Actor Tom Cruise (1962)

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) is an American spy action film directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen. The film follows the story of a next-generation Russian stealth submarine, the Sevastopol, which is equipped with an advanced AI. However, when the AI becomes self-aware and betrays its crew by causing a fatal attack, IMF agent Ethan Hunt must take action. He travels to the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Desert to retrieve a crucial key piece from Ilsa Faust, an MI6 agent who is on the run. In order to ...

Top Gun: Maverick (2022), an American action drama directed by Joseph Kosinski, tells the story of United States Navy Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Despite his impressive career as a test pilot and numerous accolades, Maverick’s repeated insubordination has hindered him from advancing in rank. Fortunately, his former TOPGUN rival, Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, who now commands the U.S. Pacific Fleet, often comes to his aid to prevent him from being grounded. However, Rear Admiral Chester “Hammer” Cain steps in and cancels Maverick’s “Darkstar” scramjet ...

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), an American action spy film written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, follows IMF agent Ethan Hunt as he races against time to stop a terror-for-hire group, the Apostles, from acquiring nuclear bombs. Two years after their leader Solomon Lane is captured, the Syndicate has reorganized and recruited extremist John Lark to carry out their plan of dismantling the existing world order. When Ethan’s attempt to retrieve the plutonium cores in Berlin fails and his team member Luther Stickell is taken hostage, he chooses to save his teammate but loses the cores to the Apostles. ...

The film directed by Alex Kurtzman, The Mummy (2017), is an American fantasy action-adventure. David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, and Dylan Kussman wrote the screenplay with a story also by Kurtzman, Jon Spaihts, and Jenny Lumet. It is a reboot of the Mummy franchise and was originally part of Universal’s Dark ...

American Made (2017), an action comedy film directed by Doug Liman and written by Gary Spinelli, draws inspiration from the life of Barry Seal. A former TWA pilot who later became a drug smuggler for the Medellín Cartel, Seal is eventually recruited as an informant for the DEA. The CIA also takes notice of Seal’s ability to smuggle Cuban cigars into the country and enlists him to take aerial photographs of Sandinista bases in 1978. Soon, he becomes involved with Pablo Escobar’s infamous cartel, led by Jorge Ochoa and Carlos Lehder, who want a part of his ...

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016) is an American action-thriller film directed by Edward Zwick, written by Zwick, Richard Wenk, and Marshall Herskovitz, and based on the 2013 novel Never Go Back by Lee Child. After helping the 110th US Army CID Military Police (MP) capture corrupt Oklahoma Sheriff Raymond Wood and his deputy, as well as dismantle a human trafficking ring, drifting ex-US Army Military Police ...

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) is a fast-paced American action spy film written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, collaborating with Drew Pearce on the script. In the film, IMF Agent Ethan Hunt thwarts The Syndicate’s attempt to transport nerve gas, a group of rebel field operatives from different intelligence agencies whom he has been pursuing. During his briefing at an IMF facility in London, Ethan is ambushed by The Syndicate itself, revealing that they have infiltrated both him and the organization. As he falls unconscious from being exposed to ...

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) is an American science fiction action film directed by Doug Liman and written by Christopher McQuarrie and the writing team of Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, adapted from Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s Japanese novel All You Need Is Kill. The story takes place in a world where an alien race known as ‘Mimics’ have invaded and conquered much of Europe, resulting in the formation of the ...

Oblivion (2013), an American post-apocalyptic film, was produced and directed by Joseph Kosinski, with a screenplay by Karl Gajdusek and Michael deBruyn. The movie is set in 2077, when repair technician Jack and communications officer Victoria seem to be the only survivors on Earth. In 2017, an alien invasion destroyed the Moon and rendered the planet uninhabitable due to nuclear warfare. Now, Jack’s job involves fixing combat drones that protect the hydrothermal platforms converting seawater into fusion energy. Their ...

Rock of Ages (2012) is a film directed by Adam Shankman, based on the Broadway musical by Chris D’Arienzo. Set in 1987 Los Angeles, Sherrie Christian arrives from Oklahoma with hopes of becoming a singer. However, her suitcase is stolen and she is left stranded. Drew Boley, a barback at the Bourbon Room, helps her out by getting her a job as a waitress after the previous one quits (‘Sister Christian/Just Like Paradise/Nothin’ But a Good Time’). The Bourbon Room, facing financial troubles due to tax debt, desperately books Stacee Jaxx, a ...

