really like action flicks but have seen some of Toms and can see where the mass appeal comes from, but not for me. I wish he would pick better roles for himself, Unfortunately it is probably too late for him now, instead of being remembered for being one of our generations finest actors he will forever be remembered for being the goofy alien worshiper and hollywood joke he seems to have turned into, Shame.
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11-13-2007 @ 4:56PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
elessar, to each his own. The list doesn't prove he's a good actor; it does prove he's worked in varied films - some quite successful - and with some occasionally good (Rob Reiner, Levinson, Pollack) to often horrible directors (Cameron Crowe, Stone, Coppola). Shrug.
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11-13-2007 @ 6:01PM
Gina said...
I like history and probably would see "Valkyrie" -- if Cruise weren't in it. That's how much he puts me off. With 99 percent of actors I can ignore their offscreen antics, but he seems to want to shove his personal business in everyone's face, which makes it pretty hard for a lot of us to forget. Too bad.
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11-13-2007 @ 6:18PM
eugene said...
yup, I love how everyone is piling on the tom cruise sucks bandwagon and yet how did Tom become one of the biggest and most successful stars on the planet?
Disagree with his religion all you want, he's still NOWHERE near as bad as some of the folks in hollywood that are all trendy and cool with the elitist pop-trend snobs.
Having said that, I've figured out the Tom Cruise formula: Cocky guy at the beginning who's the best at what he does -> gets humbled by some tragedy or hardship in the middle of the film -> pulls it together to save the day but after learning a valuable life lesson.
Pretty much fits every role Tom has ever played. :p
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11-13-2007 @ 6:46PM
Gina said...
"yup, I love how everyone is piling on the tom cruise sucks bandwagon and yet how did Tom become one of the biggest and most successful stars on the planet?"
Certainly not because of me. I've hardly seen any of his movies, even before he started all this public weirdness.
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11-13-2007 @ 7:51PM
superbagman said...
Personally, the only movie that I really liked Cruise in at all was Collateral, and honestly he's playing so much against his type that it's like barely watching Cruise. But then again, I just love everything about that flick.
Jamie Foxx should have gotten his Oscar for THAT performance.
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11-13-2007 @ 10:52PM
Sara said...
I LOVE THIS ACTOR....seriously Fox news goes after many actors and actresses. They are a Republican network. Im a Bill O'Reilly and Fox network fan but sometimes they get overboard like other press networks with their biased views.
Tom is not alone with a bad office record when many actors and actresses go through this lately especially the Oscar curse stars.
How come The Kingdom,Valley of Elah,Rendition and other war films that flopped dont make headlines but only Cruise?
sounds like some are so jealous because Tom has it all and is so powerful.
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11-13-2007 @ 11:58PM
Aberdeen said...
I'm not a fan of TC, but he is a great actor when he picks films wherein he can actually act. I'm afraid he might be the weakest link in Valkyrie, though, as I'm far more interested in seeing the other actors than him!
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11-14-2007 @ 12:12AM
Mac said...
This actor is quite versatile and most of the time delivers his performances.
I can only point out a few stinkers in his career unlike other actors whose films I barely remember nor have seen. He's a cultural icon all over the globe. He is perfect for Valkyrie especially his strong resemblance to the General.
The 2 big questions why the Academy continues to ignore Tom and why does Hollywood keep on milking the war projects that performs badly nowadays after Sept.11. Better yet how about a prowar movie? All these antiwar flicks are getting old.
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11-14-2007 @ 1:22AM
June said...
The performances by Cruise,Derek Luke,Pena and Streep were stellar in the movie but the script,directing and Redford were the one dimensional ones. Peter Berg was wasted too. Tom Cruise will always be Hollywood's Top Gun and its easy to get envious of this guy after all he is so sucessful but he's earned them all. He is so good looking and talented,he is a money making machine and now runs his own studio. Get this not a production company but MGM and United Artists. He won awards upon awards in the U.S. except the Oscars but in other countries he's always honored and the only actor outside Hollywood to have a National Day honored to him in Japan. What kills many is that he's got a hot blossoming wife and the most precious baby in Hollywood. My favorite movie of Tom is a not action but Jerry Maguire and Rain Man. His action films are just icing on the cake.
And yes Jerry Maguire is the only modern movie along with When Harry Met Sally that top the 100 Romantic movies of all time on AFI. Bring on Valkyrie.
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11-14-2007 @ 2:26AM
spacegrouch said...
Where the hell is Collateral?
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11-14-2007 @ 2:28AM
Natasha said...
This man had me at hello.
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11-14-2007 @ 2:30AM
LB said...
Im a Fox watcher too and love Toni Senecal but he is wrong about this one. Its the media who are obsess about Scientology. Cruise may have done this anti-war project but the cast were very dignified all throughout unlike many liberals in Hollywood that acted so vulgar and they sound like communist and very unpatriotic. i.e.Ed Harris,Danny Glover,Clooney,Charlize Theron,Rosie,Maggie Gyllenhaal,Susan Sarandon,Jane Fonda,Kristin Dunst,Garofalo,Jessica Lange,Streisand,Sean Penn,Madonna,Affleck,JoliePitts,Paltrow....pretty much 85% of Hollywood. Poor Cruisey boy gets all the whiplashes while the rest gets away with it.
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11-14-2007 @ 3:10AM
Kim said...
One of the most malleable and versatile actors. He is aging gracefully I can hardly believe he is 45. Despite his fame he is still one of the most underrated actor in the business. Fox News has been campaigning to boycott Lions for Lambs and instead to watch Fred Claus with Republican actor Vince Vaughn who was in Bill O'Reilly's show. Fox didnt get their total victory because Fred Claus had a bad performance too tramped by the Bee movie. Done with Lions, Fox network is now out to get Mark Cuban and Brian DePalma's movie Redacted. Whether you are a war supporter or not this movie had all sides portrayed and you can still identify with a particular character. Where is Minority Report and Last Samurai? There are a few movies I didnt like in his filmography but most of all I bow at most of them.
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