Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

[Raja]

48 minutes ago, juno said:

It is absolutely crazy but I have the same issue again that I had with the original. Why was there just 1 alert fighter on stand-by while a almost completely disabled F-14 is under fire? wouldn't there be 6?

Also, was it the Admiral that gave the okay for launch to Hangman? Or did he go by himself? I asked because orders don't exist much in the Top Gun universe.

Still loved the movie.

He can't take off by himself the aircraft carrier has to shoot him. But given the mission as a backup bomber you would think that he would have been in the air the entire time. Flying low and not sitting on a 5 minute alert waiting to be launched.

But that is moot. With 2 pilots down after however long running through the snow takes. The bomb mission was over and you would think that the ship had fighters up incase of a counter attack

Edited June 5, 2022 by Raja

[juno]

38 minutes ago, Raja said:

He can't take off by himself the aircraft carrier has to shoot him. But given the mission as a backup bomber you would think that he would have been in the air the entire time. Flying low and not sitting on a 5 minute alert waiting to be launched.

But that is moot. With 2 pilots down after however long running through the snow takes. The bomb mission was over and you would think that the ship had fighters up incase of a counter attack

of course the radar of the enemy fighter didn't notice his missile lock, I guess we can add that one to movie stretches.

My thinking is that they were in enemy territory and risked being tracked and also risked an attack on the carrier.

Still trying to figure out one one backup alert was sent. Movie mysteries. Thanks for your help.

[Raja]

Well 30 something years ago the ship's catapult broke leaving Maverick/Merlin and Iceman/Slider alone for their fight

Edited June 5, 2022 by Raja

[choclatechip45]

Awesome movie. I am going to try to see it in theaters again. 

[Raja]

11 hours ago, juno said:

of course the radar of the enemy fighter didn't notice his missile lock, I guess we can add that one to movie stretches.

My thinking is that they were in enemy territory and risked being tracked and also risked an attack on the carrier.

Still trying to figure out one one backup alert was sent. Movie mysteries. Thanks for your help.

I do believe that the newest air to air missles can be fired without the Vietnam era radar lock "I got tone" that Top Gun normally features in the dogfight scenes. By the time the missle decides to pop a quick radar pulse look for final guidance it is too late for the target to do anything. Especially if that pilot is focused on some other target at the time.  In a way it is little different than the Red Baron coming out of the sun 

[SallyAlbright]

HUGE second weekend. A virtually unheard of 32% drop from opening weekend. 

https://variety.com/2022/film/box-office/box-office-top-gun-maverick-second-weekend-huge-1235285117/

In its second weekend of release, Tom Cruise’s all-American action film collected a sensational $86 million from 4,751 North American theaters. Those returns rank among the top 10 highest-grossing second weekends in domestic box office history. They also push “Top Gun: Maverick” to $291 million in North America, enough to overtake 2005’s “War of the Worlds” ($243 million) as Cruise’s highest-grossing film ever at the domestic box office.

Thanks to positive word of mouth, rapturous reviews and premium screens, ticket sales for “Top Gun: Maverick” dropped a scant 32% from its $160 million debut over the long Memorial Day holiday weekend. It’s the smallest second-weekend decline for a movie that opened to $100 million or more, according to Comscore. That’s an especially impressive benchmark — even for a well-reviewed movie — because blockbusters, like “Maverick,” tend to be front-loaded and drop at least 50% after opening weekend. By comparison, recent big-budget tentpoles “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” each declined 67% in its sophomore outing.

[theredhead77]

I loved every second of Maverick. It was everything I was hoping it would be. It took me a minute to place Penny but even before I did I bought their on-again-off-again relationship. The callbacks were fantastic, and I appreciated that the women (I saw two) were dressed in appropriate, functional athletic apparel instead of skimpy bikinis during the football game.

I didn't realize (or forgot I knew) that Val Kilmer lost his ability to speak IRL. Here is an interesting article from Vanity Fair about his role and how they used AI to recreate his voice and help others regain their ability to "speak".

Edit to prevent double posting - I was always under the impression you couldn't fly fighters if you wear glasses because of the g-forces and the risk of not being able to see if something happens to them. But BOB was flying with his glasses.

Edited June 5, 2022 by theredhead77

[Raja]

3 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

I loved every second of Maverick. It was everything I was hoping it would be. It took me a minute to place Penny but even before I did I bought their on-again-off-again relationship. The callbacks were fantastic, and I appreciated that the women (I saw two) were dressed in appropriate, functional athletic apparel instead of skimpy bikinis during the football game.
Edit to prevent double posting - I was always under the impression you couldn't fly fighters if you wear glasses because of the g-forces and the risk of not being able to see if something happens to them. But BOB was flying with his glasses.

I can't help but think if they recreated a volleyball game and the aviators had competed in that sport the FIVB would have demanded the bikini briefs, on the women.

