Tom Cruise's HBO Max Hit Still Beats Any Film He's Ever Made

Published Oct 15, 2026, 6:18 AM EDT

Digger may be making headlines for its financial losses, but that doesn’t mean it can’t still be, as Collider’s own Victoria Luxford described it, Tom Cruise’s "Oscar moment." An ambitious swing of a performance, it showed audiences a side of the actor that won’t be familiar if you only know Cruise from his blockbuster action roles. However, while his current release may have awards ambitions, it’s far from the first of his movies to deserve that attention. 1992’s A Few Good Men is a legal drama that stars Cruise as a man fighting injustice in the military. Coming during the peak of the star’s ‘90s success, it features an unforgettable performance that should have been at the top of Oscar voters’ ballots — and with its current spot among HBO Max's top 10 most-streamed films, it's reminding viewers that Cruise has always been more than just an action star.

‘A Few Good Men’ Follows a Trial That Questions Authority

Cruise plays Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, a talented but complacent Navy lawyer who must defend two U.S. Marines accused of murdering one of their comrades at Guantánamo Bay. While initially expecting to push through a quick and painless plea deal, he is encouraged by fellow lawyer JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) to look into inconsistencies in the case. Slowly, they uncover abuses within the military chain of command that lead to Colonel Nathan R. Jessup (Jack Nicholson), a military giant whose authority is never questioned.

Written by Aaron Sorkin, the film is a tense and thrilling exploration of duty, honor, and resilience in the face of a corrupt system. It was a box office hit, with the court scene between Cruise and Nicholson quoted and spoofed for years after its release. It’s a movie that captured the public imagination, and that’s due to the magnetism of its star.

Tom Cruise Goes Toe-to-Toe with an Acting Icon

Image via Columbia Pictures 

The film features an ensemble cast filled with marquee names: Cruise, Moore, and Nicholson lead a cast that also includes Kiefer Sutherland, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Kevin Bacon. With all these stars on the screen, it takes a special kind of performance to stand out, and Cruise gives just that, even in the face of an icon. Having soared in Top Gun and fought the system in Born on the Fourth of July, his performance as Daniel Kaffee comes somewhere in between the two extremes. He’s cocky and dismissive about the case initially, which puts him at odds with Moore’s character, but comes to learn the magnitude of what he is doing. Watching that journey, which culminates in a courtroom duel that became part of Hollywood folklore, is thrilling.

During the film’s finale, Kaffee and Jessup come face-to-face in the courtroom, as the young attorney questions the decorated Colonel. Unlike in their previous interactions, the power dynamic has shifted – Kaffee is more confident, resilient, and refuses to give in to Jessup’s bluster. The confrontation leads to a much-quoted line, where Kaffee demands the truth, to which Jessup retorts: “You can’t handle the truth!” Nicholson is quite rightly celebrated for a tremendous performance in this scene, but he benefits from an amazing partner in Cruise. While calmer and less verbose than his co-star, he shows Kaffee at the moment of explosion, a man who has coasted for most of his career suddenly finding a reason to fight. It caps off a terrific performance that was loved by audiences across the world, but not, seemingly, by the Academy.

‘A Few Good Men’ was Not Tom Cruise’s Oscar Moment, But It Should Have Been

Jack Nicholson received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his performance in the film, but Cruise’s performance was left unacknowledged. While an Oscar isn’t the only measure of success, it would set the tone for how Tom Cruise was perceived by awards voters over the next few decades. A Few Good Men had all the hallmarks of an award-worthy performance, but he has often been seen as a movie star rather than a prestige actor, in an industry where it’s thought that you have to be one or the other. As such, the legend has only received three acting nominations from the Academy to this day (for Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, and Magnolia).

It’s no wonder that many consider him an action star despite having a relatively varied career that included arthouse roles like Vanilla Sky and Eyes Wide Shut; villainous turns such as Vincent in Collateral; and political thrillers such as Valkyrie and Digger. Yes, he will always be most celebrated as the fearless lead of the Mission: Impossible movies, or as a symbol of Americana in Top Gun and its sequel. However, there is a fine actor beneath the spectacle, and the proof of that is in Cruise’s longevity as a star.

Over thirty years later, A Few Good Men remains a showcase for the kind of range Tom Cruise was always capable of. Bringing star quality to a narratively dense legal thriller, and turning military protocol into nail-biting entertainment, it’s an overlooked highlight in his filmography. While Jack Nicholson came away with the timeless catchphrase, it’s Cruise who proved himself as the timeless star.