The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 621: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Camping, and Rock Climbing
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome.
Mark and Niall discuss the infamous 1989 sequel Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Directed by William Shatner, and starring Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, and William Shatner, the movie focuses on what happens when a god needs a starship. In this episode, they also talk about camping scenes, bad decisions and oops moments.
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
Share this post:
MY CALL: I hope you were looking for a flick that’s all sorts of gross. Because that’s what you’re going to get! MORE MOVIES LIKE Street Trash: Well, there’s obviously the original cult classic Street Trash (1987). For more “melt horror” consider The Devil’s Rain (1975), The Incredible Melting Man (1977), Slime City (1988), The Blob (1988), and Body Melt (1993). And for more South African horror, consider Zygote (2017), Fried Barry (2020) and Gaia (2021).
The future is wrought with corporate monopolies, government control, and an ever-shrinking middle class and growing lower class. Homeless populations have grown tremendously. To solve this problem, the mayor has ordered experiments on vagrants to test a toxic agent called Viper, which literally melts those exposed from the inside-out into piles of colorful gobbledygook.
As if competing with the opening scene from the 1987 original, the first death scene is a spectacle. Guts pour out of the victim’s abdomen onto the floor as he oozes purple slime from his eyes, ears and other orifices, including projectile vomit. His skin pulsates and sloughs off in big chonkety chunks as he screams and peels off his own face. The opening death scene award goes to 1987 in my opinion, but not for lack of a great effort from 2024, which is still extra gross and sloppy!
A goofy nice touch is that one homeless guy (Gary Green; Fried Barry) has a raunchy blue goblin imaginary friend (i.e., drug-induced schizoid delusion). Unfortunately, later in the movie this becomes more tired and annoying than charming and quirky. Also like 1987, there is a long-running severed phallus gag. So, yeah, in case you were wondering—it’s that kind of slapstick movie.
But the gore is why you showed up, right? Faces fall right off of skulls, bones melt and collapse under the victim’s own bodyweight, and slime geysers from bodily orifices. Victims pour out variously colored slime, they pulsate and bubble and rupture, they leave disembodied partially disintegrated limbs behind as they crawl for help, and they all become gross pieces of macabre performance art.
Director Ryan Kruger (Fried Barry) takes the short film-turned cult classic Street Trash(1984, 1987) and contemporizes it with corrupt government officials. This remake is just as deliberately classless as its source material—and I applaud that. The writing, acting, budget, effects and direction feel on par with the original as well. If anything, the greatest improvement is in its pacing. The greatest change is the form and implementation of Viper (just some old, mysterious liquor in 1987), now having a more deliberate RoboCop-ish (1987) utility in this dystopian corporate future. And speaking of RoboCop (1987), one death scene seems to homage the toxic waste mutant exploding when struck by a car.
The final 20-30 minutes are loaded with action. But we just keep seeing the same gore gags over and over again during clumsy action scenes. As much action as there was, I found this final act on the verge of boring with a few momentary exceptions—e.g., an exploding gory breast.
This remake certainly had its moments. But if I’m being totally honest, I favor original. They’re both fun bad movies. Yet 1987 just felt more organically “so bad it’s good.” Whereas this remake is trying too hard to be “so bad it’s good.”
Share this post:
John’s Horror Corner: Grafted (2024), Face/Off meets Re-Animator-LITE in this gross medical body horror.
MY CALL: Combining elements of foreign horror, Face/Off (1997), and Re-Animator (1985) give this directorial debut much quirky spunk. MORE MOVIES LIKE Grafted: Not much). For more New Zealand horror, try Bad Taste (1987), Dead-Alive (1992), Black Sheep (2006), Housebound (2014), Deathgasm (2015) and What We Do in the Shadows (2015). For more regeneration-gone-wrong horror, I’d recommend Re-Animator (1985), Rejuvenator (1988), Death Becomes Her (1992), and The Substance (2024).
The daughter of a medical researcher, Wei (Joyena Sun) bears a large, discolored birthmark on her face. The opening death scene is an entertaining spectacle of an experimental skin graft-gone-wrong that regeneratively expands to seal its recipient’s mouth and nostrils shut, leading to her father’s death. Some time after losing her father to a horrible biomedical accident, she moves to New Zealand to live with her cousin (Jess Hong; 3 Body Problem) and aunt (Xiao Hu) for college.
Wei tries to make new friends, and does so in the nicest ways. But her culture, interests, and even her food are off-putting to these Kiwi-brand Mean Girls. So Wei’s only support comes from her professor (Jared Turner; 30 Days of Night).
Playing a bit off the aged coattails of Re-Animator (1985), Wei has her father’s research notebook and intends to continue this research as a lab assistant under her professor. And also like Re-Animator (1985), her academic superior aims to steal her research for personal gain.
Some Mean Girls blackmail her, a girlfight-turned accidental death transpires, a little medical self-mutilation, and some ad-hoc experimentation take the movie in an interesting direction. Throw in some Face/Off-esque (1997) face swapping and identity theft, and we have a proper vehicle for some catty-motivated revenge. Yeah, it gets weird.
This film offers a refreshing cultural crossover—the kind we need more often. Many of the characters speak Mandarin, the film takes place mostly in New Zealand, and it was written and directed by women. In fact, this was director Sasha Rainbow’s first feature film. This film is very well made, decently written and acted, and has just enough gore gags and murder to maintain good pacing. Pretty nice job!
Share this post:
MY CALL: Another average horror anthology. This one has some good messages, yet lacks the execution to feel impactful. MORE MOVIES LIKE Horror Noire: For more “horror noir”, consider trying Def by Temptation (1990), A Vampire in Brooklyn (1995), Tales from the Hood (1995), Bones (2001), Get Out (2017), Us (2019), Lovecraft Country (2020), Spell (2020), Candyman (2021), and Them (2021-2024). There is also the documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019).
