Tom Cruise Epic Hit Netflix's Top 10 Amid 'Top Gun: Maverick' Success
The success of Top Gun: Maverick on the big screen is having serious ripple effects on Netflix and the streaming industry at home. This week, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol soared up to Netflix's Top 10 Movies list at number 7. It seems safe to assume that the movie got a bump from the popularity of Tom Cruise in theaters.
Top Gun: Maverick has been lauded as a return to the classic action movie genre and a much-needed breath of life into the theater industry. As always, social media commenters feel conflicted about the stardom of Cruise, who has had several highly publicized controversies over the last few years including his endorsement of the Church of Scientology in spite of allegations against it. However, Cruise's star power is so overwhelming that fans are turning to his back catalog when they get home. One of the most prominent titles starring Cruise available on Netflix is the fourth Mission: Impossible movie.
Ghost Protocol was released in 2011, and it was co-written by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec and directed by Brad Bird. Cruise reprised his role as Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt for another over-the-top spy thriller. This time, he and a team of experts tracked down a terrorist with access to Russian nuclear launch codes, but they are too late to stop him from bombing the Kremlin. Now implicated in the bombing, the U.S. government disavows the IMF altogether, enacting "ghost protocol" which leaves Hunt's team with no resources or backup.
Ghost Protocol was beloved by critics in its time. It has an average rating of 7.7 out of 10 on Rotten Tomatoes, with 93 percent positive scores overall. In particular, critics praised its fusion of action scenes into the plot of the movie, making them matter beyond their visual spectacle. It was also lauded for making outlandish concepts seem fun and approachable, easing the audience into their suspension of disbelief.
Netflix has Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible 2 and Ghost Protocol, but none of the other entries into the franchise. For Cruise fans in general, it also has War of the Worlds and The Last Samurai. You can also get a Cruise fix over on Paramount+ with the original Top Gun and an exclusive Top Gun featurette starring Cruise and James Corden. The streamer also has two more Mission: Impossible movies and Jack Reacher, among other titles. Top Gun: Maverick is in theaters now.