The vision standards for Naval Flight Officers like Radar Intercept Officer Goose and Weapons System Officer BOB were slightly lower than they were for pilots. It wasn't about corrective lenses, if that was the point that could be built into their visor. Army Special Forces soldiers also had that perfect uncorrected vision requirement that pilots have

Edited June 5, 2022 by Raja

[theredhead77]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

The vision standards for Naval Flight Officers like Radar Intercept Officer Goose and Weapons System Officer BOB were slightly lower than they were for pilots. It wasn't about corrective lenses, if that was the point that could be built into their visor.

BOB was wearing his glasses during the mission. 

[BetterButter]

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Should Be Grounded, Copyright Suit Claims; Paramount Straps In To “Defend Ourselves Vigorously”

[anna0852]

Saw this on IMAX and it was gorgeous! Absolutely fantastic movie that hit me in all the feels. Perfect old-school summer popcorn movie.

[choclatechip45]

I saw it again this time in IMAX it is the perfect summer blockbuster. 

[ChicksDigScars]

On 6/4/2022 at 10:40 PM, choclatechip45 said:

Awesome movie. I am going to try to see it in theaters again. 

I went again. That's twice. I wish I had an IMAX theater close by. 

[Quickbeam]

Loved it. The Val Kilmer bit made me cry. He’s my age and was so gloriously beautiful as a young man. But beginning to end it was very enjoyable.

I want to add that I appreciate that they didn’t cheat on Cruise’s height….lots of scenes with him talking up to other actors. 

Edited June 11, 2022 by Quickbeam
Forgot!

[Lovecat]

Well that was by turns ridiculous and magnificent, and I kind of loved it!  Let me tell you though, the tension in those combat mission scenes really ratchets up when you’ve drunk a bladder-bursting sized soda and have to pee like whoa.  I wasn’t just on the edge of my seat due to the nail biting action sequences…I was trying not to wet my pants!

[anna0852]

1 hour ago, Lovecat said:

I wasn’t just on the edge of my seat due to the nail biting action sequences…I was trying not to wet my pants!

Me too! I kept trying to figure out when to run for the bathroom and there was *never* a good time.

[BooBear]

18 hours ago, anna0852 said:

Me too! I kept trying to figure out when to run for the bathroom and there was *never* a good time.

Ha I just got back and I rally had to run past everyone to the bathroom. 

I feel like I was most taken aback by Tom Cruise / Maverick. It just made me feel like he and the character are so much more mature. 

It was very good. 

[Lovecat]

4 hours ago, BooBear said:

I feel like I was most taken aback by Tom Cruise / Maverick. It just made me feel like he and the character are so much more mature. 

Or as I described it to my husband, “Much less punchable than in the original.”

[choclatechip45]

I just saw it a third time. I love the flight scenes. 

[Browncoat]

I just got back from seeing it, and I did enjoy it.  It was pretty much exactly what I expected.  Lots of nice callbacks to the first one — and the scene with Val Kilmer nearly made me cry.  I applaud him for returning to the role.  I even enjoyed it after it turned into Star Wars, but it took Han, er, Hangman a little longer than I anticipated to show up and save the day.

I really could believe Rooster as Goose’s son, too.  I think it was the moustache that sold me.

[Colorado David]

On 6/12/2022 at 12:48 PM, BooBear said:

I feel like I was most taken aback by Tom Cruise / Maverick. It just made me feel like he and the character are so much more mature. 

It was very good. 

Agreed. You can see his age in his face now - he still has a great smile, but it's not the cocky-charmer smile he had in days past. His eyes also show age and a maturity, esp when he's emoting feeling sad or regretful.

Glad this movie is doing so well, it seemed a big risk after so many years after the 1st one. 

[mmecorday]

I've always thought Tom Cruise was a better actor than people gave him credit for, even in his early roles when he was playing Elvis roles without the music (He's a race car driver who doesn't play by the rules! He's a bartender who doesn't play by the rules! He's the younger brother of an autistic savant who doesn't play by the rules!) I thought he delivered a fine performance in his return to the role of Maverick, and the other up and comers were good too. I didn't know Jon Hamm was in it, so seeing him was a welcome surprise, even though his character was a bit of a jerk.

