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It's certainly everybody's right to have their own opinion of Tom Cruise, both as an actor and as a person. And there are certainly plenty of things that can be legitimately criticized with regard to what we know of his personal life, many of them arising from his devotion to Scientology. But the degree of vitriol exhibited in some of these comments seems to me to be rather over the top. I don't believe myself to be in a position to judge him on a personal level, since so much of what I know about him comes through the filter of a sensationalist and celebrity obsessed media. However, when it comes to acting, I find it hard to believe that someone who has done the work he has done in films such as 'Born on the Fourth of July', 'Rain Man', and 'Jerry Maguire' can be described with seriousness as having no talent. It may well be that he is seriously miscast in this latest film. I haven't seen it and probably won't, but the reviews seem to indicate that. And, like any actor, his performances can vary widely in quality depending on the suitability of the material, the direction. etc. But seeing the terms that some people have used about his acting in these letters does make me suspect that their reaction to his work is being dictated by their personal hostility toward him...whatever that may be based on.
