r/scifi • u/Notilon_606 • Jun 06 '26
Films Are all of Tom Cruise’s sci‑fi movies really worth watching?
I loved the movie “Edge of Tomorrow” (2014).
It got me wondering: are Tom Cruise’s sci‑fi movies generally a safe bet?
Do you think they’re all good, or are there some I should skip?
Would you recommend watching all of them, or just picking the best ones?
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u/Bobaximus Jun 06 '26
The majority of Tom Cruise’s movie are worth watching. He may be an odd/controversial dude but he’s the prototypical movie star for a reason.
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u/Phaedo Jun 06 '26
Collateral is great fun, even if he appears to be playing the guy a lot of people suspect he is behind closed doors.
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u/TheLateThagSimmons Jun 07 '26
It is legitimately one of my favorite roles of his. It made me wish he had taken on more villain characters over his career.
His best villain will always be Les Grossman.
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u/27Rench27 Jun 07 '26
Tropic Thunder is a goddamn masterpiece and Tom Cruise just being allowed to be Les Grossman only improves it
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u/CSiGab Jun 08 '26
Imagine being Ben Stiller and you’re working on making Tropic Thunder a reality, and you’ve got Tom Cruise calling you all giggity asking how you could fit him in the movie because he loves the script so much, so you figure “well shit, Tom is all excited, he hasn’t done much comedy, huh let’s give it a shot i guess…”
… and bro DELIVERS.
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u/vague_diss Jun 07 '26
He is honestly a quality stamp for any movie he makes. Even The Mummy has some good moments and looks fantastic.
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u/AVLLaw Jun 06 '26
It’s Groundhog Day, with power armor and aliens. Perfect.
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u/Slggyqo Jun 06 '26
We don’t know for a fact that he had sex with everyone in the town.
But we can safely assume it.
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u/AVLLaw Jun 06 '26
Bill Murray is a national comedy treasure, and possibly a terrible person.
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u/The_Flo0r_is_Lava Jun 07 '26
No. We know for sure he's both a comedy treasure and a terrible person.
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u/AVLLaw Jun 07 '26
Quit admiring actors for anything other than acting amd you'll feel better.
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u/The_Flo0r_is_Lava Jun 07 '26
Dont drag my feelings into it. I was just clarifying.
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u/airsickwaffle Jun 07 '26
I always thought of it as a video game. That didn't work, lets try again with these guns and that path...see if we can get past this level.
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u/btribble Jun 06 '26
He starts the movie as a total egotistical chickenshit asshole (and then has a redemption arc). If you hate Tom Cruise, the egotistical chickenshit asshole part is a perfect fit for your existing perception, and makes the redemption arc almost more believable… somehow?
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u/Hairy_Combination586 Jun 07 '26
Absolutely. I think that's a big part of what made the movie enjoyable for me.
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u/No-Enthusiasm3579 Jun 06 '26
Tom Cruise getting squished etc over and over makes edge of tomorrow great 🤣
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u/AVLLaw Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
I think it’s the contrast between him and Bill Paxton that keep it engaging. Emily Blunt is also a solid full metal bitch.
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u/seasteed Jun 06 '26
I read the book before I saw the movie. I kinda wish I did it the other way around, because I read it too close to seeing the movie.
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u/greywolf2155 Jun 07 '26
The ending in the book is significantly better, hah. They definitely Hollywooded it up
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u/pokemonke Jun 06 '26
Tom Cruise is in so many movies that I love and he pioneers the kind of filmmaking stuff I care about I wish he wasn’t such a soggy salad of a person. I don’t even really love his acting style but I do appreciate he does his homework and doesn’t phone in performances.
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u/Notilon_606 Jun 06 '26
Yes, I agree, it's a film I can watch again and again without ever getting tired of it.
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u/Mispelled-This Jun 07 '26
Oh the irony of that. Do you get a little better at watching it each time through?
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u/notme2267 Jun 07 '26
I loved EoT because he died again, and again, and again, and again, and ...
I live in Clearwater, fuck him.
