Tom Cruise
is perhaps the best-known movie star on the planet and is widely known for his work in the action genre. Cruise's role as Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible the franchise, in particular, saw him participating in shootouts, car chases, motorcycle chases, and foot chases, all involving stunts. Cruise, however, is also an action star outside of his work on Mission: Impossible.
Cruise recently appeared in Oblivion (2013) and Edge of Tomorrow (2014), both action films with science fiction twists. He also came into play with a romantic comedy element in Knight and Day (2010). Cruise's roles in Top Gun: Maverick and like Jack Reacher are also action-oriented. It was in 2004, however, that Cruise played one of his most memorable characters.showing a new side of himself in an intense crime thriller that features several realistic shootouts.
Tom Cruise's Side Shot Gets a Glowing Review
The actor's dedication is unparalleled
A firearms expert analyzes shooting scenes Guaranteepraising Cruise's”textbook“weapon handling skills. Released in 2004, Michael Mann's film marks an interesting change in Cruise's career, placing him in the role of the villain. Cruise plays the murderer Vincent in the filmforcing Jamie Foxx's Max, a taxi driver, to accompany him from hit to hit around Los Angeles. Guarantee It was a critical and commercial success, earning two Academy Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actor for Foxx.
In a recent video for Insiderfirearms expert and retired Special Operations soldier Patrick McNamara analyzes the scene of Guarantee in which Cruise's Vincent shoots two thieves trying to steal his briefcase. The expert praises Cruise's design of the weapon and the shot itself, with McNamara saying it looks like the star spent a lot of time training. Although Vincent using only one hand to finish off one of the thieves results in a point being lost, Guarantee It ultimately gets a near-perfect accuracy score. Check out McNamara's analysis below:
He confronts them and allows them to close the gap with pistols drawn. Game over. Very cool scene. Therefore, the way he designed this particular scene was not only good in terms of effectiveness, but also in terms of safety. He did a great job cleaning the blazer and there was a very good, positive grip on the pistol as he drew. It was simply spectacular when it came to weapon handling.
So, hands up, which means non-aggressive stance. Came from above, left hook, lowered, pulled, threw from the hip, “boom, boom”, and then with two hands, “boom, boom”. So you could tell, not just in this scene, but in other scenes in this movie, that Tom Cruise spent many, many, many hours drawing and shooting.
So it's built in what people call “muscle memory.” But he performed the appropriate amount of meaningful repetitions until the drawing line is perfect. Because there was easily a 1.5 or maybe even less than 1.5 second tying shot, which was pretty good. It felt like a textbook to me.
There's a lot going on here in terms of body position as well. So, tactically, he eliminates predictability, he guarantees that he will get out of x. The movement of your entire body ensures that nothing is predictable. Predictability leads to chaos and you are an easy target if you are predictable in your body movements. Then he went off the charts with unpredictability, like a boxer would do – make them make mistakes and make them pay.
I'm not a fan of lazy gun handling, but he kind of leaves it hanging before putting it away. I personally probably would have backed away and made sure I had them covered before putting the pistol away.
Overall, in this scene, Tom Cruise's form is very, very good. Time invested. Sweat equity. That guy worked, he worked hours. I would rate this clip a nine [out of 10].
What the Warranty Accuracy Score Means for Tom Cruise
The Mission: Impossible Star never does anything by halves
When it comes to wanting to entertain audiences, no one is more determined than Cruise. Cruise continues to put his life on the line to entertain peopledoing a variety of dangerous stunts throughout the Mission: Impossible franchise. Often these stunts require months of training and preparation, with your motorcycle jumping in Mission: Impossible – Reckoning a perfect example of this.
Clearly, though, Cruise's dedication to his roles goes beyond wild stunts. Vincent's murder of two thieves in Guarantee isn't as risky as Cruise making a HALO jump to Mission: Impossible – Falloutbut the actor still dedicated a lot of time to ensuring that this twenty second scene was the best possible. This scene, in many ways, is emblematic Cruisethe entire acting approach.
Source: Insider