Tom Cruise’s best stunt: Mesmerizing us with his movies, not his peculiar church | Opinion

Somewhere during hour No. 3 of “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,” as Tom Cruise was swinging from the wing of a biplane careening across a South African sky, it occurred to me how many remarkable things were happening at once.

First, I was easily 150 minutes into a film experience, and I hadn’t looked at my watch once. This is a testament to the quality of the film, easily the best of the storied “M:I” franchise and possibly one of the most enjoyable movie experiences of my recent lifetime.

Second, it was dawning on me that I was watching one of the most amazing figures in Hollywood history, responsible for as many riveting performances as anyone in my adult life. He won’t be on the modern acting Mount Rushmore alongside Gene Hackman, Tom Hanks or Denzel Washington, but for the pure irresistibility of the product, he may be the champ. Seven of the eight “M:I” films will soon rank in his top ten, and in a world where Harrison Ford played Indiana Jones into his eighties, Cruise has suggested that “Final Reckoning” may not be so final.

Whatever follows will add to a filmography like no other. Cheesy early classics such as “Risky Business,” “Cocktail” and “The Color of Money.” Nineties popcorn-chompers such as “The Firm,” “A Few Good Men” and “Jerry Maguire.” Add in some irresistibly compelling curveballs such as “Magnolia,” “Vanilla Sky” and “Eyes Wide Shut.” Top things off with the iconic “Top Gun” from 1986 and its sequel 36 years later that soared to the top of his earnings list while single-handedly luring America back into real theaters after the COVID nightmare.

The third thought that wrapped around me is that Cruise has pulled this off while leading a life of stunning peculiarity, in a profession that draws inseparable attention to the personal and professional attributes of its artists.

Tom Cruise succeeds despite unsettling nature of Church of Scientology

Tabloid obsessions with the off-screen lives of movie stars have boosted some careers while finishing others. Part of Cruise’s appeal is that he brings a good-guy heroic ethos to most of his parts, a feat he has achieved while climbing the ranks of one of the singularly unsettling groups in modern America: the Church of Scientology.

Its cultlike excesses are richly documented in articles, books, films and TV shows featuring unfortunate members who chose to leave, only to have their lives threatened if not destroyed by the church’s bizarre grudges against them as “suppressive persons” who should be shunned at the least or punished at the most.

Cruise’s first wife, Mimi Rogers, led him into that world, an environment that became untenable for second wife Nicole Kidman and particularly for third wife Katie Holmes. She sought sole custody of their daughter Suri in 2012, in part to protect the child from Scientology’s various poisons.

It is not a short list. The policies forcing disconnection from perceived infidels are just the beginning. Former members have shared testimony of forced labor and exploitation, and Holmes is not the only parent who has recoiled at Scientology’s treatment of children. Enormous financial pressure is placed on members to climb a mind-boggling ladder of supposed enlightenment through the “auditing” process featuring attachment to nonsensical “E-meters” certain to prod them toward “Operating Thetan” status whose benefits are murky but whose costs are concrete.

Cruise’s clash with Brooke Shields over depression medication

This lucrative racket has led the church to savage and undermine the profession of psychiatry and the prescription of medications for mental disorders. We may have too many shrinks in our society, and we are surely overmedicated, but this laser-focused hostility toward even proven successes is what led Cruise to berate his actress friend Brooke Shields in 2005 for sharing how medication helped her post-partum depression. In a New York Times op-ed, she accused Cruise of a “ridiculous rant.” He later apologized, but his continued status as a Scientology kingpin draws questions about whether he was sincere.

If Scientology were merely that wacky sect hatched by a hack science fiction writer who made up a tale of an alien named Xenu who transported billions of beings to Earth 75 million years ago, it could be filed among countless harmlessly crazy beliefs to be found in Hollywood and elsewhere. But its real-world offenses have created real-world PR nightmares that Cruise is surely plugged into in his role as one of the church’s top bigwigs.

In view of that, he is pulling off an extraordinary feat as we speak. His exceptional devotion to his craft has brought joy to so many countless millions that he benefits from an epic public compartmentalization. He no longer publicly flaunts the troublesome trappings of Scientology, and an entire generation of fans may have little memory of it. What they do see is a man driven to create art that has delighted audiences on a nearly unequaled scale. And in that passion, his sincerity is beyond doubt.

Cruise’s magic due in part to sincerity, avoiding political rants

Before the opening credits of “Final Reckoning,” you will see Tom Cruise look straight into the camera to deliver heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has shelled out the money and made the drive to an actual theater to see him at work. I could not help but feel gratitude in return. The “magic” of movies is the stuff of legend; Cruise has pulled off a trick I can find no parallel for.

For conservatives in particular, consuming the popular culture can be a minefield. I know that most movies, TV and music I consume is from artists with views opposed to mine. I have made a bargain to engage in a type of truce that has enabled me to enjoy a lifetime of their work.

Say what you will about Cruise, but he has decidedly chosen not to infuriate half of America with derisive political rants. “Final Reckoning” is refreshingly free of politics, and in “Top Gun: Maverick,” he made me want to fly Navy jets, as he did in the 1980s.

So, if he wants to show us Agent Ethan Hunt as a senior citizen, I will be there to see it.