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Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Cruising
Unforgiven
Top Gun: Maverick
Film credit
Tom Cruise
Also referred to as Cruise, Cruz, Digger Cruz
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 20
- Movies in this archive
- 18
Rewatchables episodes featuring Tom Cruise’s films
Eyes Wide Shut
1999 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey · Mallory Rubin
Aired August 15, 2023
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
2018 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Craig Horlbeck
Aired December 27, 2022
Displaying episodes 1 - 12 of 20 in total
Mentioned in discussions
Who Won the Movie?
Tom Cruise; one securely countable ballot
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:31:00Read transcript
- Who won the movie: Cruz. Yeah Cruz follows. — Chris Ryan
Podcast choices
What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?
Plutonium, detonator, car, camera, mustache, book and ankle fragment.
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:28:38Read transcript
- The plutonium ball is desired memorabilia. — Bill Simmons
- The detonator is desired memorabilia. — Bill Simmons
- The modified BMW 5 is desired memorabilia. — Bill Simmons
- The helmet camera is desired memorabilia.
- Cavill’s mustache hairs are jokingly desired memorabilia. — Chris Ryan
- The Odyssey book from the opening is desired memorabilia. — Chris Ryan
- The self-destructing book is endorsed.
- A fragment of Cruise’s shattered ankle in a museum is a joke.
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Cruise mortality and ideal car-chase city.
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:40Read transcript
- The participants speculate about whether Cruise desires death or believes it impossible; anti-aging clubs and cloning are explicitly fanciful claims, not established facts. — Chris Ryan
- Boston is initially excluded, then defended through The Town. — Bill Simmons
- San Francisco and European cities are proposed for hills and water. — Bill Simmons
- Philadelphia is rejected because of potholes. — Bill Simmons
- Chicago is proposed, citing The Blues Brothers. — Bill Simmons
- A Los Angeles PCH-to-Venice route is proposed, with turn and traffic objections; no final city is chosen. — Bill Simmons
Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake
Already announced two-part sequel answers the question.
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:24Read transcript
- The sequel/prequel/TV cue is interrupted by one final nitpick. — Bill Simmons
- A2023 sequel and two announced final Ethan films are acknowledged; Cruise dying in space or seeking Mars is a joke. — Bill Simmons
Apex Mountain
First Mission Impossible preferred for franchise impact; Cruise-stunt apex debated.
In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:12Read transcript
- The first Mission: Impossible is preferred to Fallout for franchise Apex.
- Cruise is denied career Apex.
- Whether this is the Apex of insane Cruise stories is disputed.
- Knight and Day publicity, Ghost Protocol’s building, skydiving and hanging outside aircraft compete as extreme Cruise examples. Skydiving gets number-one support, while the aircraft stunt is recalled as hardest; hypothetical personal willingness differs.
- Henry Cavill is denied Apex. — Chris Ryan
- The nightclub is compared against John Wick and Collateral.
- Bathroom fighting is given Apex. — Bill Simmons
- HALO jumping is given Apex. — Bill Simmons
- Helicopter action is given Apex. — Bill Simmons
- Paris is denied Apex, with Last Tango in Paris raised. — Chris Ryan
- Ving Rhames is denied Apex. — Chris Ryan
- Simon Pegg’s Apex is disputed against Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. — Chris Ryan
- Dr. Rob Thorne is a joking Apex choice. — Craig Horlbeck
The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Maverick’s simplicity, close talking and Cavill’s villain plausibility.
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:39Read transcript
- The take asks whether Top Gun Maverick diminishes Fallout: simpler stakes, romantic chemistry and emotional beats suggest fewer characters and more room for Cruise could improve this film. — Chris Ryan
- Cutting Monaghan/Bassett or concentrating the women could produce a two-hour film. Kirby’s subplot could be removed or expanded with a dinner scene because she interests them; Bassett trusting a new subordinate over Ethan is mocked. — Bill Simmons
- Another take calls Cruise the greatest close talker, reading intense proximity as a replacement for earlier charisma and wondering how uncomfortable fellow actors feel. — Bill Simmons
- The take argues Cavill is too attractive to want mass destruction. The incel characterization is immediately challenged as unsupported by the ideology; it continues as a plausibility joke rather than a factual label. — Craig Horlbeck
The Tom Cruise Award for Most Valiant Attempt to Emulate a Normal Human
Cruise wins his own joking award.
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:03Read transcript
- The award for emulating a real human is jokingly given to Cruise himself after uncertainty about whether he drinks the beer. — Bill Simmons
What’s Aged the Best?
Action conventions, Paris, score and performers earn praise; Cavill and chemistry remain contested.
In the discussion (19)
Approx. transcript time · 00:41:10Read transcript
- The fake threat to shoot Ethan’s friend is praised. — Bill Simmons
- An Eyes Wide Shut connection is raised. — Chris Ryan
- Alec Baldwin is praised. — Bill Simmons
- The mission message is praised. — Bill Simmons
- Paris is praised as a setting. — Bill Simmons
- Ving Rhames is praised.