The movie Jack Reacher (2012) is an American action thriller written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. In Pittsburgh, a man drops a coin into a parking meter before driving his van into a garage near PNC Park. From the river’s North Shore Trail, he uses a rifle to fatally shoot five people from a distance before fleeing. Detectives from the Pittsburgh Police Department, led by Calvin Emerson, find the quarter used for parking and a shell casing at the scene. The fingerprint on the coin matches that of James Barr, a former US Army sniper. When investigators search his residence, they discover both the van and ...

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011), an American spy film directed by Brad Bird, follows IMF agent Ethan Hunt as he teams up with his colleagues to retrieve Russian nuclear launch codes sold by assassin Sabine Moreau. The movie is the fourth installment in the Mission: Impossible series and serves as a sequel to Mission: Impossible III (2006). Along with producer Tom Cruise, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk, director

Knight and Day (2010), a satirical action comedy film, follows the chaotic journey of June Havens as she crosses paths with Roy Miller at the airport while traveling back to Boston. Their encounter results in June being put on a later flight by CIA agent John Fitzgerald, who mistakenly believes she is working with Roy. In an unexpected turn of events, Roy takes control of the plane after subduing both passengers and crew members who were actually agents sent by Fitzgerald. During the chaos, June is drugged and warned about potential dangers ahead. Upon returning home, June discovers that her sister April wants to sell their father’s 1966 Pontiac GTO tri-power ...

Valkyrie (2008), a thriller directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander, features Tom Cruise. Set during World War II, the film follows Wehrmacht Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg in Tunisia as he becomes increasingly disillusioned with Hitler’s regime. After his battalion is attacked by P-40 fighter-bombers, Stauffenberg is gravely injured and returned to Germany for treatment. However, he ultimately loses his left eye, right hand, ...

Tropic Thunder (2008), a satirical action comedy film directed and co-written by Ben Stiller, tells the story of a film adaptation of Hook-handed Vietnam veteran Staff Sergeant John ‘Four Leaf’ Tayback’s memoir. The cast includes has-been action hero Tugg Speedman, five-time Academy Award-winning Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus, closeted homosexual rapper Alpa Chino, and drug-addicted comedian Jeff Portnoy. Despite newcomer supporting actor Kevin Sandusky’s reliability, the rest of the actors cause chaos for inexperienced director Damien Cockburn. With the project falling behind schedule and ...

Lions for Lambs (2007), an American war drama film directed by Robert Redford, delves into the intertwined lives of a U.S. senator, soldiers in Afghanistan, a reporter, and a college professor in California. Dr. Malley, the idealistic professor, encourages his students Arian and Ernest to make a meaningful impact in the world after their graduation from West Coast University. Despite coming from different backgrounds, they both choose to enlist in the army and serve in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Dr. Malley also tries to connect with another student named Todd Hayes. Unlike Arian and Ernest, Todd comes from a privileged ...

Mission: Impossible III (2006) is an American action spy film directed by J. J. Abrams, produced by and starring Tom Cruise, from a screenplay written by Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. In the film, Hunt is restrained in a chair while a man holds a woman hostage across from him. The man demands the location of the ‘Rabbit’s Foot’. When it becomes clear that Hunt is not aware of its whereabouts, the ...

War of the Worlds (2005), an American science fiction action-thriller, was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. Based on H. G. Wells’ famous 1898 novel of the same name, the film opens with a narrator describing the threat of extraterrestrial beings who are envious of humanity’s dominance over Earth. The story follows Ray Ferrier, a divorced longshoreman working as a crane operator in Brooklyn, New York. He is estranged from ...

Collateral (2004) is an American neo-noir action thriller film directed and produced by Michael Mann from a script by Stuart Beattie. Max Durocher, a Los Angeles cab driver, dreams of starting his own limousine business. During one of his evening shifts, he picks up federal prosecutor Annie Farrell, who works for the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. The two strike up a conversation and Annie hands Max her business card. Shortly after, Max picks up another fare – Vincent – who claims to be in town for just one night to finalize a real ...

The Last Samurai (2003) brings audiences on an epic journey through a period of action and drama. Edward Zwick, the director and producer, along with co-writers John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz, crafted a screenplay based on a story devised by Logan. The film follows the story of Nathan Algren, a former U.S. Army Captain who has become a bitter alcoholic due to the traumatic experiences he faced during the American Indian Wars. In 1876, Algren is approached by his former ...