Tom Cruise’s Instagram bio reads: “Running in movies since 1981.”

I love Tom. So does my wife. We just binged all five Mission: Impossible movies last week. So, to pay tribute to Tom and his new film, Mission: Impossible – Fallout (the sixth installment in the series), I wanted to go through the best runs of Tom’s illustrious career, with some very strict criteria. I graded every run on a scale of 1-10 on the following categories:

Stakes

Why was he running? What was he carrying? Is there a time factor?

Duration

Longer runs are graded more favorably.

Presentation

Music, cinematography, slo-motion, editing, etc.

Location

Is he running on a roof/building/bridge/etc.? Treacherous or exotic locales bode well here.

The “Tom” Factor

This is the X-factor – the intangibles (i.e. his face, his soul, my wife’s pining eyes as she watches him, etc.).

DISCLAIMER: the rankings are heavily weighted towards the second half of his career; that’s when he really hit his stride (I’ll see myself out). However, all movies have been considered, beginning with his first film, Endless Love, in 1981.

If you care to see all of these runs (and more) in one singular go, then look no further than this gem of a video:

All of the following video clips come from the YouTube video above; it should be noted that there are cuts even within the same scene, so as to only show Tom when he is actually running. Unfortunately, some of the other cool parts of the scenes are lost along the way. Okay, so before I get to my Top 5, here are the Honorable Mentions:

RISKY BUSINESS

Tom rarely does manual labor, so it was nice to see him push a wheelbarrow in Risky Business. Plus, his giddy chuckle is almost too much.

LEGEND

If you’ve never tripped on acid but always wanted to, watch these clips from Legend. Also, major props (pun intended) to the production design department for that incredibly realistic sunset for Tom to run into.

FAR AND AWAY

Far and Away is a treasure, fake Irish accent and all, and screaming while sprinting up a hill to fight your pesky brothers is not easy.

THE FIRM

This scene from The Firm is the single longest run of Tom’s career. And he’s carrying an important briefcase full of files the entire time (this one just missed the cut).

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II

A, dare I say, iconic run from MI:2, accompanied by the face-off, a great song, slo-mo, and the icing on the cake: doves. This also barely missed the cut. It was very hard for me.

THE LAST SAMURAI

A intense war scene from The Last Samurai (GREAT film). Extra points for the armor, the yelling, the beard, the katanas, and the hair.

Now, for the top five runs of Tom’s career:

5) MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE

It’s fitting that we start out the Top Five with this iconic run from the first Mission: Impossible film. He planted a gum bomb on a water tank and used it as a diversion to escape an increasingly precarious situation. Great form here.

Stakes: 7

Duration: 2

Presentation: 7

Location: 4

The “Tom” Factor: 8

TOTAL SCORE: 28

4) MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL

This is a short but incredible clip. As you probably know, Tom does all his own stunts. So to see him running down and along a skyscraper in Dubai was really fun. It was this stunt in particular that elevated Cruise’s stunts to the next level and became the standard for all future stunts.

Stakes: 6

Duration: 3

Presentation: 9

Location: 6

The “Tom” Factor: 5

TOTAL SCORE: 29

3) MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II

I know that this movie isn’t a critic darling, but I love it. Tom’s girl just shot herself up with the extremely deadly Chimera virus and only has 20 hours to live. Tom, er Ethan, is distraught but knows he must leave her to get the cure. This scene has the end of my single favorite song from the Mission: Impossible series. The stakes are incredibly high, and it ends with an iconic jump into a parachute (not shown above, regrettably). High marks all around.

Stakes: 9

Duration: 2

Presentation: 9

Location: 7

The “Tom” Factor: 10

TOTAL SCORE: 37

2) MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL

Thought you’d get a breather after the Burj Khalifa scene? Think again. This sandstorm sequence is absolutely fantastic. The cinematography is great, the stakes are high, and his form is sublime.

Stakes: 7

Duration: 10

Presentation: 9

Location: 6

The “Tom” Factor: 8

TOTAL SCORE: 40

1) MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III

To me, this is the single greatest run of Tom’s career. The stakes were the highest (he was rushing to save his wife from being murdered and only had a couple minutes to get there). He was carrying the one thing that the villain (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) wanted, so he had to be careful with that. The run was along some cool residential areas in China. He was taking directions on the phone. He was yelling Chinese at the civilians. Oh, and he has an explosive implant in his head. This scene has it all.

Stakes: 10

Duration: 9

Presentation: 10

Location: 10

The “Tom” Factor: 10

TOTAL SCORE: 49

Phew, I feel like I just ran all these scenes myself. Will this week’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout have the Tom Run to end all Tom Runs? The now infamous ankle breaker (WARNING if you’re squeamish) looks to be an early favorite.

Which is your favorite Tom Cruise run? Did I miss one of your favorites? Sound off below.