Top Gun Maverick Reviews

NJROTC-CC

NJROTC-CC

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I saw it yesterday in IMAX. I enjoyed it. I was not looking at my watch waiting for it to end. It was visually impressive. However, the entire story seemed rather hokey, the mission was ridiculously impossible and there too many scenes and subplots and call-backs copied from the first movie. (Example: Maverick’s girlfriends in both films owned classic Porches.). I won’t even get into all the unrealistic naval aviation items because I am not an aviator and to most people, such details matter little. An ok movie, not a great one.
 
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Finally saw it tonight. Definitely much more 'Hollywood' than the original, but we thoroughly enjoyed it.
 
brewmeist said:
And even though I saw the orginal countless times, I never noticed that Penny Benjamin was mention twice in that film. Until tonight. Nice subtle touch!
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In one scene, Maverick's past exploits are said to include "a history of high-speed passes over five air-control towers and one admiral's daughter," and Maverick's Bff Goose mutters Penny's name under his breath - making her the "admiral's daughter" in question.
 
NJROTC-CC said:
In one scene, Maverick's past exploits are said to include "a history of high-speed passes over five air-control towers and one admiral's daughter," and Maverick's Bff Goose mutters Penny's name under his breath - making her the "admiral's daughter" in question.
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I remember watching Jennifer Connelly in "The Hot Spot" with Mr Miami Vice, Don Johnson, on deployment in the 90s. Great to see her as the Admiral's daughter in Top Gun Maverick. This movie is so much fun!
 
I thoroughly enjoyed it because I decided I wouldn’t get indignant about every single military/aviation inaccuracy. (And I’m neither military nor aviation. Just the father of a USMC 2LT and an AROTC cadet who occasionally flies commercial.) No one ever said it was a documentary. It’s called “show business” for a reason.

I was entertained by the plot, cinematography and characters. Should it win Best Picture? Surely not. But I give it high praise for the parallels to the first, without forcing things too much. So many little things that were linked, so much backward projection, such sneaky tidbits that tied original and sequel together — all in good fun. Though I’ll admit to tensing up before the in-person encounter between Maverick and Iceman, knowing their cinematic history together, and knowing Val Kilmer’s actual health struggles. It was a very poignant scene, and Tom Cruise’s genuine emotion says it meant a lot to him (probably both of them) for Kilmer to make a cameo.

So probably 5/10 for accuracy. But 8/10 for entertainment. And that’s what I paid for.
 
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MidCakePa said:
I thoroughly enjoyed it because I decided I wouldn’t get indignant about every single military/aviation inaccuracy. (And I’m neither military nor aviation. Just the father of a USMC 2LT and an AROTC cadet who occasionally flies commercial.) No one ever said it was a documentary. It’s called “show business” for a reason.

I was entertained by the plot, cinematography and characters. Should it win Best Picture? Surely not. But I give it high praise for the parallels to the first, without forcing things too much. So many little things that were linked, so much backward projection, such sneaky tidbits that tied original and sequel together — all in good fun. Though I’ll admit to tensing up before the in-person encounter between Maverick and Iceman, knowing their cinematic history together, and knowing Val Kilmer’s actual health struggles. It was a very poignant scene, and Tom Cruise’s genuine emotion says it meant a lot to him (probably both of them) for Kilmer to make a cameo.

So probably 5/10 for accuracy. But 8/10 for entertainment. And that’s what I paid for.
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I gotta ask, if this movie is 8/10 entertainment, what's a 9 or 10? I will watch those!
 
Shawshank Redemption.

And to be honest, I went into Maverick thinking it would be corny. They managed to blend and join the prior story line without ruining it. The ties to IceMan and the actor’s situation were real and that was executed beautifully.
When DS and I compared notes we both came back to the scene in the bar of the ‘best of the best’ wondering who could possibly teach them. Within a drink or two they are tossing a higher ranking man with a NAME tag on his flight jacket (who is allegedly someone they should or would know about) out into the sand. While cute, and in support of Connelly’s character it didn’t pass muster for me. That was the one place DS was like, mom, they aren’t tossing a Captain out.

Stealing a jet? Sure. I bought that. Hook line and sinker. And the whole landing a jet on a carrier deck minus front landing gear? Fricking cool.
 
The movie was entertaining and worth seeing. It does dis-service to USN Captains, which is a high rank. Not many make flag...06 is a significant achievement. I wonder how many viewers will mix up Navy vs Army rank of Captain?
 
DS, DD, and I decided to watch the original first as DD has never seen it. Then followed it up with Black Hawk Down. Great movie night Saturday.
 
Don't Give Up the Ship said:
The movie was entertaining and worth seeing. It does dis-service to USN Captains, which is a high rank. Not many make flag...06 is a significant achievement. I wonder how many viewers will mix up Navy vs Army rank of Captain?
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I would expect many outside the Navy don’t know the general opinion, “The definition of a successful career for a Navy line officer is attaining the rank of captain and having major command as a captain. Making flag is just icing on the cake, and that will always be driven by what skills the Navy needs at that level, as promotions are not a reward for past performance, but a vote of confidence for what the officer can do for the Navy in the future.”
 
Of course, to make O-6/Captain as a line officer, that generally means you were a commanding officer, a top-ranked successful one, as an O-5/Commander and survived the 50% promotion board chop to make Captain. In general, if a Navy Commander unrestricted line officer doesn’t screen for command at that rank, they are usually terminal at that rank. In aviation, for Mav, that would have been CO of an aviation squadron as a Commander - did anyone notice if he is wearing a Command at Sea pin on the left side of his chest, underneath the main ribbon rack in any non-flightsuit uniform? That would tell us if he’d been a skipper in the past. It’s a goldtone 5-pointed star inside a wreath, comes in large for full dress uniform with large medals and small, worn with ribbons. Pro tip: if that pin is worn on the right side of the chest, it means the officer is currently in command. I haven’t seen the movie yet. Taking DH to IMAX for Father’s Day.

Of course, the Navy can choose to promote whom it wishes, and there are those who have made unique contributions or who are in special programs who will promote to Captain.
 
Capt MJ said:
Of course, the Navy can choose to promote whom it wishes, and there are those who have made unique contributions or who are in special programs who will promote to Captain.
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That usually encompasses the world of unattractive, rules-following, PRT-challenged support folks, right? The ones that have been ashore in the same desk in Norfolk so long they're on the city council? Maybe I should have joined the Navy....
 
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