MORE HORROR ANTHOLOGIES: Dead of Night (1945), Black Sabbath (1963), Tales from the Crypt (1972), The Vault of Horror (1973), The Uncanny (1977), Screams of a Winter Night (1979), Creepshow (1982), Screamtime (1983), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye (1985), Deadtime Stories (1986), Creepshow 2 (1987), From a Whisper to a Scream (1987; aka The Offspring), After Midnight (1989), Tales from the Crypt Season 1 (1989), Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990), Grimm Prairie Tales (1990), The Willies (1990), Two Evil Eyes (1990), Body Bags (1993), Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993), Tales from the Hood (1995), Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996), Campfire Tales (1997), Dark Tales of Japan (2004), 3 Extremes (2004), Creepshow 3 (2006), Trick ‘r Treat (2007), Chillerama (2011), Little Deaths (2011), V/H/S (2012), The Theater Bizarre (2012), The ABCs of Death (2013), V/H/S 2 (2013), All Hallows’ Eve (2013), The Profane Exhibit (2013), The ABCs of Death 2 (2014), V/H/S Viral (2014), Southbound (2015), Tales of Halloween (2015), A Christmas Horror Story (2015), The ABCs of Death 2.5 (2016), Holidays (2016), Terrified (2017; aka Aterrados, a pseudo-anthology), Oats Studios, Vol. 1 (2017), Ghost Stories (2017), XX (2017), All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018), The Field Guide to Evil (2018), Nightmare Cinema (2018), Blood Clots (2018), Deathcember (2019), Shudder’s series Creepshow (2019-2021), Scare Package (2019), The Mortuary Collection (2019), Xenophobia (2019), V/H/S/94 (2021), Netflix’s series Cabinet of Curiosities (2022), V/H/S/99 (2022), V/H/S/85 (2023) and V/H/S/Beyond (2024).
Whenever I encounter a horror movie that really fits my interests (e.g., horror anthologies) that was released years ago and I somehow never even heard of it, I wonder how it flew under my radar. Sometimes these under-advertised or (on streaming apps) under-auto-recommended movies become little hidden indie gems for whom I want to run down the halls of the internet announcing my accolades. And other times, well, there was perhaps a reason I hadn’t heard of them. Horror Noir unfortunately is the latter.
Still, for those seeking a variety grab-bag of horror concepts, this anthology features a giant spider, murderous cults, a siren-like lake monster, family curses, a doppelganger, magical runes, vampires, occult Nazi symbology, and some social commentary on black issues. In this case, there is a theme uniting all the stories. However, the theme does not link the stories or characters in any way.
So, let’s review the segments…
———————
The Lake—A single woman (Lesley-Ann Brandt; Lucifer, Spartacus) and her cat move into a lake house shortly after an alligator attack killed the local pastor and a child. In classic troped up style, a wise, old harbinger-type warns her not to swim in the lake and tells her the sad story. But, perhaps feeling drawn to the lake, or just dismissing the old man’s warnings, she swims in the lake and develops cravings. Her personality begins to change, and even her body changes.
This starts out okay and closes as dumb as it gets… even in terms of monster make-up.
Brand of Evil—A street artist (Brandon Mychal Smith; Appendage) is hired by a wealthy white man to illustrate a specific symbol based on vague verbal instructions. Yes, of course it looks like some magical rune or occult glyph or whatever. The pay is so good he turns his back on his community, and the demands for more illustrations come in fast. But as the commissioned symbols are completed, black people in the community die bloody deaths. The obvious themes here are temptation and greed overcoming duty, honor and loyalty (and everything else).
The premise is interesting, but the execution just isn’t there. The finale evil that is conjured is laughable and sadly cheapens the entire segment with hokiness.
Bride Before You—After desperately trying all honorable means to become pregnant to avoid being cast out by her husband (Sean Patrick Thomas; Halloween: Resurrection, Dracula 2000, The Burrowers), a wealthy woman (Lenora Crichlow; Being Human) seeks dark magic to solve her problems. After the birth of her son (Tyriq Withers; Him), the cost she paid is that her home is forever inhabited with a dark presence.
This was among the stronger segments… in at least some ways. Still, I’d just say watch Cobweb (2023) instead. But this one had stronger allegory in its resolution.
Fugue State—Cult researcher Dr. Berry (Malcolm Barrett; Preacher) is proselytized into a cult of his own investigation. It’s not riveting. But things get just weird enough to remain interesting as he attempts to convince his wife to join him to “church.” Maybe go watch something like Faults (2014) if you want the top tier version of this. But this wasn’t half bad, and it was nice seeing a cameo by Tony Todd (Final Destination, Hatchet, Wishmaster).
Daddy—A father receives an ominous warning from an elderly fellow, and then the father suffers a scare. He receives more, and less kind, fatherly anecdotes from the older stranger, and is overcome with a paranoid protectiveness of his son. We wander into an ill-executed “fear of the other” situation. Ultimately, there are good bones in this script. It just could have been done better.
Sundown—A campaign team for a black West Virginia political candidate find themselves stranded in a historically racist “sundown town” after dark. The creepy fiddle-playing mayor (Peter Stormare; Constantine) leads them to an evening dinner party with a questionable main course. This was the most fun segment, as it was horror-comedy and decently executed despite a painfully limited budget for the almost-all-off-screen action and gore.
———————
The production value in this anthology is good-ish (until you judge any gore or monster effects), the acting is fine-ish, but the content and writing itself seems to be the prevalent shortcoming. Still, this wasn’t bad. Not regrettable anyway. Just also not very recommendable.
Share this post:
The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 620: Alien 3 (1992), David Fincher and Sigourney Weaver
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome.
Mark and Norbert discuss the infamous 1992 sequel Alien 3. Directed by David Fincher, and starring Sigourney Weaver, Charles Dance, Charles S. Dutton, and a super fast xenomorph, the movie focuses on what happens when a xenomorph runs amok inside an isolated prison. In this episode, they also talk about director’s cuts, troubled productions, and the Alien franchise.
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
Share this post:
Fight or Flight (2025) – Review
Quick thoughts:
- Grade – B
- I can now say that I’ve seen Josh Hartnett and action movie legend Marko Zaror fight each other in a swanky airplane bathroom.
- Sporting a bleach-blond haircut, and a bulked-up frame that worked wonders for him in last year’s Trap. The 6’ 3” (1.91m) Hartnett towers over his opponents and believably holds his own.
- Charithra Chandran is cool.
- DP Matt Flannagan (The Raid, The Raid 2) knows how to film a fight.
Fight or Flight revolves around an ex-secret service agent and current alcoholic named Lucas Reyes (Josh Hartnett) being pulled from a Bangkok bar to track down a blackhat terrorist nicknamed “The Ghost.” Reyes was once a respectable secret service agent, but after some job-related violence, Interpol slapped a Red Notice on him and for two years he’s been hounded by cops, bounty hunters and criminals. In a good news, bad news situation, Reyes has gotten into so many fights that he’s become a Hawaiian-shirt-wearing weapon who sports a year-round black eye. To take it further, Reyes is such a badass that even with a failing liver and permanent dehydration he can still fight his way out of any bar in Bangkok.
