Over the summer, Federalist Senior Editor David Harsanyi — someone I consider to be a friend, mentor, and crime expert — has repeatedly downplayed the work of the greatest action star of our lifetimes: Tom Cruise.
During a June 21 episode of “‘You’re Wrong’ with Mollie Hemingway and David Harsanyi,” for example, he wrongly claimed the first three “Indiana Jones” movies are better than the “Mission Impossible” franchise. He also claimed a few weeks after that discussion that, after initially liking the film, he thought “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One” could have been written by a “ninth grader.”
As it turns out, David fancies himself as a Tom Cruise movie aficionado — as do I. In fact, roughly five years ago, Mr. Harsanyi penned an article ranking every Cruise movie from best to worst. And while I respect David’s opinions — mostly — I strenuously object to his podcast hot takes and list. They are simply, as legacy media like to say, “misinformation.”
In order to provide Federalist readers with an accurate ranking, I’ve crafted my own list of Cruise’s films. (For the record, I have yet to see “Lions for Lambs” or “Endless Love,” so neither of them is included below.)
1. “Top Gun: Maverick”: I may be biased since I wasn’t alive when the original “Top Gun” was released, but this film is so much better than its predecessor. Having the actors fly in actual F-18s to film their aerial scenes added so much quality
