CANNES, France — Tom Cruise will be honored at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival for an extraordinary career that has seen him profitably portray characters that include a flying ace and a vampire, a rock star and a samurai warrior.
But there was one role the actor/producer couldn’t pull off here on Wednesday, no matter how hard he tried: an ordinary, humble guy.
Dressed in shades of dark gray and looking as slim as a greyhound, Cruise received a hero’s welcome at the Debussy Theater at the Palais des Festivals, for an event billed as a master class, date and tribute. Let’s call it what it really was: a crush.
A scintillating 15-minute video of his 41-year film career was shown, beginning with the triumphant strains of “Also Sprach Zarathustra” from “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Scenes from Cruise’s hits like “Risky Business,” “Rain Man,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Interview With the Vampire,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, and of course, , “Top Gun” and its long-awaited sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick,” which opens in theaters on May 27 after its Cannes premiere.
He is one of the most popular and bankable stars in the world, having garnered three Oscar nominations and earned billions of dollars for Hollywood studios. She will turn 60 on July 3, but she appears to be in her mid-40s, with no trace of gray in her abundant mane of dark hair.
When Cruise finally sat down with French journalist Didier Allouch for a rare interview, he was pushing the angle that he’s just an ordinary guy who got lucky and works very, very hard.
He spoke of being “very humble” and “very privileged” to do what he does.
“It’s not about me, it’s about history,” he insisted, but no one believed him. You don’t go to a Tom Cruise movie for the story.
Cruise took control of the interview. He answered questions extensively, but only provided information that is already known and unlikely to spark a problematic headline or tweet.
Watch the official trailer for Top Gun: Maverick starring Tom Cruise. In theaters May 27, 2022.
No mention of such hot-button topics as his lead role in Scientology, his failed marriages to Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes or how he went on a profanity-laden rant on a “Mission: Impossible” set last year when he thought about COVID safety. procedures were not being followed.
The omissions were understandable: The public was there to praise Cruise, not anger him. However, just to be sure, there were no questions and answers from the audience.
Cruise told the story of how as a kid he was such a fan of action heroes, he jumped off the roof of his family’s house and narrowly avoided getting seriously hurt because the grass below was wet.
As a teenager, he mowed lawns, shoveled snow, and sold Christmas cards door-to-door to earn money to help support his family so he could go to more movies.
When he landed his first major movie role, as a military cadet in “Taps” in 1981, Cruise decided he would interview everyone involved in the film, from his fellow actor to the set decorators to the writers. He feared that he might be the only one he ever would.
“I went to all the departments and studied all the departments.”
Cruise said he remembers every shot of every movie he’s ever done, and sometimes spends years preparing for a role: “Preparation is everything.”
He always tries to think about what the audience wants in a movie and a character. She often sneaks into movies to judge reactions: “I’ll put my hat on and sit in the audience.”
Cruise went into production because he realized it gave him so much more control. And it was while he was wearing his “Top Gun: Maverick” producer hat that he declared that the film, which was due to be released at the start of the pandemic, would not be released until theaters and moviegoers were fully back.
That was two years ago, and the decision not to sell “Top Gun: Maverick” to a streaming service could have cost the Paramount studio a lot of money. Cruise doesn’t care.
“I make movies for the big screen,” he said firmly.
The closest Cruise ever came to candor was when Allouch pressed him on the subject of why he insists on doing so many of his stunts, despite the risks of injury and high insurance costs.
Cruise seemed a bit miffed at this.
“You know, no one asked Gene Kelly, ‘Why do you dance?’” Cruise replied. That’s true, but Gene Kelly didn’t hang from skyscrapers and mountains to jump onto planes taking off, like Cruise has done in his movies.
Cruise admitted that if he’s hesitant about doing something, “it’s always better to try.”
He intends to do it for a long time: “I want to make all kinds of movies that I can… I’m here to learn.”
And with that, he left the stage to prepare for a swanky Palais night premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick” that included a precision flyby of military aircraft.
You know, just like normal humble guys.
Top Gun: Maverick
Starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Val Kilmer, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Charles Parnell, Bashir Salahuddin, Monica Barbaro, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, Greg Tarzan Davis Y ed harris. Straightedited by Joseph Kosinski. It opens on May 27 in theaters around the world (in addition to the first trailers). 137 minutes. PG-13 (USA)
In this thrilling sequel to “Top Gun,” we’re warned that it takes “two miracles in a row” for the success of a high-stakes covert mission for the pilots (and girls) of America’s elite flying school.
A third miracle is achieved from the first moment. Cruise and company bring new drama and heart to this continuation of the “Top Gun” story, directed by Joseph Kosinski. The film tops the 1986 original in ways few people could have predicted after plans for a sequel were kept on the ground for decades. The bar was certainly low, as the first “Top Gun” was more of an extended music video than a movie.
There are plenty of references to the original movie, but newcomers will have no trouble keeping up. Cruise continues to play Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a fighter pilot of incredible skill and bravery, but prone to pissing off his commanding officers, who this time are played by Jon Hamm and Ed Harris.
Maverick’s propensity for making trouble explains why, 30 years after the original story, he holds the rank of Captain, not Admiral. It’s also why he’s sent back to Top Gun to train a new team of pilots to carry out a covert bombing run on an enemy uranium deposit that’s as complicated and dangerous as Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star. The Top Gun pilots have three weeks to do it, maybe less.
Cruise has aged nicely in the role, but Maverick still lives up to his calling name. There is excellent interplay between him and the new characters Rooster (Miles Teller), the angry son of Maverick’s late wingman, and Penny (Jennifer Connelly), a waitress who brings levity and love to the story. Maverick also has poignant scenes with Val Kilmer’s Iceman character, a former flying rival and now close friend, battling a serious illness, just as Kilmer does in real life.
But it’s the action that sells the popcorn and this movie really delivers on that front, especially when it’s time to bring the impossible blitz into play.
A reminder of the simple pleasures of 1980s movies, “Top Gun: Maverick” will be hard to beat as the biggest blockbuster of the summer.
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