It's been less than four years since Viacom chief Sumner Redstone famously called Tom Cruise "embarrassing," labeled him as a turn-off for all women and accused him of costing Paramount "a lot of money." He also refused to renew the star's contract.

What a difference a little career upswing makes.

link that the "Risky Business" actor, whose precipitous fall from the pinnacle of the A-list got him rudely cast off the studio's lot in 2006, would appear in a fourth “Mission: Impossible” installment.

For the 47-year-old, the return doesn't just mark his return to the studio that gestated some of his biggest hits over the last two decades -- it's also his best shot at recapturing the Hollywood glory that once surrounded him.

In other words, it's now o never for Cruise, who made enough career baby steps to get back in Redstone's good graces.

But to finish the job, "Mission: Impossible 4" -- which Cruise is also co-producing -- will have to deliver.

TheWrap tracks Cruise’s fall from cultura pop grace … and the slow climb back.

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