To catch “The Ghost,” Reyes is put on a 16-hour international flight from Bangkok to San Francisco. To get on the flight, his handler Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackhoff) gets him new passports and promises him a clean slate if he can bring in the uber-hacker alive. The “fight” in Flight or Flight occurs when Reyes learns that there’s a bounty on the infamous hacker. This means Reyes has to hunt down a ghost and keep them alive when dozens of money-hungry assassins start attacking them on the double-decker A3 plane. An added wrinkle is that since he’s been drinking himself to death for two years, Reyes has to keep chugging miniature bottles of booze to prevent the mother of all withdrawal hangovers – which won’t help him when he’s battling five assassins in the aisles of the economy seating section. During the violent flight, Reyes teams up with flight attendant Isha (Charithra Chandran), who helps him scour the plane and dispatch various killers throughout the seemingly endless compartments.
The highlights of Fight or Flight come from watching Harnett get stabbed, punched, shot, drugged, and loaded with toad venom. Sporting a bleach-blond haircut, and a bulked-up frame that worked wonders for him in last year’s Trap. The 6’ 3” (1.91m) Hartnett towers over his opponents and believably holds his own against action movie legend Marko Zaror (watch Fist of the Condor – it rules). In interviews, Harnett said that he had a great time doing his own stunts and he had a blast playing a badass alcoholic who has consumed so many intoxicants that attempts to drug him aren’t successful (you can’t pickle a pickle).
Directed by James Madigan, who is no stranger to action scenes because he’s worked as the second unit director on See, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Snake Eyes, The Meg, and G.I. Joe Retaliation. His background with visual effects and shooting action scenes allows Fight or Flight to stretch its budget so it can go all-out on the chaos. The cinematography from Matt Flannagan (The Raid, The Raid, Merantu, Havoc, Gangs of London) is self-assured and understands the movements and structure of each brawl. Flannagan has worked on some of the best action films of the 21st century, which means the fight coverage is solid and the various brawls aren’t edited into oblivion. The highlight of the film is a bathroom fight between Hartnett and Marko Zaror. It’s a brutal affair loaded with broken glass, spin kicks and brain matter being stuck to the ceiling of the spacious bathroom.
The high-concept script from writers Brooks McLaren and D.J. Cotrona is inspired, and despite there being way too much plot and far too many characters, the 97 minutes fly by.
Share this post:
Thunderbolts* (2025) – Review
Quick Thoughts:
- Grade – B
- Florence Pugh is perfection. She delivers one of the best-ever performances in an MCU film
- I like that it aspires to be nothing more than a fun movie (and a back-to-basics style experience)
- Lewis Pullman, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Sebastian Stan and Wyatt Russell work well together.
- Once again, Florence Pugh is really good. It’s no surprise, but Thunderbolts* proves she can lead giant tentpole films.
- It’s a clunky film with a lot of wedged-in dialogue for people who haven’t watched every single MCU movie/show, but it still manages to be a good time
- DP Andrew Droz Palermo (A Ghost Story, The Green Knight) and production designer Grace Yun (Hereditary, Past Lives, Beef, First Reformed) do good work within the MCU confines
- I want a party limo
After years of watching Marvel Cinematic Universe properties that feature sun restoration, Egyptian gods, pissed-off witches, quantum realms, and quip-loving gods, watching a group of earth-bound antiheroes bickering about how to escape an underground bunker is very refreshing. I love all-powerful shenanigans and pissed-off witches, but after years of CGI smack-em-ups, sometimes you need to watch a Russian assassin bicker with a “dime-store Captain America” about handgun size.” Thunderbolts* is not a return to form for the MCU, but it’s proof Kevin Feige and crew are attempting to refocus on engaging characters who team up with other engaging characters to battle world-ending threats.
Led by Florence Pugh, who gives an all-time best MCU performance, Thunderbolts* works because of its focus on superheroes who have a hard time lifting large pieces of building rubble. The film revolves around a melancholy Yelena Belova (Pugh), who after the events of Black Widow and Avengers: Endgame is working odd jobs for CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). The off-the-book missions have her destroying well-guarded Malaysian laboratories and other black sites that house secrets Valentina would like buried. Yelena hasn’t talked to her “dad” Alexei “Red Guardian” Shostakov (David Harbour – loving life) in over a year, and when she finally visits him, he says “The light inside you is dim, even by Eastern European standards.” To get a “more public-facing” gig that will give her life some meaning, Helena makes a deal with de Fontaine (the “de” is stressed) to go on one more job. She’s tasked with stopping Ava “Ghost” Starr (Hannah John-Kamen) from breaking into a top secret location. During her mission, she’s attacked by John “US Agent” Walker (Wyatt Russell), who is in turn attacked by Antonia “Taskmaster” Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko). After a brief fight that releases a guy named Bob (Lewis Pullman) from cryo-sleep (or something like it), the group realizes they were sent to the location to be incinerated by de Fontaine – who because of a governmental inquiry is killing off loose ends. After surviving incineration, the collection of misfits work together to escape the cavernous facility in one of the funniest moments in MCU history.
As always, writing about MCU films is tough because there is a lot to spoil. I can say that there’s a great chase involving a “bulletproof” limo and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) gets a badass hero moment while riding a motorcycle. Also, it’s a delight watching the Thunderbolts* punching and shooting their way through villains. None of them can fly, so it’s nice that the ending doesn’t feature two all-powerful characters punching each other through buildings.
The script by Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow) and Joanna Calo (The Bear, BoJack Horseman, Hacks) is fun and engaging and does a fine job smashing characters from several different properties together to create a likable team. The constant bickering and quippy lines don’t slow down the proceedings and David Harbour’s nonstop enthusiasm feels earnest instead of overbearing. The straightforward story is nice and it moves in a logical manner which allows the “anti-social tragedies in human form” to argue and bond. There are also small touches like Alexei’s limo business slogan “Protecting You From Boring Evening,” and in a nice grounding touch, the group is named after Yelena’s childhood soccer team.
DP Andrew Droz Palermo (A Ghost Story, The Green Knight) and production designer Grace Yun (Hereditary, Past Lives, Beef, First Reformed) do good work within the MCU confines and must’ve enjoyed adding a little bit of grit and texture to the blockbuster film. After Thor: Love and Thunder, Captain America: Brave New World, The Marvels, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it’s nice seeing an MCU film shooting in actual locations. There’s a lot of VFX involved and massive sets were built, but they don’t overpower the proceedings.
