By Far and Away Cruise’s worst film

Tom Cruise’s Irish movie Far and Away has been branded one of his worst ever films by Rolling Stone magazine.

Sat, 31 May, 2014 - 01:00

Lynne Kelleher

The music bible has ranked the A-lister’s epic film catalogue to celebrate his 30 years as the world’s biggest movie star.

The A-lister caused a major sensation when he arrived in the Dingle peninsula in the autumn of 1991 with his new wife Nicole Kidman to film the epic 19th century movie but it didn’t turn out to be his greatest moment in the big screen.

His Kerry-made movie, Far and Away, ranked almost at the bottom of the list at No 32 out of a possible 36 movies and was described as a “hollow mess” by the iconic publication.

It conceded it had all the ingredients of a blockbuster hit with two A-listers and Oscar-winning director Ron Howard but it simply didn’t work on the big screen.

“It sounded good on paper: Tom Cruise and his real-life lady love Nicole Kidman as Irish immigrants (she’s rich, he’s poor) who come to America from the old country in a big screen romantic epic from director Ron Howard,” noted Rolling Stone.

“Alas, aside from some lovely photography and a moderately exciting finale set during the Oklahoma Land Rush, it’s a hollow mess.

“There’s surprisingly little chemistry between the two leads, despite their much-discussed off-screen romance at the time.”

But Rolling Stone added that the 1991 film did appear to have given James Cameron ideas for the central romance in Titanic.

The much-panned movie doesn’t appear to have tarnished Cruise’s love affair with Ireland with the megastar getting the red carpet treatment here last year.

Researchers discovered the actor’s great-great-great grandfather was a landlord called Patrick Russell Cruise, who restored evicted farm families before the Famine.

He was later jokingly dubbed “Tom O’Cruise” by Cork chat show host Graham Norton during an appearance on his red couch.

Rolling Stone dubbed the film Magnolia, as Cruise’s best ever performance.