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[BossLackey]

Idk man, Minority Report and Edge of Tomorrow are nearly on Terminator levels. That's not even counting all the crazy Mission Impossible movies.

Very good points. This is so hard! Pluuuus, Tom Cruise is obviously not only the better actor, but a great actor in general.

 

[Nico_D]

Not as long as Die Hard exists. Bruce Willis was better than Cruise when he wasn't grumpy and sick.

I like Cruise and he is perfectly watchable but he just doesn't have the same presence and believability as some of the greats.

 

[BouncyFrag]

Icon:

 

[BouncyFrag]

 

[SJRB]

Arnold is the de facto "80's action star", but man Tom Cruise's output over the last 30 years has been insane.

He has so many great action movies. All the Mission Impossible movies, Edge of Tomorrow, Oblivion, Jack Reacher, War of the Worlds, Collateral, Last Samurai, Minority Report, Top Gun. The list of quality movies is unbelievably long.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

The thing is this is a man that also did Vanila Sky, which shows how much on an actor he is.

 

[Pagusas]

he’s most certainly in the conversation, and gets mad props for doing his own stunts. I think it’s fair to say he’s the best currently active action star.

 

[Y0ssarian]

Nothing that tops Predator.......hmmm have you seen die hard.

 

[Lord Panda]

I liked him as Algren in The Last Samurai

And he was great as Vincent in Collateral.

 

[JCK75]

There is no denying he's an absolute crazy person but his work ethic is unmatched and he makes good shit.

 

[HoodWinked]

Definitely deserves praise.

He's short. Has the scientology baggage. And nearly 60. Yet he still manages to stay relevant and make films that people want to see and does it without CG as the main work horse.

 

[Jaybe]

edit: wrong thread

 

[Wildebeest]

It is impressive that he does his own stunts but on the other hand it's called acting, darling. You are an even better actor if you just pretend to do it.

 

[Melfice7]

Arnold? Jackie Chan? Stallone? come on now...

Tom Cruise is great though

 

[AlteredForms]

I just provided a gif of a movie that I enjoyed. I love the Jack Reacher movies. You may not and that's ok too.

Those who read the books absolutely hated Cruise as Reacher because of his intimidating stature and on the whole they were average at best. Alan Ritchson's portrayal is much more appropriate and the writing superior.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

And he was great as Vincent in Collateral.

Fuck, that film was so good.

 

[Romulus]

I don't think I would like him as a person but the dude is borderline insane when it comes to his craft.
Edge of Tomorrow was great, and is the only modern scifi film that even comes close to the 80-90s films like Predator, Terminator 2, and Aliens. Having Bill Paxton in it was fucking awesome as a bonus.

 

[STARSBarry]

The issue with Tom Cruise is when you compare him to other actors he always comes up Short. Even at his Height he is Dwarfed by other great actors and is simply Squatting in their shadows.

Oh he also goes into a full on tantrum if you mention he's only 5'5, very small minded.

 

[nkarafo]

No, i prefer his serious stuff like Rain Man or Jerry Maguire.

As an action star he is still respectable but behind many others.

 

[DeceptiveAlarm]

No argument. He is the greatest. Stallone, Arnold. They are big and it's fun to watch them beat stuff. They don't have his acting abilities. Stallone comes close. Jackie Chan is all stunts and making funny faces. I do like Bruce Willis though.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

Kojima believes in the Cruise missile

 

[DragoonKain]

This will sound corny, but Tom Cruise being on screen makes me giddy. His charisma. He’s just fun as hell to watch. So many scenes and movies he’s been in I don’t think would’ve been the same without him.

Even a shitty movie like The Mummy, I wanted to watch it because Cruise was in it and loved the scenes with him in it. I never watched a movie because of Arnold or Stallone.

 

[MacReady13]

I like T1 better.

I mean, who doesn't??? Greatest action/sci fi film of all time! T2 is a masterpiece though.

 

[DragoonWalker]

Recency bias. Fallout is great but it's also a dying breed of movie with no competition. Like fellow action star Keanu Cruise is one of the last action stars from the tail end of an era where action stars alone could carry a movie. He's one of the last we got still active, so that's why he's always in the conversation.

He's as daring as they come and he might be a better actor than any of just about anyone else pigeonholed into "action star", but I think the latter actually works against him. To be a truly great action star in my mind you have to be intense during the action, but (for a lack of a better word) dull and sincere outside of it. Just look at Keanu. He's not known for doing insane stunts, is a really limited actor, but people love him. Cruise is not blue collar enough feeling, he's too sharp, too handsome, too good of an actor. In terms of accomplishments, as others have said, has he really beaten Arnold in physical presence and Chan in terms of stunts, and the movies that made them? Their movies that defined the genre forever? That's real hard to argue for.