The MVP of the film is Florence Pugh, who delivers a thoughtful and impressive performance. The Academy Award-nominated actor has excelled in movies like Midsommar, Little Women, Lady Macbeth and Fighting With my Family, but with Thunderbolts* she proves she can lead a tentpole blockbuster. Between Black Widow and Hawkeye, Pugh’s Helena has been a solid supporting character, but now she’s ready to lead. You can tell that director Jake Schreier respects and trusts Pugh because he gives her a lot to do and lets the camera linger on her while she monologues and deals with her past.
Final Thoughts – Thunderbolts* is a good time and I’d love to see this group again.
Share this post:
The Surfer (2024) – Review
Quick Thoughts:
- Grade – B+
- Between Mandy, Color out of Space, Willy’s Wonderland, Longlegs, Arcadian, Dream Scenario and Prisoners of the Ghostland, Nicolas Cage has appeared in some wonderful genre films since 2016.
- I’d love to see a series of films featuring Cage having a terrible time in a parking lot.
- Director Lorcan Finnegan (Vivarium, The Surfer) loves trapping potential home buyers in a remote location.
- The usage of colors is excellent.
The best way to describe director Lorcan Finnegan’s latest film is that it features Nicolas Cage having a terrible time in a parking lot. The almost single-location film features another fun descent into madness for Cage who is no stranger to losing his mind for cinema. Between The Wicker Man, Mandy, Dream Scenario, Pig, and Color Out of Space, It’s fun watching the world attempting to squash him. Cage is one of cinema’s all-time great sufferers because you simultaneously feel bad for him as he suffers, but you kind of enjoy when a barefoot Cage steps on glass after getting a flat white coffee dumped on him.
The Surfer revolves around a stressed-out surfer (Cage) who takes his son to an Australian beach that is near his childhood home. After years of waiting and working tirelessly to raise funds, the sprawling beach house he grew up in has finally gone back on the market and he plans on spending the entirety of his amassed wealth acquiring it. His goal is that the house will help him reunite with his estranged wife (who wants him to sign their divorce papers) and son, whom he wants to spend more time with. The plan of the beach trip is for his son to see the beautiful house while waiting to catch an Indian Ocean wave. Before they can get in the water, they are stopped by local surfers led by a well-tanned dude with comically white teeth named Scally (Julian McMahon), who won’t allow them to surf the waves. This sets off a chain of events involving stolen surfboards, towed cars, dead phone batteries, and the consumption of dirty bathroom sink water.
The local police are no help, so the surfer lingers around the parking lot waiting for the perfect moment to retrieve his stolen surfboard (which never comes) From there, everything goes wrong as the single water fountain in the area is covered with dog poop, and the only person who is nice to him is a photographer (Miranda Tapsell) who helps him hold on to what’s left of his sanity.
You can almost feel Cage’s brain boiling as he drifts around the Australian parking lot looking for food, water and anybody who will listen to him. Finnegan and DP Radzek Ladczuk add a nice layer of hard light which adds to the sun-baked atmosphere that pays homage to the sun-baked worlds of epic Ozploitation films Wake in Fright and Walkabout. The use of colors is excellent as the rusty orange buildings, faded yellow memories and red hoodie that Scally wears work wonders for the overall aesthetic. Scally’s red hoodie helps him give off an evil Jesus vibe (which the director intended), and it pairs well with his absurd tan (and whiter-than-white teeth) that took 40 minutes to apply each shooting day.
Influenced by movies like The Swimmer (1968) and After Hours (1985), The Surfer is a classic “guy has a rough go of it” experience and it was an inspired idea to cast Cage as the guy who has a rough go of it. In an interview with Empire Magazine, Cage said that he listened to the House of Pain song “Jump Around” to let his “inner-caveman” out during the production – and it’s a joy watching his evolution from a stressed-out businessman to a raspy-voiced dehydrated guy with chapped lips and stomach pains caused by dirty water. It would be a shame to spoil how it ends, just know that the film explores toxic masculinity, crushed dreams, and successful stubbornness.
Share this post:
The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 619: Stoker (2013), Park Chan-wook, and Terrible Uncles
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome.
Mark and Zanandi talk about the 2013 thriller Stoker. Directed by the legendary Park Chan-wook, and starring Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska, and Matthew Goode, the movie focuses on what happens when a shifty uncle stokes up a bunch of problems for a grieving family. In this episode, they also talk about piano scenes, new shoes, and the overall excellence of Stoker.
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
Share this post:
Earlier this year, in anticipation of the release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, I decided to rank all of Tom Cruise’s running scenes in the franchise. I’d worked on several M:I data pieces for various companies and figured it would be easy to rank the 100ish running moments. When the list was completed – it felt incomplete, so I decided to rank all of the running scenes in his filmography. Starting with 1981’s Endless Love, and finishing with 2023’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. Cruise had gone to extreme lengths for his films, so I decided to honor his hard work by putting together this absurd list.
Here’s what you need to know about the list:
- I found and ranked 295 moments
- I counted running, sprinting and jogging. The amount of time doesn’t matter either. In Top Gun there’s a one-second shot of him running to hit a volleyball. It was included.
- A short blurb was included for list items 295 – 26
- Timestamps have been included for the top 25. Some of the timestamps may be a little off for you. It depends on where/how you watch the movies. For me, it was a mixture of DVDs, Blu-rays, Vudu and streaming channels.
- I researched the top 10 scenes and wrote more about them (and included YouTube links)
- This list is obviously subjective, but after going through Cruise’s filmography for the fourth time since 2018, I am very happy with the top 10
- There is zero chance that our lists will match up, so don’t be surprised if the 295 moments don’t line up with your list.
- For some of the scenes, I split them up into moments. I just went with the flow of the scene and if he stops for a moment or the scene cuts to someone else – I split up the running moment into parts.
- I’ve worked on some fun Tom Cruise running assignments (here and here) since 2018 (thanks to Reddit) so I had the timestamps handy. I still went ahead and rewatched all the scenes for a refresher.
- I love this quote from his X profile.
Here’s the list!
295. Losin’ It – Quick moment featuring Cruise starting to run.
294. Losin’ It – He runs to get into a car.
293. Losin’ It – While being chased by some people he runs to the convertible (again).
292. Top Gun – He runs to hit a volleyball.
291. Mission: Impossible II – Cruise runs up some stairs.
290. Top Gun – Quick run before going up some steps.
289. Days of Thunder – Jogs through a parking garage to catch Nicole Kidman.
288. The Firm – Stair running.
287. Legend – Hell prison crouched jogging.
286. The Mummy – Cruise runs to his horse.
285. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – A little bit of running to a safe car.