- Ving Rhames’s wardrobe is praised.
- The tracker trick is praised. — Bill Simmons
- The theme and score are praised.
- Cruise’s ankle injury and the reported expensive delay are discussed; the cost is a podcast claim.
- The nuclear specialist is praised.
- The plutonium itself is praised.
- Baldwin’s lateral move is praised. — Chris Ryan
- The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood speech provides a contrast with Cruise refusing to yield. Reported Man from Uncle casting and a planned Renner transition feed speculative motives for choosing a large handsome opponent. — Chris Ryan
- Cavill is praised as awesome by some but Craig disputes his charisma and contribution, allowing that hidden identity may explain restraint. A defender values his sneaky presence and agrees to reconsider.
- Vanessa Kirby is praised as the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave’s earlier character. — Chris Ryan
- The nightclub sequence is praised.
- Rebecca Ferguson and Michelle Monaghan are praised. — Bill Simmons
- Cruise’s chemistry with the women is discussed favorably.
Most Rewatchable Scene
Fake broadcast, halo jump, Paris action, rooftop run and finale compete; final choices differ.
In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:18Read transcript
- The fake CNN broadcast and removable room are loved, with an Oceans13 comparison and a fabricated basketball-news joke; the fake nuclear attacks did not occur in the film’s reality.
- The halo jump earns a spontaneous repeat watch; lightning adds excitement, but its reality and the late parachute deployment are questioned rather than credited as real stunts.
- The nightclub bathroom fight is admired and compared with Wick2 and True Lies; crowded action settings work well.
- The imagined versus actual extraction, water crash, motorcycle chase and policewoman episode form an admired Paris sequence. The injured officer’s chemistry with Cruise is joked about. — Bill Simmons
- The bridge motorcycle approach is a scene candidate.
- The Walker double-mask reveal is separately praised.
- The rooftop chase and Cruise breaking his ankle are scene candidates.
- The helicopter rope fall is a scene candidate. — Bill Simmons
- The multiple climax sequences are collectively praised. — Bill Simmons
- The rooftop run is chosen as Cruise’s best, praising sustained shots and the intrusion into an ordinary office; age and athlete comparisons underline the feat. — Craig Horlbeck
- The Paris chase is chosen as a final scene preference.
- The bathroom fight is another final scene choice, with a joke about the unusually clean nightclub bathroom.
The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Captain cannot play pool; Burns lacks appeal; ideal Cruise vehicle
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:03Read transcript
- Sorvino’s captain is terrible at pool, repeatedly hitting clusters rather than playing coherently, undermining confidence in him. — Chris Ryan
- Burns is considered too tired, unhealthy, scared and unappealing to attract these men; they seem to respond to Pacino’s celebrity rather than the character. — Wesley Morris
- Cruising is proposed as an ideal Tom Cruise vehicle, initially around 1993 but with 1999’s Eyes Wide Shut-era curiosity preferred over Jerry Maguire-era Cruise.
Recasting Couch
River or Joaquin Phoenix; DiCaprio; young Cruise; tentative Gooding or Wahlberg
In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:27Read transcript
- The Kid’s cowardice and lack of heroic scenes are defended as difficult material for a young star. — Chris Ryan
- The Kid’s admission of never killing anyone is singled out as a major performance opportunity. — Sean Fennessey
- River Phoenix is proposed as the Schofield Kid. — Sean Fennessey
- Leonardo DiCaprio is another possibility, compared with his later Quick and the Dead appearance. — Sean Fennessey
- An early1980s Tom Cruise is imagined as a strong Kid. — Bill Simmons
- River Phoenix is reaffirmed as a Schofield Kid alternative. — Bill Simmons
- Joaquin Phoenix is a Schofield Kid alternative. — Bill Simmons
- DiCaprio is reaffirmed as a Schofield Kid alternative. — Bill Simmons
- Keanu Reeves is considered a poor fit despite affection for him. — Bill Simmons
- Cuba Gooding Jr. is proposed, with concern the timing may be early. — Bill Simmons
- Kiefer Sutherland is rejected as too old. — Bill Simmons
- Mark Wahlberg is proposed for the brash, dishonest energy, though perhaps two years early. — Sean Fennessey
- Sam Rockwell is considered too young. — Sean Fennessey
Who Won the Movie?
Tom Cruise, with a personal case for Jennifer Connelly
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:47:35Read transcript
- Cruise receives the initial shared answer — Bill Simmons
- One host personally favors Connelly — Bill Simmons
- Two more Connelly scenes are imagined as enough to change the result — Bill Simmons
- The exchange is preserved as qualified rather than manufactured unanimous ballots — Bill Simmons
Displaying discussions 133 - 144 of 263 in total
Films in the archive
Risky Business
1983
The Color of Money
1986
The Firm
1993
Top Gun
1986
Top Gun: Maverick
2022
Tropic Thunder
2008