[BooBear]

A couple of further thoughts on this

• The "diversity" in this movie was so strong I didn't even notice. But I did particularly like Phoenix and Bob. BTW did you know Bob in real life is Bill Pullman's kid?  But Phoenix was Maverick's "wing man" and I enjoyed the diversity of having a "geek" in Bob.   There should be diversity not just in physical attributes.  I kind of particularly liked the second in command at Top Gun who seemed to secretly be rooting for Maverick the entire time.  
• I thought it was interesting that Phoenix gave as good as she got but she wasn't cocky in an obnoxious way. I just don't think women are like that. I also enjoyed that she seemed to be platonic friends with Rooster. It was like she had been around for a while and everyone was cool with her. 
• I just don't know the answer to this but why did some planes have no co pilot and some did? I gather it has something to do with targeting but why can't the pilot do that?
• The Darkstar part was edge of my seat, I think in large part due to the music which was excellent. The soundtrack was excellent with the exception of the no talent "Lady Gaga". Sorry, not sorry.
• I don't know anything about second generation pilots -- they never showed us anything about their lives. But I think that actually worked. Doing the math Rooster should be in his 40s... he probably should have a family. But I think it didn't matter to the plot. 
• Often in a movie they will have the old grizzled teacher -- teaching -- and you always wonder why they don't put the old guy in the mission. Well, they did that here. And I loved it. Maverick should have been involved in the mission from the start. I think his involvement gave everyone else security and inspiration. 
• I enjoyed that Maverick's love interest was age appropriate and was not Phoenix like some lesser movies might have tried. Top Gun has always been "Maverick" on this with Pete having an older woman love interest in the first one. 

Edited June 21, 2022 by BooBear

[Moose135]

2 hours ago, BooBear said:

I just don't know the answer to this but why did some planes have no co pilot and some did? I gather it has something to do with targeting but why can't the pilot do that?

The F/A-18 comes in two variants, the E-model (single-seat) and F-model (two-seat) - earlier versions of the jet, the A and B, and C and D, also were single/dual seaters. For many of its missions, they only need the one pilot, but for some high-workload missions, the two-seater is used to split duties. A single pilot could work the targeting system, but having another guy back there lets the front seater concentrate on flying and not getting shot down - doing some of that pilot shit - while the backseater can work the weapon systems. The two-seat model is also used for training.

2 hours ago, BooBear said:

The Darkstar part was edge of my seat, I think in large part due to the music which was excellent.

That was some great stuff all around. And how could you not love:

'Where am I?'

'Earth'

Edited June 21, 2022 by Moose135

[Raja]

To add to Moose135. This specific mission made the enemy's technology better than ours. So we could not use newer technology of GPS guidance programmed into the bomb. It was either WWII level dumb bombs or the intermediate level of laser guided. BOB and Fanboy was to aim the lasers for Maverick and Rooster. Maverick's bomb run went as planned but Fanboy's laser failed and Rooster went in WWII style and got the Luke Skywalker type hit.

[norcalgal]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

To add to Moose135. This specific mission made the enemy's technology better than ours. So we could not use newer technology of GPS guidance programmed into the bomb. It was either WWII level dumb bombs or the intermediate level of laser guided. BOB and Fanboy was to aim the lasers for Maverick and Rooster. Maverick's bomb run went as planned but Fanboy's laser failed and Rooster went in WWII style and got the Luke Skywalker type hit.

One of the reviews I saw on YouTube about Top Gun: Maverick had the folks rolling their eyes that "the enemy" had superior military tech compared to the US.  The reviewer was saying that the US military budget is larger than the budgets of the next 8 countries combined. So that was his one nitpick about the film.  But, as @Raja wrote above, maybe it was due to the specific mission in TG:M that caused the circumstance of superior tech from the enemy...

[Raja]

On 5/27/2022 at 12:43 PM, revbfc said:

I liked it.  The comparisons to Star Wars are blatant (and probably on purpose), but it did not hinder my enjoyment of it.  I’m definitely glad I saw it on the biggest screen I could find.

While Rooster's hit was a copy of Luke Skywalker at the Death Star the mission itself came from an older movie. For the bombing mission 633 Squadron starring Cliff Robertson almost served as a template like the original Point Break did to The Fast and The Furious

[Moose135]

It was also reminiscent of the 1981 Israeli Air Force raid on the soon-to-be operational Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq.

[anna0852]

Man this movie has some staying power! I just got back from a packed theater on a Tuesday night and it's been out for over a month. 

But it's a great movie, so I get it. I never would have thought that anyone could pull off a Top Gun sequel and have it work. So glad to be wrong.

[SeanC]

On 6/21/2022 at 1:45 PM, norcalgal said:

One of the reviews I saw on YouTube about Top Gun: Maverick had the folks rolling their eyes that "the enemy" had superior military tech compared to the US.  The reviewer was saying that the US military budget is larger than the budgets of the next 8 countries combined. So that was his one nitpick about the film.  But, as @Raja wrote above, maybe it was due to the specific mission in TG:M that caused the circumstance of superior tech from the enemy...

Yes, the setup is that the F-35 (the American equivalent to the enemy fifth generation planes) is unusable due to GPS jamming, so they have to use older aircraft. The tech disparity is purely situational.

