Run Tom Run!

Have you noticed that Tom Cruise, in every one of his movies, has a scene in which he is running someplace? In “All the Right Moves,” the running scene fits with his character because, well, his character is playing high school football. In the Mission Impossible movies, I guess it makes sense for a secret agent to literally run around, but what is up with the gratuitous running in “Collateral?” One second, Tom is cautiously stalking the cab driver, the next, he is running full speed, in his slick suit, across a pedestrian bridge. Running makes sense if you are in the military (Few Good Men, Top Gun, Last Samurai) but what is up with the footrace with Robert Duvall at the end of “Days of Thunder?” And what is he doing running across rooftops during “Vanilla Sky?” What is up with the running during “Jerry Maquire?” He is the agent, not the athlete. I do suppose one must run from murderous aliens like in “War of the Worlds,” or when you are being chased by cops gone bad in the future like “Minority Report.” Where was he going in “Magnolia?” Or “Eyes Wide Shut?”

Not that this should be construed as criticism, because I think Tom Cruise is cool. Ever since he ran around in “Losing It” costarring Shelly Long, and in “Risky Business.” And since we know he is not firing blanks, I am all the more impressed!

Nonetheless, this topic requires closer study.