(CNN) -- Tom Cruise should have been a rock star. Remember him pounding his air guitar in not much more than a shirt and shades in "Risky Business"? He turned a pool hall into a concert stage, strutting his stuff in "The Color of Money," shook his moneymaker under layers of latex at the end of "Tropic Thunder" and took a chance, singing in his own voice in "Top Gun" and "Magnolia." He always had the moves, and more important, he had the self-belief. He turns himself on. Still, the challenge of a full-blown musical has apparently not been something he's been in a hurry to tackle, perhaps wary of undercutting his action-man credentials. Turns out, some things are worth waiting for.
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Tom Cruise stars in the musical film "Rock of Ages"
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Critic says he shines as Stacee Jaxx, "God of Rock"
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The film also stars Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Julianne Hough
But it's an uneven fight, and you might find yourself itching for the fast-forward button whenever @placeholder is off-screen.