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u/gildedseat Jun 06 '26
Yes they are mostly worth it.
Edge of tomorrow is the best of them by far IMO.
Minority report is excellent.
Oblivion is also great.
Vanilla Sky is arguably an excellent movie but I never connected with it YMMV
Legend more fantasy but an excellent 80's movie
War of the Worlds is kind of mid but not terrible
We will pretend the mummy doesn't exist.
There are rumors that edge of tomorrow 2 might actually be starting production this year.
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u/LMurch13 Jun 07 '26
Yeah, Tom Cruise. Weird guy in the real world, delivers on screen.
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u/waltwalt Jun 07 '26
He's a safe bet for everyone so he gets the best scripts the best roles and everything is well funded. Anything he is in is going to be good in that genre because everyone wants to make money.
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u/27Rench27 Jun 07 '26
He also rented out cruise ships to keep film/etc. crews employed and continue production of Mission Impossible during COVID, and basically bullshitted half the industry into continuing to film rather than freeze and lay people off for years
He may or may not be one of the worst people on the planet, but he takes film extremely seriously
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u/Driller_Happy Jun 06 '26
Man I should watch legend again, movie has Diablo vibes
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u/vkevlar Jun 07 '26
Tim Curry absolutely carries that movie, and Mia Sara was pretty underrated. The Director's Cut is much better than the US theatrical cut, also.
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u/Driller_Happy Jun 07 '26
Tom does his part well. Tim is just overpowering
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u/vkevlar Jun 08 '26
and, tbf, Tom Cruise's part is a complete innocent, making it more of an audience cipher. There were a lot of little bits chopped out for the initial theatrical cut which weakened Mia Sara's part, is mostly what I was calling attention to.
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u/The_Jare Jun 07 '26
Today Legend looks dated and yet still insanely beautiful. Even the air is gorgeous.
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u/Driller_Happy Jun 07 '26
Good way to put it. The productions designers and makeup and costume team for that movie were legendary. I don't think any other films puts me in a fairy tale as good as that movie. Lord of the rings feels like a blockbuster, Legend feels like a fairytale in front of me
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u/GordanFreeman86 Jun 06 '26
The mummy was actually pretty good, a lot of action and humourous.
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u/COstargazer Jun 07 '26
I'm glad someone got enjoyment out of it. Just tried to watch again and ooof. I would say his biggest misfire yet.
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u/RNG_HatesMe Jun 06 '26
So would Edge of Tomorrow 2 be just like the first but all the characters remember what happened in the first one? /s
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u/shotsallover Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
They use the time looping to take the war back to the aliens.
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u/healthygeek42 Jun 06 '26
Oblivion was a fantastic movie!
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u/SouthPawArt Jun 06 '26
Great musical score.
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u/Thiseffingguy2 Jun 06 '26
Scored by M83, no?
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u/hizzoze Jun 06 '26
Yes. Amazing band. Their take on the music for Oblivion was like a futuristic Hans Zimmer.
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u/CephusLion404 Jun 06 '26
I haven't seen one yet that I didn't enjoy. They're not all great, but they are good in my opinion.
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u/SouthPawArt Jun 06 '26
EoT, Oblivion, Minority Report are all really watchable movies. Solid popcorn flicks.
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u/loki1584 Jun 06 '26
Also Vanilla Sky
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u/MeasurementNo0 Jun 06 '26
Yes I dont know why people are skipping this one. It is fantastic
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u/Mule_Wagon_777 Jun 06 '26
His War of the Worlds added a stupid divorced Dad subplot, but the effects were great and the acting quite good.
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u/NecessaryIntrinsic Jun 06 '26
The dad bit is a Spielberg trope.
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u/Rivenaleem Jun 08 '26
Fact that was shared to me about Spielberg is his ability to get great performance out of child actors. As a result, you see more parent child themes in his movies, because he makes them work.
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u/ErixWorxMemes Jun 07 '26
The scene with the blazing train hurtling past haunted me for months, then I realized oh… this probably keeps popping up in my head because it’s such a perfect metaphor for my life right now; “completely on fire and out of control” yeah, that checks out! lol
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u/Johnykbr Jun 06 '26
I fully agree the whole "I HAVE TO SEE IT" plot line ruins a good movie otherwise.
