Francesca Rudkin: They don't make them like Tom Cruise anymore - The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

They don’t make them like Tom Cruise anymore.  

As the nature of stardom has changed over the last few decades the idea of the classic movie star has slowly diminished. But the latest and final Mission Impossible film, The Final Reckoning, makes it clear Tom is top of the list of good old-fashioned movie stars still out there. 

There are several reasons movie stars and stardom aren’t what they once were. The rise of the paparazzi, the internet and social media means we know much more about the people up on screen. Actors struggle to control their image and brand the way they once did - they are no longer untouchable or mysterious. 

And these days ‘celebrity’ has morphed into something different. Anyone can be elevated to ‘famous’ if they’re prepared to put themselves out there on Insta, Twitch or the 'Tok. The film industry is also less snobby - even A-list film stars do TV now.   

So over time, we’ve seen the clout of the movie star decline. Don’t get me wrong, a big studio will always want a name - and big names - but that big name no long guarantees a movie will open well at the box office, or make a killing.  

Look at last year’s The Fall Guy. It featuring two talented, popular actors at the top of their game, Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling, straight off the Barbenheimer train, but didn’t really bother the box office. It struggled to break even.  

And then there’s the rise of the franchise. Consumers are more loyal to a franchise than an actor these days - and the output from Marvel, DC, Jurassic World, and Final Destination films just keeps on coming.  

But watching Tom Cruise on Friday night at a preview of his nostalgic and thrilling final Mission Impossible film, reminded me that the man is in a league of his own. It’s taken most of his career for me to like the guy. He was growing on me, but then he lost me when he jumped on Oprah’s couch trying to convince us how much he loved Katie Holmes.  

 But I have always respected him. Not because he does his own stunts, takes traditional filmmaking to its limits, and creates ambitious and wildly entertaining films. Not for his acting ability - although he definitely can act - think Magnolia, Minority Report, Born on the Fourth of July, and A Few Good Men. Nor is it because he can open a film to rave reviews and great box office - the Mission Impossible franchise has made more than $4 billion.   

The reason I respect him is simply because he’s in it for the love of it.   

At the beginning of the Mission Impossible preview on Friday night, Tom did a quick piece to camera to thanks us all for being there. This wasn’t a charm offensive. He was quite particular in what he said - he wanted us to enjoy this authentic cinema experience on the big screen the way it is was made to be seen.  

Since the pandemic, Cruise has been on a mission to get people back into the cinema. Long before Anora director Sean Baker urged viewers to keep seeing films in theatres at the Oscars earlier this year, Tom Cruise has literally been putting his life on the line convincing us that there is nowhere more magical to watch a film than in the theatre. 

Considering what he has put himself through to create his latest film, it would be rude not to.   

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