Tom Cruise piloted a helicopter onto the USS Midway for the ‘Top Gun’ premiere

It feels like it’s been years since we’ve seen Tom Cruise at a movie premiere. It has been years, surely? By my records, he hasn’t done a big promotional tour since 2018 (Mission: Impossible Fallout). So Tom was ready. He worked through the pandemic, he delayed the release of several movies, but finally, we have arrived at yet another Summer of Cruise. They did a huge premiere event for Top Gun: Maverick in San Diego on Wednesday. They rented out the USS Midway and staged a spectacular stunt for Tom’s entrance. Tom, ever the insurance risk, piloted a helicopter onto the deck of the Midway. That was his big entrance for the premiere.

I’m sure there will be comments about Tom’s boyish visage, so let’s get that out of the way. Tom has been getting tweaked for years! I remember when he was with Katie Holmes, they stayed in Brazil for a few months and it was widely believed that he was getting some of the best nips-and-tucks in the world. Now, is it super-obvious work? I mean… he’s 59 years old. His aim to retain a boyish look while still “giving in” to some crow’s feet and such. There’s a combination of high-quality plastic surgery plus some fillers and Botox. Honestly, though, I do appreciate that it is “good work.” He looks younger than his age but he doesn’t look like he’s desperately clinging to “looking 33.” That’s my take, you probably disagree.

I read this THR piece about the premiere, and they quoted Jerry Bruckheimer at length. Apparently, Tom’s only requirement when signing on to this sequel was that he wanted Val Kilmer to come back. That’s honestly so nice, I got choked up a little bit. Val has had significant health problems (throat cancer) and he lost his voice. And here was Tom, insisting that his old friend be written into the script. I bet Tom made sure that Val got a nice paycheck for it too.

Bonus Miles Teller and Jennifer Connelly. Jennifer brought her husband.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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33 Responses to “Tom Cruise piloted a helicopter onto the USS Midway for the ‘Top Gun’ premiere”

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  1. StellainNH says:

    I think he looks freakish. Nothing like he did in his youth. I will not be watching that movie anyway. I will not support the Co$.

  2. Layla Beans says:

    I saw a clip of him on James Corden on IG yesterday, and it took me a moment to recognize him. His work may have been good back in the day, but it’s getting to be too much. Tom, STAHP now.

  3. Chaine says:

    My feeling about his plastic surgery or injectables or whatever he did is that it’s not overkill, he looks his age, he just doesn’t look like Tom Cruise. And if you are going to do something that makes you look like a wonky deepfake of yourself but you still look the same age, what is the whole point of the surgery?

    • Meg says:

      Yeah good point I thought it was just his hair because of getting out of the helicopter the wind etc. But no he doesn’t even look like himself

  4. Liz Version 700 says:

    Wow that stunt screams look at me!!!! I loved Top Gun but I can’t support CoS I won’t give them a dime. He is determined to stay youthful isn’t he. I think his work this time isn’t as good as before. I swear he looks like Tom’s second cousin for real l.

  5. Eggbert says:

    Yeah I don’t think he looks good because he doesn’t quite look like himself from all the work and fillers. I think maybe it’s the cheek fillers and some deadness/Botox around the eyes?

  6. girl_ninja says:

    He is so extra. Poor thing, trying so hard to stay relevant.

  7. Sonia says:

    Seeing Paul Bettany makes me nauseous. How does Jennifer even live with him?

    • Meg says:

      Why?

      • msd says:

        If your question is about Bettany, I think many people haven’t seen him the same way since the text messages between him and his friend Depp leaked. Joking about burning Amber etc. They’re gross.

  8. Macheath says:

    He looks a bit like Dennis Quaid here.

  9. HandforthParish says:

    My god it is like his ultimate wet dream.
    He’s waited so long for this.
    Sad little man.

  10. Yo says:

    Personally Refuse to normalize celebrate or applaud anything this slave labor using cult leader does

    • Meh says:

      He’s the face of an abusive cult, and that’s all anyone should be talking about. He should get interrogated about this in every interview he does. It’s insane what celebs get away with.

  11. Elizabeth says:

    I adore Jennifer’s dress . . . Fits well, great color on her, interesting but not too overdone . . . Excellent choice 👌

  12. olliesmom says:

    He doesn’t even look like himself anymore. He always had those boyish good looks. And the weird thing is that he doesn’t look any younger. Just different.

  13. elle says:

    Boyish? I think he looks like the portrait in the attic finally fell over. Or he got his cousin’s face transplanted on to his.

    I don’t see Dennis Quaid – maybe Owen Wilson?

  14. Gertrude says:

    He looks like a wax figure mid-melt.

  15. ChillinginDC says:

    He looks like a dark haired Dennis Quaid. Weird.

  16. Julia K says:

    Are we sure this is Tom Cruise? This guy looks nothing like him.

  17. AMA1977 says:

    He’s gross, his helicopter stunt is gross, his plastic surgery weird-face is gross, his lifts are comical, he’s an abusive cult-leader, a megalomaniac, a terrible father (both for abandoning his youngest AND for alienating the mother of his older two) AND a bad actor. Something nice, I am glad he included Val Kilmer, because I will always love Iceman/Doc Holliday. I will not see this and loudly informed my husband (who wanted *so bad* to be a flyboy, growing up near a naval air base and seeing this in his youth!) that I am not going to ever see it and TC can rot. I already loathed him for his idiocy about post-partum depression and meds, and that was before the true extent of his cult involvement was known.

  18. Ines says:

    I think he would look better with his natural hair colour.

  19. LaUnicaAngelina says:

    He looks a lot like his cousin William Mapother (another actor) now.

  20. Therese says:

    paul bettany looks like he still adores his wife. they are a beautiful couple.