284. The Firm – Super fast house running.
283. Mission: Impossible – Jogs to a ladder.
282. Taps – Runs to get to the front of other students (does it with ease).
281. Taps – Jogs to Timothy Hutton.
280. Knight and Day – Duck and run.
279. All the Right Moves – He can’t catch the running back.
278. Mission: Impossible III – Quick run through Vatican catacombs.
277. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – Mardi Gras running (I combined 5 quick running moments – one/two seconds each).
276. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – Runs away from Ilsa when she’s shooting at him in the opera.
275. Mission: Impossible III – Runs towards a car and steals it.
274. Legend – Forest running.
273. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – Runs through gunfire to get to Alec Baldwin.
272. Risky Business – Front door running.
271. Jerry Maguire – Panicked running to get back to the office after meeting with Jay Mohr.
270. Cocktail – He jumps out of a car and runs to get on a bus.
269. The Outsiders – Animated moment involving him running around the corner of a house.
268. Oblivion – Runs and hides for cover behind a pillar.
267. All the Right Moves – Mud running on a football field.
266. Knight and Day – Sprints through a jungle.
265. Legend – Hell prison running.
264. Legend – More hell prison running.
263. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Kremlin running.
262. Legend – More hell prison running and crouching.
261. Mission: Impossible 2 – Sneaky running through a tunnel.
260. Rain Man – He runs across a street. It’s fine.
259. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – Rain Jogging.
258. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Flashback running.
257. Rain Man – He runs to help Raymond who is standing in the middle of a street.
256. Edge of Tomorrow – “We’ve been through worse.” Cage and Rita make a final fun at the aliens.
255. Legend – Snow running.
254. Edge of Tomorrow – Running with a limp.
253. Mission: Impossible III – Cruise helps Keri Russell.
252. Mission: Impossible III – More help running Russell. Cruise loves a spin move.
251. Mission: Impossible III – MORE help running Russell.
250. Legend – More snow running.
249. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – He runs for cover whilst inside a tunnel.
248. The Mummy – More running away from the Mummy.
247. The Mummy – Even more running from the Mummy.
246. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Prison running.
245. The Mummy – He runs away from the mummy and some rats.
244. Mission: Impossible III – Shrub running followed by hospital running.
243. The Mummy – Runs away from zombies.
242. The Mummy – More running away from zombies.
241. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Train running.
240. Edge of Tomorrow – He manages to outrun an exploding helicopter.
239. Knight and Day – Rescue running.
238. Mission: Impossible III – Runs into a room and shoots a goon.
237. All the Right Moves – Runs onto a football field.
236. Taps – He leads a group of students to the front.
235. Legend – Running away from little demons.
234. Taps – Runs with a gun.
233. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – New Orleans running.
232. The Firm – He runs into his office to answer a phone call.
231. Cocktail – Beach running!
230. War of the Worlds – Runs behind a car door.
229. War of the Worlds – Crowd running.
228. Minority Report – Runs down a platform (3 seconds) and puts on a shirt.
227. Oblivion – Med Kit running.
226. War of the Worlds – Sprints out of the way of a crashing alien ship.
225. The Mummy – Gallops away from Russell Crowe.
224. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Sewer running.
223. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Quick train run followed by parachuting.
222. The Mummy – He runs to grab a weapon.
221. The Color of Money – Cruises runs across a street to chat with Paul Newman.
220. Minority Report – Runs around the precog platform.
219. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Runs to a fight in Venice.
218. Risky Business – Jumps off his car and runs to the front door of a house.
217. Born on the Fourth of July – Intense snow running during wrestling practice.
216. Rain Man – He notices that Raymond is gone so he runs out of the phone booth.
215. Days of Thunder – Runs to Nicole Kidman’s car.
214. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – He runs across a street and goes up some steps.
213. War of the Worlds – Stair running followed by a bit of street running. He then runs into his backyard.
212. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Runs inside a shelter during a sandstorm. There’s a few more running moments during the gunfight.
211. All the Right Moves – He runs outside to smooch Leah Thompson.
210. Edge of Tomorrow – He runs up to a bridge to see the aliens attacking.
209. Edge of Tomorrow – Training Cruise.
208. Legend – Runs through a closing hell gate.
207. Legend – Cruise runs to pick up a sword to battle Darkness.
206. All The Right Moves – He goes for the man and not the ball.
205. Far and Away – Snow running.
204. Mission: Impossible III – “Get down!” Cruise runs from gunfire coming from an helicopter.
203. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Tight Venice alley running.
202. War of the Worlds – Running through the woods while carrying Dakota Fanning.
201. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Crouched running to a car.
200. War of the Worlds – Cruise gets his family on a ferry. Then, they run through the ferry.
199. Mission: Impossible III – More “Get down, stay down” shenanigans. He does jump over a car – which is fun.
198. The Firm – Runs around his back yard.
197. Eyes Wide Shut – Run across a street and towards a cab.
196. Jerry Maguire – Runs through the rain to get to make some copies of his manifesto.
195. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Runs into a building.
194. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Sand running.
193. Far and Away – Runs with a mule and a gun.
192. Mission: Impossible III – Bridge running capped off with a fun slide.
191. American Made – Are we running? – Tom runs to grab his cash.
190. Far and Away – Irish fog running.
189. War of the Worlds – Cruise runs and grabs Fanning.
188. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – He makes a move through a couple closing doors and runs after a food truck.
187. Oblivion – Sand running to help Julia. He also runs back to his ship.
186. Oblivion – He lands his plane and runs to Julia.
185. Rain Man – He runs through his house after the fire alarm goes off.
184. Cocktail – Running in white pants. Brave move.
183. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – More Venice running.
182. Cocktail – Cruise jets past a pair of bouncers.
181. Interview With the Vampire – Creepy Cruise Running.
180. Risky Business – He runs in his backyard with some lawn gear.
179. Top Gun: Maverick – Beach running while playing football.
178. The Mummy – He runs up stairs to get away from the mummy. Good form.
177. Legend – Runs and jumps into a lake so he can get a ring. He doesn’t play.
176. Far and Away – Jumps off a train and runs through a field.
175. Jack Reacher – Quarry running.
174. Jack Reacher – More quarry running.
173. Endless Love – Plays Soccer, takes off shirt and sits down.
172. The Firm – Runs with books. I like prop running.
171. Mission: Impossible – Disguised as a firefighter jogging.
170. Cocktail – Mice crane shot of him running through the snow. He has props too.
169. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – He runs away from the hideout, talks to Ilsa and runs down a hallway.
