The new movie trailer for Mission: Impossible 4 just came out, and actor Tom Cruise is the new topic of debate in "hot or not?" discussions. Over age 40, does the Hollywood actor still cut it as a stud in the new action adventure theme movie?

Generation X members remember the hot young actor as the lucky and slick teen from the cult classic Risky Business who romanced older actress Rebecca De Mornay both on- and off-screen. He wowed Baby Boomers and WWII Generation members who saw him on the big screen as the cocky pilot and lead hero in the blockbuster film Top Gun [one of the top grossing films of all time]. Since that time, Tom Cruise had his choice of movie roles, always aiming to be the smart, savvy, sexy super hero wannabe. But now that actor is getting older, was married and divorced from actresses Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman, and is blissfully wed to actress and new Ann Taylor model Katie Holmes... Does the celebrity dad of Isabella, Connor, and Suri still have what it takes to be a sex symbol in the 21st century?

 

The short answer to that question (with no "Tom Cruise is short" puns intended) is YES. Fans of the actor and even those who think Cruise is a bit of a flake seem to agree that he is the real deal when it comes to holding his own in the Mission: Impossible series despite the fact he was born July 3rd, 1962 (making him 48 years old already). He's only 5'7" tall, by the way—but in his mind, most think he towers above just about anybody.

 

Huffington Post shared the movie plot summary, saying, "Tom Cruise returns for a fourth chapter in the Mission: Impossible franchise, the Brad Bird-directed Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol... Filmed in Dubai, it sets up Hunt and his crew on a seemingly impossible escape mission, with any slip-up meaning they'll be labeled terrorists."

 

MTV movie news chimed in about the trailer and the enduring hotness of the man, the myth, the legend, writing, "If there is one thing we can count on from Tom Cruise in a Mission: Impossible movie, it is mind-blowing action and stunt sequences. From his first foray into the spy-tastic world of Ethan Hunt to his fourth, the upcoming Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Cruise has been one-upping himself in the stunt category."

 

Making no bones about their affection for the Hollywood movie star with timeless, multigenerational appeal, they also say that judging from the first official new movie trailer for the film that released Tuesday evening (June 28), the film is definitely going to be a huge success. Will it be a hit because of the hero's hotness, or will the movie series continue to make big bucks because the fictional character Ethan Hunt is himself a hottie?

 

Watch the new video clip and spy for yourself. Then, you decide—does he still have it when it comes to being sexy, or is middle age handicapping him and giving younger star celebs an advantage? Of special note is the very real fact that despite his age and status as a family man, he did most of his own stunt work for each breathtaking scene.