Hard to buy Cruise as an everyman

If Spielberg had to have Cruise in this film, he should've at least made him grow a beard and put on some weight or something or just made him a Yuppie from midtown Manhattan. I'm from NYC and yes, I had the same issues with him as you did. He looked like a Calvin Klein model, not a working class stiff from the NY tri-state area.

You could literally say that about 99% of A-list actors.

It's a funny notion that the acting and casting of Tom Cruise would make it seem sci-fi long before the alien invasion itself.

I hold to the belief that every actor has to reflect the psychology or background on some level of the character they play. Clint Eastwood, Gary Cooper, Burt Reynolds, John Wayne, Chuck Norris are some of the best examples when actors don't even seem like they play a character, some people say such people are bad actors, but the missed point is often how much they actually blend in without even trying that much. We have to believe, stretching the range of an actor is good, but if the casting itself doesn't match from the beginning it's a futile vanity in the casting style of Orson Welles in Lady From Shanghai.

Although sometimes Jeff Bridges, Kurt Russell and Tom Hanks can reflect the characters well by having the same interests and experiences like them.

I would actually like to see a version of the same movie where Cruise and his family head out from their private suite in a 5 star Manhattan hotel with his white collar business suit executive style attire while the tripod comes out of the sewer on 5th Avenue and they have to race to their limo asap before they are beamed to death.

I know plenty of guys such as the one Cruise plays in the film. Why do you think he's the weekend dad? Because he's self-centered, and has his interests as the priority. He's not irresponsible, in fact he is shown to be rather intelligent and experienced in general life. It's clear that while he doesn't resent his children, rather his unwillingness to prioritize them over his job and really his bachelorhood, is what caused his relationship with the mother to fall apart.

He plays a 40-something who is still living the 20-something lifestyle. The muscle car, the leather jacket. He would most definitely have been going out to the club and bringing home some babe had it not been for the events in the movie. I thought Tom Cruise did a great job in the role because I've seen that guy plenty of times in real life.

LOL hilarious post.

He didn’t have a minivan. He drives a vintage black Mustang home from the docks, which his son later takes off in and abandons on Lincoln Ave after the aliens lightening storm disables all the cars. Cruise’s character then swipes the minivan from the car repair shop after he earlier told the guy to change the solenoid. His daughter keeps yelling “whose car is this?” just before they speed off in it.

The problem I have with Cruise is the fact I find it hard to separate the actor from the character. He is basically just like George Clooney since they pretty much play the same narcissistic, playboy, douchebag types in every role. Clooney is absolutely insufferable with his politics and virtue signaling, where Cruise isn't into politics, but his psuedo spiritual Scientology garbage make him absolutely unbearable, in addition to his very limited acting range