Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Adam Sandler all star in new "trust me" movies. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Scott Yamano/Netflix/Everett Collection, Scott Garfield/Warner Bros./Everett Collection and Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic via Getty Images)There's a guy. He's really good at what he does, but his methods are a bit unconventional. So unconventional, in fact, that he's a bit notorious and hesitant to return to his career, where his peers and bosses find him dangerous and irritating. But things are getting pretty bad, so he has to make a triumphant return, breaking a few rules in his quest to save the day.
You'll just have to trust him.
This is the plot of at least three movies that premiered this summer: Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, F1: The Movie and Happy Gilmore 2. They're all ultra-successful hits led by beloved movie stars - a dying breed who don't sign on to just any project. The "trust me" trope has proven to be so successful, it's no wonder they're fueling the box office and streaming charts.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I need you to trust me one last time," Tom Cruise's stubbornly capable secret agent character says in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. He proceeds to push the laws of physics and defy the typical constraints of the human body - never mind that Cruise is in his 60s and does his own stunts - frustrating those around him, but saving the world.
Tom Cruise hangs from a real-life airplane in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. (Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)The appeal of the "trust me" trope goes back to our psychological need in stories and in real life to feel secure, Alex Beene, a professor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, tells Yahoo. We like seeing this sort of thing played out onscreen over and over again because it's one of our most basic desires."As much as men and women claim to love independence in most aspects of their lives, there's a sense of relief and assuredness in letting someone else solve problems and overcome challenges," he says. "As a member of the audience, it's even more appealing because it makes you feel [that] all because of one person or group, everything ultimately will be OK."'Belly fat and bad knees be damed'The fact that the fictional heroes we're often comforted by are tough, experienced men appeals greatly to other people like them. Adults over 45 are the demographic least likely to go to the movies, according to a Yahoo News/YouGov Survey conducted in May 2025, so it makes sense that studios may craft narratives and cast actors specifically to break into that market.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"For older men, [a "trust me" story] offers the promise that they, too, could pull it all together to save themselves or their families or the world if push came to shove, belly fat and bad knees be damned," Tim Stevens, a writer at Connecticut College, tells Yahoo.
Younger demographics may see a bit of their own dads in those characters. Though Cruise's character isn't a father, he has a fatherly relationship with several of his younger teammates, leading and protecting them even at his own expense. Christopher McKittrick, the former editor of Creative Screenwriting magazine, tells Yahoo that "grizzled old gunslinger" stories have been popular since classic Western films first took off. They appeal to dads in particular because they love seeing someone truly talented and experienced share their knowledge with young people, who then trust them and take their advice.
It helps that the stars of these movies are actually veterans of their own industries, too."Men can identify with aging movie stars like ... Cruise and Pitt based on their personas of keeping a cool head under fire, utilizing their unique expertise to solve a critical problem, and, of course, teaching those young people what they don't know," McKittrick says. "Taking dad to see a crowd-pleasing movie like this can make for an easy family outing and is an easy way for kids to connect with dad's interests."Damson Idris and Brad Pitt in F1: The Movie. (Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection)It's nice to see an older guy come out on top. It may happen all the time in the movies now, but that's not typically the case in sports or other real-life, action-packed scenarios. In F1: The Movie, Brad Pitt plays a talented but rough-around-the-edges driver who returns to Formula 1 racing years after a horrific crash, only to use strategic aggressive driving and crashing to help his team defeat the competition. He defies the expectations of his younger teammate, but instead of shoving it in his face, he teaches the rising star a thing or two. Dads love this, but so do audiences at large: F1: The Movie has made more than $500 million at the global box office, becoming both Pitt and production company Apple's biggest blockbuster.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTo Stevens, "trust me" movies all shar