Top Gun: Maverick

[Niall]

How is there not yet a thread on this great movie?!

Russell Brand reviewed it here:

His main take is that the movie succeeds because it "transcends America's current political divide," but I think he's off there. The (post)modern myth is that the USA is as divided as the media makes out - buttressed by the 'deep state' rigging the 2016 and 2020 elections (only the latter successfully). In reality, I think the vast majority of Americans are 'on the same page'. This was a movie made by them, for them. (I've since learned that Tom Cruise appears in a taped message at the beginning of each US theater screening to tell audiences, "We made this for you.")

If you can stand the foul language of Scottish movie critic 'The Critical Drinker', here's his review:

Of course, left untouched is the deeper, modern myth of American military 'greatness' - specifically, the moral righteousness of its military interventions, especially post-WW2. So, in confidently assuming American moral rectitude, both this and the previous Top Gun are 'mythical', as opposed to 'realistic', which is what Western audiences want to believe American 'world policemanship' can be, even if it isn't.

Anyway, that awareness didn't prevent this ardent anti-imperialist from enjoying Top Gun: Maverick.

 

[genero81]

Yeah, it was fantastic. I saw it and told this gut who comes into the restaurant who's a big movie buff that, "this movie is why we go to the movies." He went and saw it the first time that same day. He's since seen it like four or five times!

But yes, America great, Iran bad.

 

[luc]

Anyway, that awareness didn't prevent this ardent anti-imperialist from enjoying Top Gun: Maverick.

Really liked it too. As for the politics, at least the movie didn't even pretend to be realistic - the enemy was entirely irrelevant, as indeed was the mission or politics in general. It is a movie about humans working things out and get over themselves, with some refreshingly good dialogues and depth, at least compared to 99,9% of the crap coming out of the West these days.

 

[Alana]

My husband "made me" watch it and I didn't expect much from it: I didn't like the first one or Tom cruise in general. But it turned out to be one of the best movies I watched recently. I enjoyed best the jets and their "choreographies" and found the story simple but wholesome.

It was clean of wokeness, which was extremely satisfying, and other than the aircrafts, one of the best things it had going for it. I also appreciated how they created a storyline to include Val Kilmer and his real-life inability to talk due to throat cancer.

I didn't think much of any American politics during the viewing, except towards the end - the "not Russia" thing, as per the Critical Drinker

 

[unkl brws]

I saw it on an IMAX screen and if you haven't seen it on IMAX, I strongly recommend you view it there if you can. It was filmed using IMAX-certified 6K full-frame cameras and it was absolutely tremendous to watch!

 

[Miracle]

I would concur with Critical Drinker's vulgar assessment. A simple plot line executed perfectly and fueled by raw awesomeness.

99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and already 7th grossing (domestic) all-time movie. This movie is instantly legendary and a must watch.

 

[hiker]

Yeah, it was a very good movie! The lack of wokeness was refreshing and the ending was really uplifting.

Also, it was a nice little touch not to name the "rogue state", but to call it just the "enemy", and have their pilots wear full on helmets, so that the nationality couldn't be figured out.

 

[Marina9]

Me three with enjoying the movie, despite all the "wow we are always great american soldiers, yada yada," I went to the movies and had a great time, tbh. There is a small amount of relatively good movies nowadays so it was fun to watch

 

[Nević Nenad]

Watched it, loved it. And its so technically inaucurate that is actually fun. :D

Not "smart" movie, but fun and great for relaxing.

 

[Approaching Infinity]

Tom Cruise may be a bit crazy, but he's damn good at what he does. I too enjoyed the heck out of this one. The decision to put the actors in real jets added to the realism and made for an immersive experience. And as others mentioned, I think the decision to leave the enemy nameless was a good one. Plus you got to see some Russian fifth-gen fighters in action.

 

[Arwenn]

We only just watched it the other day. Maverick was enjoyable but for some reason I didn’t like it as much as the original. There was something missing for me, perhaps because of the great reviews my expectations were so much higher. It is refreshing that there is no wokeness and the fighter jet scenes are great! I too liked that they left the enemy nameless, good call on their part.

 

[Alejo]

This movie was excellent, I have watched it a few times.

Mature romantic and personal interactions, conflict resolution, satisfying dialogue, and the action... my lord, what a well made film. And the score, enough of the classic and tribute to the original but Hans Zimmer kills it.

The theme of the movie is fascinating, and so well executed. it's a double coming of age film with the ideas that, on the one hand, brilliance alone won't get you all the way, you have to sacrifice some of what you are in order to get to the next level of your development, and in Maverick's case, he needed to find a way to teach someone else, to share his brilliance otherwise he would simply fade away. He wouldn't live in someone else.

And on the other hand, Rooster needed to learn to trust himself, resentment is a great fuel for a lot of things, but not for an authentic brilliance, which is what connected him and Maverick. It's navigating that fine line of doing what's right and taking the risks. Their constant "it's not the airplane, it's the pilot" was one of my favorite quotes in the movie, it's not where you are, but who you are and what you see.. could be another way to put it ;)

And lastly, this is a great video made on the movie, the fact that there wasn't a villain in the movie, but it didn't make it any less satisfying in terms of progression.

 

[Tuulikki]

I can't comment on the movie because I haven't seen it yet but I am looking forward to doing so. I am a bit in two minds though as I sooo loved Top Gun and have seen it many times. It was totally wonderful and of its time and I am worried that the sequel will be a bit of a let down. Doesn't sound like it if the comments above are anything to go by and probably I just need to jump in and view it as a stand alone film rather than comparing it with its predecessor. I really rate Tom Cruise as an actor and have loved him since the day I first saw him as a 22 year old gawky kid in Legend (another of my favourite quirky films). Enjoyed the Critical Drinker review - sweary but full of interesting info.

 

[Jefferson]

Ditto to all what has been said about this entertaining movie, especially about the characters going through some development and growth as well as the Val Killmer part. As a teenager, I liked the first Top Gun film and it felt like this one closed the loop.

 

[Scottie]

I nearly fell off my chair at the part where they say the enemy has 5th generation combat jets that are totally wicked awesome, so the only thing that'll win this battle is... GREAT AMERICAN PILOTS!!!

That was the first public admission I'd seen by any 'important' group - official or not - that The Enemy often isn't weak at all these days.

I also remembered during Covid times, there was that story about Cruise yelling and screaming at the cast and crew and telling them to mask up and get it done because this movie is super-important - or something like that. So, not a huge fan of Cruise, but he sure is right about the need for this kind of traditional film.

Overall, I liked it!