168. War of the Worlds – Basement running.
167. Mission: Impossible III – Puddle running followed by a run up to an abandoned factory.
166. War of the Worlds – “Stay together” Cruise chases after his kid.
165. Jack Reacher – He runs up some steps and kicks a door in while holding a gun – Impressive.
164. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – He runs across an elevator to get to a ladder.
163. Mission: Impossible 2 – He shoots two guys and runs to steal one of their motorcycles.
162. Jerry Maguire – Jerry runs to the field through a dark hallway – He’s booking it.
161. War of the Worlds – Field running followed by a run into a basement.
160. Minority Report – Jumps off a bed and grabs a guy.
159. Collateral – Runs away from a crashed taxi.
158. Oblivion – Gets blown backwards after running to save a person.
157. Risky Business – He leaves a cab, runs along the street and to an apartment.
156. Edge of Tomorrow – Runs away from an alien to grab a gun.
155. Far and Away – Irish hill running.
154. The Last Samurai – He runs before a battle. Solid crouch running/jogging.
153. Far and Away – Irish hill running.
152. Mission: Impossible III – He runs from the MI crew and gets darted in a hospital parking lot.
151. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Cruise pulls a slick move on some Italian guys.
150. Mission: Impossible III – Bridge running followed by a loooooonnnnggg jump.
149. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – “Open the door!” – More prison running.
148. War of the Worlds – They get out of the water and run on the shore and through some woods. Legit wet running.
147. Knight and Day – Ducks and runs when Cameron Diaz starts shooting.
146. Born on the Fourth of July – Rounds up a team before a battle. Things go bad.
145. War of the Worlds – Rachel! Runs to protect his daughter.
144. Legend – Swamp running to save a quest comrade.
143. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – He and Renner chase down Benji.
142. Knight and Day – Roof running.
141. Mission: Impossible III – Runs and puts a walkie talkie near a radio.
140. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Suit running to catch villains.
139. American Made – Cruise chases after a car and it explodes.
138. Vanilla Sky – Runs down some stairs – Wobbly running.
137. Edge of Tomorrow – He runs and bumps a guy out of the way of a crashing helicopter. It lands on Cruise.
136. Vanilla Sky – Runs wobbly threw a lobby – Does a nice spin.
135. Minority Report – Creeps around a hallway while running while chasing eyeballs.
134. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – He runs on top of a roof and charges into a goon.
133. Edge of Tomorrow – Cruise kicks some alien butt on the beach.
132. Edge of Tomorrow – Cruise runs and knocks a car out of the way.
131. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – He runs towards a guy and pushes him off a roof (Tom goes with him – the goon dies – Tom lives).
130. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – He sees a helicopter about to take off and runs towards it and grabs onto a rope.
129. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Runs out of the Kremlin, collects his breath and leaves.
128. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Airport running.
127. Mission: Impossible III – Shanghai side street running.
126. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – He runs to Luther to make sure he is okay.
125. Legend – He lands a sweet jump, runs to grab a weapon and battles a hell guard. There are several instances of running during this moment.
124. All the Right Moves – He has more left in the tank than most of the other football players
123. Minority Report – Runs away from operatives.
122. Mission: Impossible III – “I’m in the approach position.” Nice long shot of Cruise running.
121. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Airport running – ladder climbing – Running on top of the airport. Nice overhead shot.
120. Knight and Day – Roof running followed by a nice jump, slide, and another jump and finally a fall into a river.
119. Far and Away – He hoofs it out of his apartment.
118. Born on the Fourth of July – Cruise and a small group run into a village. Big scene.
117. Edge of Tomorrow – Manages to get past the truck and he runs into Emily Blunt – and then runs out of the drop ship.
116. All the Right Moves – Pass interference in the rain
115. Edge of Tomorrow – Cage and Rita run at the aliens.
114. Mission: Impossible – He runs around a corner and does some nice acting (and stopping) when a car explodes – He then runs down a flight of stairs.
113. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – Hunts gets chased by goons and runs into a cathedral.
112. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Jumps off a club balcony and runs through the club.
111. Born on the Fourth of July – Rain running. It’s nice and awkward.
110. War of the Worlds – Street crack running.
109. Edge of Tomorrow – How about a little PT? Fun running scene.
108. The Mummy – Cruise runs and jumps around the top of the building. Good running and crawling.
107. The Last Samurai – Runs around during a nighttime battle and saves a life.
106. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Runs to catch a train. Renner has good running form btw.
105. Knight and Day – Runs, jumps, runs, jumps, hangs. – Good stuff.
104. Risky Business – I like the wide shot of him running into his school – You can see the running skill.
103. Edge of Tomorrow- Following a sweet roll he runs alongside a truck and is very pleased with what he pulled off.
102. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – He runs/walks/limps to fight Walker.
101. Mission: Impossible 2 – He runs and does a nice roll so he can sneak into a vent.
100. War of the Worlds – He can’t outrun a giant alien machine.
99. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – He and Colby run away from a dude. Colby got jacked for this movie.
98. Knight and Day – Runs on the beach while explosions go off behind him.
97. Mission: Impossible II – He runs up to a goon and kicks him.
96. Oblivion – He runs and jumps over a gap (doesn’t make it).
95. The Last Samurai – He uses his explosiveness to save people during an ambush.
94. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – He runs, climbs up a car, jumps onto a balcony and keeps running. Good work Tom.
93. The Outsiders – He runs outside a house and does a flip off of a car- Athletic kid.
92. Top Gun: Maverick – Treadmill running.
91. Mission: Impossible III – Street sprinting to grab the Rabbit’s Foot.
90. Oblivion – Running on a circular treadmill.
89. Top Gun: Maverick – Cruise runs away from a helicopter that is shooting at him.
88. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – Hunt starts limping and then breaks out into a run and then he jumps over some shrubs.
87. War of the Worlds – Leather jacket running.
86. The Last Samurai – CHARGE! Dead man running.
85. Mission: Impossible – He does some solid slick cobbled road running.
84. Mission: Impossible – He climbs a fence and sprints down an alley – the cops have zero chance of catching him. Nice crane shot – the scene ends with him running into a phone booth.
83. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Sand running.
