I never saw Magnolia, not completely, but I probably should since I liked Boogie Nights. So obviously I don't know what his performance in that was like. I saw probably five minutes of Collateral so again not really enough to form an opinion. You're probably right, rt, about what he brings to the action hero roles. It just hasn't been enough to draw me in to see a movie of his. I think the last thing I saw him in was Minority Report, which I found enjoyable, but not as good as Blade Runner.
I remember seeing him on some awards show, and Jamie Foxx was on and it was after they did Collateral so I guess they were pretty friendly. At one point Jamie Foxx might have been presenting, or just speaking at the mike, and it looked like Tom Cruise was standing on a sloped part of the stage. I just thought, how bizarre, it's like it was designed to make him look at tall as Jamie Foxx, because God forbid anyone should think Tom Cruise is short.
Some celebrity/superstar/actors, to paraphrase Dorothy Parker, run the gamut from A to B in terms of the type of part they play. Good for them if it brings in a steady income and people flock to see it. I had a similar dislike of Bruce Willis, in terms of his range of roles and his politics. The Sixth Sense changed my mind a bit, at least enough to also see Sin City (then again, Clive Owens was in that too, drooool). Occasionally the persona doesn't overshadow the celebrity...but not very often.
Juan