Tom Cruise has given us a lot in recent years, so it doesn’t really matter that he’s effectively retreated into franchises of his own making. For the past decade, the movie star has mostly been concerned with IP, helming Mission: Impossible sequels, reviving the world of Top Gun with stellar results, and starring in a few other misguided reboots. That effort makes plenty of sense for an actor who spent years delivering such an incredible filmography — and it helps that most every film he’s starred in lately (save for Universal’s disappointing Mummy remake) has been thrilling in its own way.
Still, as distractingly good as Cruise’s stunt-heavy output has been, it’s hard not to miss a time when Cruise alternated between those amazing actioners and quieter films that focused on his acting chops. Some of his best roles have weaponized his intensity and zany gravitas — think Collateral, Magnolia, even Rock of Ages — but Cruise is just as capable of disappearing. There’s a reason Tropic Thunder is such an iconic entry to his oeuvre: he committed to the character of Les Grossman like few others could, donning hammy prosthetics, a fake belly, and a bald cap to bring a film executive to life. (And he did it all again to create one of the best performances to ever come out of the MTV Awards, too.) It’s been a while since Cruise has gotten that crazy, as roles like Les don’t exactly grow on trees. But leave it to Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the director behind Birdman and The Revenant, to see the vision with Digger.
