Is Tom Cruise our last bonafide movie star? Or at least one of the few remnants of an elite group of big-screen heartthrobs who leave us saying, “They don’t make ‘em like they used to?” We’ve heard several versions of this question asked again and again over the years, especially on the heels of 2022’s astonishing and disarmingly nostalgic “Top Gun: Maverick,” a heart-swelling legacy-quel that deservedly re-established and reinforced Cruise’s status as a dying breed of larger-than-life screen hero.
While it might be futile to ponder the same query once more (come on, the answer is a resounding “yes”), that doesn’t mean Cruise is done reminding us why there won’t be another one after him to burn just as brightly.