Tom Cruise – Running Man Crush
Last weekend at the Horror Realm Convention in Pittsburgh, PA, I found myself watching Minority Report just before I passed out one evening and realized how much fun I have watching Tom Cruise run in his movies.
First there’s The Firm, where he runs from Wilford Brimley and that creepy albino dude. Next up is the original Mission Impossible (which I loved), when he leaps through the window of Aqvarium and runs away from Agent Kittridge (no relation to Kit Kittridge). But in Minority Report, he outdoes them all, running for his life through the streets of a futuristic world imagined by Philip K. Dick.
It’s not just that he runs with fervor and intensity, it’s that he looks so serious doing it. I believe he’s in trouble, with his arms and legs pumping like pistons and the look of absolute determination on his face. And most of the time he’s not doing this in running shoes and sweats, but in a suit tie and dress shoes. And while I’m sure he probably runs in Jerry Maguire, Collateral, Vanilla Sky, War of the Worlds, and a number of his other films, I believe his work in the first three films I mentioned should qualify Tom Cruise for the Lifetime Achievement Award for Running in Film.
I know some will cast their votes for Will Smith and offer up for consideration his work in Bad Boys, Enemy of the State, Men in Black, I Robot, etc., and that would be a legitimate argument. Maybe even Dustin Hoffman for his work in Marathon Man. But for me, I stand by my assertion that Tom Cruise is the best runner in the history of film.
Best driver? That’s easy. Steve McQueen.
