BURBANK, Calif. — Tom Cruise's toys are all over the place.

There are the 16 motorcycles sprinkled about his private hangar at the Burbank airport: an antique Norton, a vintage Harley, an Indian built by Steve McQueen.

There are a couple of roadsters, including a 1958 two-seater Corvette (a gift from his wife, Katie Holmes).

And there are his favorites: five airplanes, from an aerobatic biplane to a 1933 crop duster to his prize, a P-51 World War II fighter that once belonged to the Tuskegee Airmen.

The vehicles are all sizes, ages, value. But they share this: Handled carelessly, these fast machines would spell the end of the star.

Fitting, then, that he has met director Bryan Singer here to discuss one of the riskiest roles of Cruise's career: a Nazi soldier plotting the assassination of Hitler in the war thriller "Valkyrie," which opens Christmas Day.

"You have to take chances, challenge yourself," Cruise says, patting the propeller of the P-51, which is emblazoned with "Kiss Me Kate" on the nose. "You can't take movies because you think they're going to be huge hits."

But even for a man who has lived much of the past 25 years in front of lenses, the scrutiny of "Valkyrie" has taken him aback.

First came reports that Cruise and Singer were banned from filming in Germany because of Cruise's Scientology faith, an account both deny. Singer says he shot in every locale he requested.

Then came the film's shifting release dates. Initially it was set to come out in summer. Then next spring. Now the holidays.

Finally, and most surprising to director and actor, reviews from people who haven't seen the film.

Recently, an MSNBC blogger quoted anonymous sources who claimed to have seen "Valkyrie." They chided Cruise's portrayal of Claus von Stauffenberg, which includes sporting an eye patch and giving the "Heil Hitler" salute, as "laughable."

"That's a first," Singer says. "This isn't politics. It's a film. You'd think people would wait to see it before reviewing and judging it."

Cruise nods. He's no stranger to tabloid headlines, Internet send-ups or even being pranked on the red carpet. But he's puzzled by the attack.

"Do I wish this weren't happening? Absolutely," he says. "Some people just feel the need to tear down, and there's nothing you can do about that."

Tearing down is something relatively new for the men.

Combined, they have generated more than $3.8 billion in ticket sales (Singer primarily with his two "X-Men" films).

But both have stumbled of late. Singer was excoriated by many critics for his "Superman Returns," though it took in $200 million.

And Cruise's image has never fully recovered since 2005, when he couch-jumped on Oprah Winfrey's show.

He took another public relations hit by publicly criticizing Brooke Shields for taking antidepressants and then for a hostile follow-up interview with Matt Lauer.

His box-office performance seems to have taken a hit.

Though hailed as the best film of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, the third installment, which cost $150 million, grossed $134 million.

Last year's political drama "Lions for Lambs" tanked with $15 million.

Some have pronounced Cruise finished. Last week, "The Daily Mirror" of London proclaimed that Cruise suffered from "madness" and that his "Hollywood career crumbled."

Cruise knows that his exuberance on "Oprah" was not well-received, and he has scaled back comments on his personal life and beliefs.

He often retreats here with his family: He's teaching son Connor, 13, to ride a motorcycle.

He takes Kate and his children (Connor, Isabella, 15, and Suri, 2) on leisurely flights and invites friends on Saturdays to race the bikes and roadsters.

"Sometimes you just have to concentrate on the things you have control over, and that will always be the most important thing," Cruise says. "The rest you have to let slide off your back."

Including media epitaphs.

"When I did 'Risky Business,' they said I was never going to be anything but a teen idol," he says. "Then I did 'Born on the Fourth of July,' and they said I wouldn't be able to get big movies anymore. When I took 'Magnolia,' they said my career was over.

"Some people like to tell you that you'll never be back. All I can do is take the movies that mean something to me and prove them wrong."

Whether "Valkyrie" is the film to do it remains to be seen. It comes in the middle of Hollywood's holiday rush, vying for holiday moviegoers and awards consideration.

It's also a $95 million gamble by the studio Cruise heads up, the revamped United Artists, that audiences will go for a Nazi film during the holidays.

Despite conventional wisdom, they just might, says Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo. Cruise, Gray says, still retains sizable box-office clout, and he is just coming off a well-received cameo in "Tropic Thunder."

"He's not Will Smith," Gray says. "But unless he proves us wrong with his next two or three movies, he's still among the top actors."