Top Gun: Maverick

As soon as Maverick ruffled Ed Harris's carefully groomed part, I knew it was going to be fun. There are only two changes: Captain Mitchell is no longer a mental case who thinks he's Luke Skywalker and brings furniture to multiple orgasms just by sitting on it (of course, not as quickly as Lord Flashheart), but rather a conscious mentor who has evolved and knows he flies at least as well as Darth Vader's son. And the second is that the Taiwanese flag patch on his iconic flight jacket disappears and reappears, because of the yuan. Nostalgia doesn’t exist for me in this case, and there’s nothing to draw from, so I focused on whether the faces of Cruise and Connelly are more artificial, or the conflicts meant to drive the plot toward the much-praised finale, which compensates for its lack of realism with speed and comforting clichés. Then comes the silver Porsche, the P-51, the sunset, and amazement at the numbers it's pulling. There probably won’t be too many aviation fans here running around their living rooms with their arms out, growling like engines and imitating a siren because they’re Sopwith Camels, and the black-out from G-forces in the movie theater seat isn’t likely the reason either. I understand the current thirst for a big blockbuster, but a little objectivity, friends. Hopefully, Charlie Sheen, as long as he’s still somewhat holding together, will pick up the thrown gauntlet. (2022-08-25)

One of the movies of the year and one of the best sequels ever. Joseph Kosinski isn't a standout directors for me, Only the Brave is a big emotional hit, Tron was interesting and Oblivion was mediocre, but Top Gun: Maverick is definitely his best and most ambitious work to date. We've been waiting a long time for the film and the trailers already indicated that it was going to be one hell of a ride, but I didn't expect it to hit me and pull me in so much, as fighter jets aren't exactly the stuff I seek out in movies. Everything here is just right from the performances (Tom Cruise is excellent and really cool, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller and Glen Powell are also great), the precise technical side caught up to perfection, great dialogues, emotional scenes, decent pacing, occasional humour, great music with Lady Gaga's final song included, intense tension and great action from the training to the 30 minute finale, which is built up ad absurdum – I stopped breathing there and lost track of time. The story itself may not be sophisticated, but that doesn't matter at all. The film has heart, balls, juice and drive and won't leave anyone cold, certainly not anyone who loves movies. What Le Mans 66 is to racing movies, Top Gun 2 is to aviation movies. Definitely the best movie with fighter jets and with The Northerner for me the movie of the year so far. Story 4/5. Action 5/5, Humor 3/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 5/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 5/5, Emotion 5/5, Actors 5/5. 9/10. (2022-05-27)

Nostalgia pushed to the limits, driven by the human desire to overcome obstacles. Cruise breathes life into this and sets out on the ancient battle between man and the machine meant to replace the man. The test is a Mission Impossible = to destroy an impregnable and almost invisible (probably) Soviet nuclear missile development center. Overall quite current right now... nostalgic but still current. Excellent actors. Primarily Teller and Powell. Equally macho hard-asses as last time learn to work together and keep pushing the limits and Maverick is the boss that is meant to teach them how. This direct and simple story is presented excellently and giving feelings of intense pleasure in just the right places, with the main protagonist looking for a place to belong. The bits with Kilmer are great and Jennifer Connelly is amazing again. Oh, and Tom Cruise carries it all on his shoulders with the strength of the last rightful star in Hollywood. A dying breed. But a chapter in itself. The mucking about at Top Gun is just a warm-up for the final inferno which will bowl you over not only at the IMAX, but even in a regular movie theater. Marvelous maneuvers by the F-18 (and another iconic machine) with gripping dog fights that have the viewer pinned to his seat. For two hours, the world was completely fine; the movie worked wonders on me again - I enjoyed it. Time is your worst enemy! (2022-05-25)

I’d love to avoid using all the usual superlatives and come up with something truly original, but that would be a huge disservice to this film. The sequel to Top Gun is an absolute blast from start to finish. The acting is stellar across the board, featuring both the old cast and new faces. The clash between these two generations is exactly what you’d imagine, filled with nostalgia and the frustration of dealing with the disrespectful youth. And then there's Tom Cruise, who turns in a fantastic performance, not just in his role but also in the real, non-CGI action scenes. The practical effects are insane, and the last half-hour of action will leave your ears ringing the next day. If this isn’t the best sequel to an 80s classic, I don’t know what is. A well-deserved blockbuster that proves a great popcorn flick is still possible. (2022-06-02)

Tommy negotiated a 20% cut of every ticket sold, clever boy, and with himself as producer he serves us a fairytale that is beautifully filmed, but with a plot that is cliché as hell. Fighter jets have never been so sexy, in the cockpit shots you can totally see the effects of overload on the actors' faces, every extra mach – nostalgia is fine if you know how to work with it – but it all goes follows classic predictable Hollywood notes, you can guess exactly what will happen in the next scene, there is no moment of surprise, this film can only dream of some surprising twists. I was thoroughly bored for the first half, and in fact for the rest of the film. The only one who gave me the creeps was Val Kilmer, especially if you know about his health. The final praised action set-piece looked like a CGI cut scene from “Call of Duty”, the only thing missing was a gamepad in my hands. I think the current 92% here is nonsense. (2022-05-31)