82. Mission: Impossible 2 – Rips off a mask whilst running.
81. Edge of Tomorrow – Beach running followed by him getting hit by a truck – Love it.
80. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Runs after villains to get the MacGuffin.
79. Mission: Impossible III – Running moment heavily featured in the trailer in which an explosion knocks him into a car.
78. Oblivion – He runs and jumps and shoots – It’s fun.
77. The Mummy – He runs through a library while glass shatters around him.
76. The Mummy – They run through London avoiding sand.
75. Mission: Impossible – He runs up some stairs and along a bridge to find Voight – He also runs towards Sara after a few beats. I included them together.
74. Vanilla Sky – Labored and odd running. Crane shot – Trippy running – REM – Slick streets.
73. Minority Report – Running through the streets while pre-crime ads play – Good expository run.
72. All the Right Moves – You are not god! Lots of running and acting. Good stuff.
71. Cocktail – He uses his breakaway speed to sneak past a doorman and into an elevator.
70. Oblivion – He runs away from a fireball – Good jump.
69. The Last Samurai – He tries to teach some kids how to play baseball – “You gotta get the ball!”
68. Mission: Impossible 2 – He runs, picks up Dougray and slams him.
67. Far and Away – While running he slips on something and almost wipes out.
66. Far and Away – He runs and tackles a guy who stole Nicole Kidman’s spoons.
65. Collateral – Staircase running followed by lobby running.
64. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Running/limping after a car.
63. Mission: Impossible III – I love a good running charge moment.
62. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – Ethan and Ilsa run out of the opera (he grabs a rope). Then they run across the building (he takes off her shoes) and they use a rope to get out of the area.
61. Top Gun: Maverick – Cruise runs to an airplane hanger and says “Let’s start running.”
60. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Runs away from the Kremlin explosion.
59. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – He and Colby run through an open park and she is outpacing him.
58. Minority Report – Great run and spin.
57. Jack Reacher – He grabs a rock, runs towards a guy and knocks him out. SPEED.
56. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – As a train falls off a cliff, Cruise runs up it (Think Furious 7).
55. Mission: Impossible 2 – Runs in slow motion towards a helicopter and misses it. He then does a flip whilst running to shoot a goon.
54. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – He and a couple people run away from thugs. I like the way it’s shot. Good parallel running between the groups.
53. Mission: Impossible 2 – Beach fight running. – several instances during the same scene.
52. Mission: Impossible III – Skyscraper running.
51. Edge of Tomorrow – He can’t outrun a fiery death on a beach.
50. Oblivion – He sprints to take the battery out of a drone.
49. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – Hunt and Ilsa run around.
48. The Color of Money — He kicks a guy in the balls, makes himself big and runs out of a bar. It’s fun.
47. Oblivion – He runs up a sand dune and then he runs down the dune to meet his clone. Impressive sand running.
46. Top Gun: Maverick – He runs a long distance through the woods in the freezing cold.I like the overhead shot. Good work.
45. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – Hunt runs with a limp and stops to catch his breath. It’s nice. He does more limp running which is nice – He then explodes through some glass.
44. Taps – Running with a group of people and he looks like the best runner. Excellent posture.
43. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Venice running featuring Cruise jumping over a boat. Then, he’s given the wrong directions by the Entity.
42. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – Hunt and Ilsa run and jump over a car. They are like a pair of raptors.
41. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – “I am terribly sorry.” He interrupts a funeral whilst being chased.
40. The Mummy – While running away from the mummy he hops a stone fence and leaves his lady friend behind.
39. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – He runs through kitchen grease and jumps into another train car.
38. Born on the Fourth of July – Slow motion beach running. It’s tense.
37. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – He runs to jump kick on a henchmen and then lands on Ilsa.
36. Mission: Impossible 2 – Runs in slow motion (through some doves) and lands a sweet kick. – Fun Woo stuff.
35. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Venice running to get to Ilsa.
34. War of the Worlds – Funny moment in which he’s enjoying the “Storm” but then lightning hits and he runs into his house.
33. Mission: Impossible III – Cruise literally runs up a wall.
32. Risky Business – He runs to catch his egg – It’s intense.
31. Oblivion – He runs up to his clone and punches him in the face – Good acceleration on sand.
30. Mission: Impossible III – He runs and jumps off a Shanghai building.
29. War of the Worlds – Dead cow jumping.
28. All the Right Moves – Snags an interception and runs through two players to score a touchdown.
27. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – He runs and jumps onto the wing of a plane.
26. The Firm – Chases after Abbey – This is the first time we ever get to see Tom’s super running form.
Top 25!
25. Collateral – Subway running followed by a beautiful jump – Dude is pissed. – 01:46:10
24. The Mummy – “Slip in, slip out. Just like we always do.” Then it cuts to them being shot at whilst running away. – 00:10:15
23. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – Keep going straight? – He runs into an office building and smashes a window. 01:34:53
22. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – Why is he running in a circle? Great overhead shot of cruise sprinting up stairs, losing the goons, and running around the upper floors of the cathedral. – 01:32:59
21. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – Roof running and two amazing jumps. – 01:33:48
20. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – During the bathroom fight Hunt runs at a guy and slams him through a wall. Great stuff. I love how he really doesn’t want to do it. – 00:32:38
19. Minority Report – Runs up to the house and has to stop a potential murder. – 00:15:28:00
18. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Runs away from the Burj Khalifa – Looks awesome. Brad Bird shoots it from every angle. I love how the camera looks up at him.
17. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – “Ethan he’s getting away from you, you’re going to have to go faster! – Cruise absolutely books it during a roof run that ends with the jump that broke his foot. Epic. – 01:34:20
16. Jerry Maguire – Airport running. – 02:06:05
15. Mission: Impossible II – He runs in slow motion so he can jump out of a building – Wonderful – 01:25:58 – He also runs while holding two guns (and shooting them at the same time). Awesome hair work
14. Risky Business – He takes a drunk guy out of a train and runs back into it. – 01:20:45
13. Days of Thunder – He races Robert Duvall – It’s a good time. 01:42:54
12. War of the Worlds – Cruise runs away from the aliens. Amazing scene. – The aliens are silly for thinking they can blow Cruise up. Dude has ash all over his face. – 00:26:29
11. Collateral – Runs out of a hospital and across an overpass. When he starts running I don’t think he’ll ever look faster on screen. – 00:52:25
The Top 10!