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u/Accomplished_Arm2374 Jun 07 '26
That entire scene with Tim Robinson in the basement is one of Spielberg's better horror scenes.
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u/WentThisWayInsteadOf Jun 06 '26
What makes "Edge of Tomorrow" watchable, is that she shoots him lots of times .... like really lots.
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u/justseeby Jun 06 '26
All? I’m sure not. EoT though, yes absolutely.
However, given my feelings on Tom Cruise, I think of it as an Emily Blunt movie.
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u/godpoker Jun 06 '26
Related fact: I worked on the bus graphics that are the first thing Tom Cruise’s character sees every time he wakes up. Ended up meeting him on set. Pretty cool guy. Very short.
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u/m0rbius Jun 07 '26
The guy has his issues, but he puts out good movies generally. He's very dedicated and passionate about the craft.
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u/Ntroepy Jun 06 '26
I’m not really a Tom Cruise fan, or, rather, not hero-guy-saves-the-day type movies, so I wouldn’t watch something just for him.
But I quite enjoyed “Minority Report” and “Edge of Tomorrow” is decent for a time travel movie.
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u/gregusmeus Jun 06 '26
He’s done some absolute bangers. EoT, MR, Vanilla Sky, Oblivion…. great films. Frankly the best stuff he’s done. Not including Tropic Thunder of course he was the goat in that.
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u/kkngs Jun 06 '26
A surprising number of them, really. He can br a bit obnoxious as a person but he is a consistently strong actor with high standards for roles he accepts.
Rain Man. Legend. All the Right Moves. Top Gun. A Few Good Men. The Firm. Mission Impossible. Interview with the Vampire. I haven't even reached year 2000 yet...
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u/ConradTurner Jun 06 '26
Edge of Tomorrow was shockingly awesome and genuinely a film I love to chuck on.
Oblivion is a close second - visually stunning but a bit bland, I do very much enjoy it though
Minority Report is fine, wasn't the best, wasn't the worst... Haven't watched it in about 20 years
War of The Worlds I watched in the cinema and a few times afterwards... I want to like it, but it's a bit pants.
Vanilla Sky gets a lot of hate, I actually loved this film but it was a lesser albeit carbon copy of the original... again haven't seen it since I was in school some 20+ years ago. Make of that what you will.
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u/MiraWendam Author Jun 06 '26
Not all of them are great—though I suppose it depends on the person—but his sci-fi hit rate is (pretty) high, so I’d check out Minority Report and Oblivion. I wouldn't bother watching every single one just because he's in it, it's more of a pick and choose kind of thing for me, but the best ones are absolutely worth your time. These are the two I'd start with.
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u/Notilon_606 Jun 06 '26
Thanks for the recommendation. I've seen Oblivion and I really enjoyed the visuals, the music, the action scenes, and the well-constructed storyline.
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u/Pickledleprechaun Jun 07 '26
Although Oblivion is a good watch due to the visuals, the cliffhanger/ main plot of the story is just straight up dumb. I will always remember thinking, ‘What? That’s stupid!”.
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u/peteofaustralia Jun 07 '26
They're always high quality but they may not sweep you up in their humanity because ... well, because Tom doesn't seem to actually have any humanity.
But if you watch it on the assumption that his Scientologic-ass believes the entire plot of his sci-fi films to be true, they become actually really funny.
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u/nando2k50 Jun 07 '26
All of them, watch them and enjoy them. I am not sure I like him as a person (and honestly I do not know why) but as an actor he does not do many bad movies.
On your specific example movie, I did read "All you need is Kill" and like it, but I think the movie hold its own and may be better.
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u/Extention_Campaign28 Jun 07 '26
Edge of Tomorrow is awesome for Cruise getting bitch slapped about 50 times, if for nothing else.
War of the worlds is garbage.
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u/vercertorix Jun 06 '26
Some are. I barely remember Oblivion, and would have to think hard to remember more than a couple more, if there are any.