Maybe you can make a better argument for him being better than Stallone and Willis, who have spotty records outside of their key franchises, but even then those guys get by on the same x factor, their perceived presence as these working class blokes/down on their luck dudes in shit situations you can really root for. That everyman relatability (even if in fact, Stallone and Willis are known to be real life assholes). Cruise is just missing something crucial in that department. He's too intense, all the time, like there's no off switch, and at least I've never felt like I can connect with him as a person or a character.

EDIT: The Rock has this vibe I'm talking about, but his filmography is pretty shitty overall so that keeps him from greatness.

Arnold is the de facto "80's action star", but man Tom Cruise's output over the last 30 years has been insane.

He has so many great action movies. All the Mission Impossible movies, Edge of Tomorrow, Oblivion, Jack Reacher, War of the Worlds, Collateral, Last Samurai, Minority Report, Top Gun. The list of quality movies is unbelievably long.

Of those movies only Mission Impossible series, Collateral, and Top Gun would I consider among "great all time action movies". The others are decent or even great films but not really that amazing as action films go. Certainly not in the breath as the classics of the 80s and 90s.

 

[Kamina]

No Arnold is.
But Tom is a great actor. Last Samurai is one of my favorites.

 

[Clear]

Just being in great action movies does not make a great action star by itself. The performer's image needs to synonymous with the genre.
Cruise is a great and versatile actor, most of all big time Hollywood star, but he's not an icon within action movies in the same way that Arnold or Stallone is..

 

[BadBurger]

IMO it comes down to him, Harrison Ford, and Keanu Reeves. They all have numerous iconic action roles that bridged generations.

 

[AmuroChan]

I love me some Arnold and Stallone and JC, but you have to respect the kind of dedication that TC puts into his movies. What other actor today would go spend a year getting a helicopter license just to film a 10-minute sequence in a movie? The other thing that people forget is that TC isn't just an action movie star, some of his dramatic roles were critically acclaimed as well. You can find quite a number of people who would say their favorite TC movie is Jerry Maguire.

 

[Robot Carnival]

I would say Tom Cruise is a great actor who I respect when it comes to his work. he really puts himself into his roles and is also one of the most charismatic actors out there. but there are definitely better "action stars" out there. can't wait to watch Top Gun 2 in a few weeks thou.

 

[GymWolf]

Not even close.

 

[phranctoast]

He hasn’t even been in an Expendables movie….
But seriously. He’s a great actor with versatile roles. Action isn’t what I immediately think of when I think of Cruise but you can’t deny those MI movies and him doing his own stunts.

 

[jufonuk]

I love me some Tom Cruise action movies but he doesn't have a single movie that can top the Trifecta of Action Perfection that is: Conan, Predator, and Terminator 1.

Aliens is in that list. You know it makes sense. Yeah and the running man of and Robocop. So a Sexfecta?

 

[Airbus Jr]

Agree with you tom cruise is the best

Theres other great legend like schwarztneger, stallone, jackie chan, jcvd, dolph ludngren, jet li, keanu, seagall, cage, etc

However he still stands out among others

His dedication, charisma, work ethics and longevity is just unparalelled and simply amazing the others have gone but here we are still having an actor nearing his 60 doing his own stuns

Before he retires i want him to become the superior ironman weve been waiting for and complete the circle

Tom Cruise truly is the current Messi/ Ronaldo of action movie one of the best in his era

 

[Punished Miku]

He does his own stunts, he puts a ton of work into his craft, like learning martial arts and stuff in the movie Collateral(which isn't an action movie) but just an example. His movies are incredibly thrilling and entertaining.

Tommy C is the GOAT.

Arnold and Stallone have been in a lot of great movies, but they don't put nearly the dedication or mastery of stunts and combat like Cruise does. The reason I put Tom Cruise as the GOAT is because I think Arnold and Stallone are the product of the production teams and Tom Cruise genuinely makes the movies he's in great.

It's just a different era. Stallone certainly busted his ass working on Rocky. The behind the scenes stuff on Predator shows that Arnold was a natural leader on set and helped elevate the pic.

Cruise has held on long enough to benefit from the post-Matrix film era. People didn't really do their own stunts or learn martial arts until after the Matrix showed it could be done.