Top Gun Maverick: typical Murica propaganda
If there's an institution that above (nearly) all criticism in the US, it's the army and all its branches. Its mere mention causes warm feelings of patriotism in the average person. So it was no surprise why Top Gun Maverick was so popular. It wasn't as cheesy as the first one, but it still exudes patriotism.
Maverick is back. Unfortunately for him, the army prefers unmanned drones to pilots, so they want to shut down Top Gun. Of course, he proves them wrong and goes to Mach 10. Relunctantly, they keep the program alive and even hire him as a teacher at Top Gun to stop an uranium enrichment operation. Maverick will also have to face past demons...
If you love Murica and its Holy Army (tm), then you will adore this movie. Like the first one, Murica is the good guy and the undisclosed bad guy (North Korea, judging by the landscape) is up to no good. And if you loved the first movie, you will rejoice at all the calls back to it like the shirtless playing on the beach and more subtle one like the piano playing or someone dialing 86 on a jukebox (there is plenty of 80s music).
For the others, this movies is OK entertainment. For once, Hollywood isn't trying to camouflage the actors' age, even though Tom Cruise still looks incredible for someone nearing 60. His performance is still solid, and his actions are still as unorthodox. Val Kilmer's presence, however brief, was also a nice touch - in the movie it was Kilmer's character that convinced Maverick to return to Top Gun.
Sadly, the other actors (the new Top Gun recruits) don't really distinguish themselves, even Goose's son who has a beef with Maverick. From what I know and see about the army, it's all about the whole rather than the individual parts, so I guess it's OK. But unlike the first movie, there is an obvious effort at diversity and it's not rubbed in our faces.
In short, Top Gun Maverick will make you queasy if you worship the Holy Army (tm) and be average entertainment otherwise. It's just another rehashment of the classical good vs evil story where Murica is the good guy.
awww come on. I thought it was fun! I think the main reason why I liked it was because the sound was pretty intense in the theater... some times it scared me when they would abruptly change scenes from a classroom to a carrier.
There is no profound story here, that is for sure, but as far as action and the fact that the used almost not CGI, I can appreciate it for that.
I was impressed that Tom agreed to do a beach scene shirtless. He is in pretty fantastic shape given his age but he was surrounded by 20 somethings that were not just taller, but far more ripped than he is. This isn't very typical of Cruise's ego!
I which I'll look like this at 58; he's more shredded than I am.
And yes, I guess the theater factor would have played in the interest