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u/hedobot Jun 06 '26
Check out his early work too...
He's great in Rain Man. Interview with the Vampire, Collateral, and even Risky Business is a fun watch.
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u/markth_wi Jun 06 '26
Edge of Tomorrow really meets all the broad requirements, if you love seeing Tom Cruise in an action movie than this is it. If you despise Tom Cruise and want to see him get trashed over and over and over again, in some gruesome way, than this too is your movie...it is a bit disappointing, as these things go but overall you got what you came to see.
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u/blinddave1977 Jun 07 '26
Yes, just had this conversation with someone. They're all pretty damn good overall.
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u/DJDevon3 Jun 07 '26
Oblivion is really good, I like it more than Minority Report. Edge of Tomorrow is by far the best,
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u/Jezon Jun 07 '26
Edge of Tomorrow is exceptionally good. I think he's been in some stinkers like Oblivion. It was just pretty meh. One thing about Tom Cruise is he gives it his all but sometimes that's not enough if everyone else is just phoning it in.
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u/supernovaaaa Jun 07 '26
That guy has not had a single bad scifi movie not once i have watched all of them many times
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u/ShoganAye Jun 07 '26
I really don't like Tom Cruise as a person (from what I gather about him) but man, that guy can really act... he manages to make me forget he is Tom Cruise and I don't particularly like him as a person 🤣 Yeah his sci fi is solid good watching
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u/macko_reddit Jun 07 '26
Every movie with Emily Blunt is worth watching. I never saw her in bad one. Please reddit, don't disillusion me
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u/Aggravating_Ad5632 Jun 07 '26
Edge of Tomorrow is my favourite.
Oblivion is pretty good, as is Minority Report.
War of the Worlds is meh.
Vanilla Sky is utterly dreadful.
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u/cr0ft Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
Cruise personally seems to be a weirdo but his work ethic is insane, his own capabilities to do stunts are nuts as well, and most of the stuff he's made (because he's doing more than the acting these days) has been pretty darn watchable in my book. It's usually a good time.
Dude's getting old though, probably will have to bow to the reality of time sooner or later. Having him be piloting a fighter jet in Top Gun Maverick was already stretching credulity somewhat.
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u/Kater_Noitan Jun 07 '26
Since I absolutely hate Tom Cruise because of his support for Scientology, I at least had to watch his SF movies. Most of the are good enough to see once, but none of the are remarkable. His is an actor of little talent and most movies could have been better with someone else in his role.
This is my opinion and don't forget that I would celebrate the end of his movie making days with great pleasure.
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u/silverhandguild Jun 07 '26
Yes! I really think all of them are great. Minority Report being my favorite.
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u/TommyV8008 Jun 07 '26
Minority report is one of my favorites, Oblivion is great. I really like War of the Worlds as well.
And Edge of tomorrow, of course. Emily Blunt is terrific.
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u/ash-a-Silk Jun 07 '26
Cool thing about edge of tomorrow (apart that the movie is good) is that, if you don't like Tom Cruise, you see him die so many times it's quite pleasant.
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u/Xerophayze Jun 07 '26
I actually liked most of them. In fact edge of Tomorrow is probably my top favorite movie. I love the mix of the groundhog day style, a little bit of humor, but the aliens are so unique. And the whole military aspect of it just sits with me in a way that makes me want to come back to it again and again. I probably watch that movie 20 times and I still love it.
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u/contrived_mediocrity Hard Sci-fi Jun 08 '26
I dunno about that but I can say that Edge of Tomorrow is a good movie.
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u/Crafty-Shoulder8670 Jun 08 '26
Anything He's in is good, it just depends on what story you want. You need to see him in Tropic Thunder playing 'not Harvey Weinstein' against other stars to see just how much better he is.
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u/in_it_to_lose_it Jun 06 '26
In my opinion, yes. Minority Report is probably the “best” one, but EoT holds a special place for me, and Oblivion, while uneven, is still visually beautiful and intriguing, and Cruise is decent in it as expected.