10. Edge of Tomorrow – “Arrest this man.” – In an all-timer Cruise moment, he tries to escape arrest and It ends badly – 00:07:58
Moments before Brendan Gleeson’s character yells “Arrest this man,” Tom Cruise delivers an all-timer Cruise moment in which this dialogue is delivered:
“I just inspired millions of people to join your army. And when the body bags come home and they’re looking for someone to blame, how hard do you think it would be for me to convince people to blame you? I’d imagine the general would prefer to avoid that.”
Cruise enters Gleeson’s office with total confidence and he quickly becomes a slimy rat whose escape attempt ends quickly. It’s perfect and it makes his heroic transformation more interesting. Director Doug Liman did a great job weaponizing Cruise’s charm in this scene, and It’s fun watching a guy who can’t escape an office building becoming a world-saving soldier.
9. The Firm – The final chase scene. He runs, jumps, goes up steps and this is when we get to see his true breakaway speed AND he’s holding a briefcase. 02:12:23
The Firm is Cruise’s first film to fully showcase his soon-to-be-famous running form (elbows and knees). We get a glimpse of it at the 68-minute mark when he’s chasing down Jeannie Tripplehorn. But, it’s not until the climactic chase that we see his breakaway speed for several minutes as he’s running away from Tobin “Jigsaw” Bell.
8. Far and Away – In a neat transition, Cruise starts running so fast that the next shot is of an explosion. Talk about explosive running. 01:40:13
I love how Ron Howard cuts from a sprinting Tom Cruise to an explosion. It’s silly and it always puts a smile on my face. I also love that the movie ends with the Land Run of 1893.
7. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – Cruise wipes out while trying to jump over a car. It is very funny and the MI score helps make it better – 01:12:58
“This is Mission: Impossible, I can’t just cross a street and get in a car.” – McQuarrie talking about a conversation he had with Cruise on the Rogue Nation commentary.
When putting together the top 10 I always knew that this three-second moment would be included. It’s a silly moment punctuated by cheeky musical accompaniment and it proves that Cruise doesn’t take himself seriously. It’s made even better by the knowledge that Cruise came up with this bit on the day and he surprised the crew with his ill-fated car jump. Also, the ensuing dialogue (What are you talking about?) is delightful. At this point in his career, Cruise was on a hot streak and it’s fun knowing that he was still totally down to make himself look like a dork.
6. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – Iconic run across the building punctuated by a beautiful tracking shot – Dude looks amazing and he almost catches Cavill – 01:36:25 –
“I loved doing this, but it hurt.” – Tom Cruise – Fallout Blu-ray commentary.
Watching Cruise run across The Blackfriars Railway bridge is an all-timer Cruise moment for multiple reasons.
- It looks great and is a perfect trailer moment
- “I’m jumping out of a window.” – Great line – I love the reaction he gets from the people in the office. They
- Tom was still recovering from the ankle break he suffered during a jump gone awry
- Director Christopher McQuarrie said – “He was going for it.”
- The score rules
- It’s a bit gratuitous but the running makes sense in regards to the story.
5. Mission: Impossible – Cruise runs from an exploding restaurant and does his first “I look awesome while running in an action film” work. – 31:59 – Lots of fish die…..
That one was particularly very crazy – Talking about the scene on The Graham Norton Show
Tom Cruise was already a big star in 1996, but this moment made him a gigantic “action movie” star. He had been in Top Gun (sitting in a plane), Legend (lots of rolling and crouch running), Days of Thunder (more sitting), Far and Away (boxing), and The Outsiders (fisticuffs), but Mission: Impossible saw him entering a new phase of his career. This moment was everywhere in 1996 and it’s one of the most iconic images of the Mission: Impossible franchise. It gets added points because the stunt looks legitimately dangerous and features some solid arm work from Tom.
4. Risky Business – A cigarette-smoking Cruise (wearing sunglasses at night) runs up to some teenagers while the song “Mannish Boy” plays on the soundtrack This is the moment when Cruise became Tom Cruise – 01:07:26 – YouTube Clip (starts at 53 seconds)
Wearing a suit coat, black shirt, black sunglasses and puffing on a cigarette, Cruise is strutting down the street and runs up to a group of classmates. The moment lasts only seven seconds, but it’s a turning point for Cruise. Also, the song selection is perfect.
3. Vanilla Sky – Cruise runs through an empty Times Square – 00:03:37
The groundwork for the Times Square running in Vanilla Sky was set up in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire. In the Cameron Crowe-directed movie, Cruise dramatically runs through an airport – and it looks great. Years later, while filming Vanilla Sky, Crowe and Cruise pulled some strings with the city of New York and were able to close down Times Square for three hours on a Sunday morning in November. The idea was that Cruise’s character hates being alone, and he dreams that he’s alone in one of the busiest places in the world. It’s total vanity, but I love that Cruise has a running scene in an empty Times Square.
2. Collateral – He throws a chair through a glass window, then WIPES out on the chair and just keeps running. It’s his most aggressive running ever. – 01:44:50 – YouTube Clip (starts at 2:37)
Collateral not only features the best sitting performance of Tom Cruise’s career, it also features his most aggressive running. Tom’s character Vincent is a straight-up killer and it’s fun watching Cruise as he fully commits to being a coyote who chases down his prey with lightning-fast footwork. There’s a moment towards the end when Vincent is chasing down Max and Annie (Jada Pinkett Smith – running in heels), and he takes a chair to smash a window so he can run through it. However, Cruise mistimed/misjudged the chair’s trajectory and he WIPED out on the chair and fell to the ground. The neat thing is that he springs up immediately and keeps running. It’s a perfect showcase for Cruise’s tenacity and toughness and I love that the unplanned moment made its way into the film – and so does Mann who felt like it added to the realism of Collateral. It’s a seconds-long moment, but I love that nothing can stop Cruise from running.
1. Mission: Impossible III – Cruise runs across some rooftops and then he SPRINTS through a Shanghai fishing village – 01:44:10
In 2006, Cruise had been running in movies for 20+ years and had some memorable sprints in War of the Worlds, The Firm, Minority Report, Collateral, and Far and Away. However, his sprinting in M:I 3 (which took 6-7 takes to get perfect) made people sit up and realize they were witnessing cinematic running history. It’s the fastest Cruise has ever looked, and the spidercam rig that was built for the scene works perfectly as it tracks alongside Cruise as he damn near goes plaid on the Shanghai sidewalks. During the Blu-ray commentary, director J.J. Abrams says “I loved watching you run” to Cruise, and I totally agree. It’s apex Tom Cruise running
Movies, Films & Flix 