Cruise shuts down Trafalgar Square

Tom Cruise brought London's Trafalgar Square to a standstill yesterday for his new film 'All You Need Is Kill' by landing in the historic square in a Royal Air Force helicopter.

Cruise also brought with him army tanks to the centre of London for the sci-fi film, which he's shooting with 'The Bourne Identity' director Doug Liman.

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Making a rather dramatic entrance, he landed in the centre of the square in full khaki regalia playing Lieutenant Colonel Bill Cage, a soldier who becomes trapped in a time loop, fighting his last day against an alien race over and over again.

But the three-hour disruption caused by shutting off such a vital part of central London in the run-up to Christmas angered some shoppers, commuters and tourists who were caught in road closures that covered a 2.5 mile area while filming took place.

Parts of The Strand and Charing Cross Road were also reportedly barricaded off.

Louise Allain of Westminster told The Sun: “I wanted to get to Mass this morning but Trafalgar Square was closed. Thanks for nothing, Tom.”

Cruise has been in London for several weeks shooting scenes for the film, which also stars Emily Blunt as a hardened special forces warrior and Bill Paxton.

The film is due out in 2014, and will arrive after another Cruise-fronted sci-fi project, 'Oblivion', due out next Spring and starring former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko and Morgan Freeman, and directed by Joseph Kosinski, who helmed 'Tron: Legacy' and the remake of Disney's 'The Black Hole'.