[Anela]

I finally saw this tonight, and I liked it. There wasn't as much excitement, since it was close to midnight, at a drive-in (we left just before 2am). A lot of people had left on our side of the field, but dad drove me over to the bathroom, as the credits rolled, and there were a lot of people over there. We were both surprised.

I cried a bit, when Iceman died. I didn't like him in the original, but always liked that they became friends. 

I really wish that we'd been able to see this when it first came out. I liked "Talk to me Goose" and "talk to me Dad". I haven't watched the original in years, but I remember that everyone liked Goose. 

[hendersonrocks]

On 7/18/2019 at 4:03 PM, hendersonrocks said:

I definitely thought it was ridiculous when they announced plans for this, and yet I definitely will be going to see it. The music in the trailer straight up gave me chills.

Okay, so this was me almost exactly three years ago! I finally saw it last night, in a theater that was still full a month + after release. And honestly, I loved it. Tom Cruise is a total douche canoe but this movie was straight up nostalgic joy that was yes, completely unbelievable at times (I felt like I was watching Kylo Ren running through the snow at one point).

I did not make the Penny Benjamin connection from the first movie until I read it here, and I appreciate they didn't spoon feed that little easter egg to us. Miles Teller is perfectly cast as a cocky asshat with a terrible mustache. Jennifer Connelly is gorgeous and actually had a few smile lines around her eyes. Ed Harris is hot like fire. Val Kilmer made me weepy. 

After the shit of the last three years, it was fun to just sit back and smile in a movie theater again.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I finally watched this tonight and it hit me in all the nostalgia FEELS! Especially once the first sounds of Kenny Loggins’s Danger Zone came on, I got chills all over-and not from the AC! The sight of the carrier, the jets, took me back to 1986.

It was a great way to spend a couple of hours at a 🍿 munching summer movie.

I loved the flashbacks to the original. And of course Maverick pulled Rooster’s papers because his mom asked him to before she died. Of course she’s dead.🙄

It was great to see both Val and Ice, and so sad to see what has happened with Val and they addressed it with respect.

Miles Teller does NOTHING for me. And until the end, Maverick was right to keep him back. How’d he make it to Top Gun?

But the most amazing thing was seeing Jennifer Connelly play a character that actually smiled and seemed happy. And I swear in the many viewings of the original, I don’t remember her.

Glen Powell looks too much like Mr. Tori Spelling for me and I couldn’t tell if he was supposed to be this generation’s Maverick or Iceman. Either way, a huge fail.

And ❤️😍❤️😍❤️SQUEE!!!!❤️😍❤️😍❤️ Ed Harris!!!

With my parents visiting this summer, I may see this again with my dad-as he took me to see the original way back in 1986.

And since I always stick around for the end credits, first, I’m surprised Tom was shown last instead of first; and second, the fight scenes and mountains were filmed in India.

But the first one was better.

Edited July 25, 2022 by GHScorpiosRule

[BetterButter]

17 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

And I swear in the many viewings of the original, I don’t remember her.

[GHScorpiosRule]

4 minutes ago, BetterButter said:

Ahh. I was too busy laughing.

[RunningMarket]

Penny is also mentioned in the (OG movie) bar scene just prior to Goose singing Great Balls of Fire. Meg Ryan's character mentions "the time you went ballistic with Penny Benjamin."

[GHScorpiosRule]

59 minutes ago, RunningMarket said:

Penny is also mentioned in the (OG movie) bar scene just prior to Goose singing Great Balls of Fire. Meg Ryan's character mentions "the time you went ballistic with Penny Benjamin."

Just rewatched and saw that. Honestly? Before closed captioning, because sometimes it's hard to make out who is saying what, with the loud music, or even noise, her name just didn't connect with me. Plus Anderson/Goose whispered he name the first time.

Anyway, I guess it's a nice call back. But Maverick being in love with her all those years? Pfft.

Especially since the original made such a big deal about Maverick finally falling in love, but it was with Charlie.

[TigerLily20]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Anyway, I guess it's a nice call back. But Maverick being in love with her all those years? Pfft.

Especially since the original made such a big deal about Maverick finally falling in love, but it was with Charlie.

I got the impression in the new one that he was on again/off again with her over the years, so it was kind of like he was finally settling down with her?  Just my $0.02 though....

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 minutes ago, TigerLily20 said:

I got the impression in the new one that he was on again/off again with her over the years, so it was kind of like he was finally settling down with her?  Just my $0.02 though....

That was my sense as well, but it wasn't canon. In the first one, it was something that one of Maverick's superiors (Love that guy played by James Tolkan) threw in his face, and then again Carol mentioned it. But I suppose between the first movie and this one, he and Charlie broke up and then he did the on again/off again with Penny.

I don't really care except that I'm anal about stuff that's supposed to be canon, and Penny was certainly a non-entity in the first one, used just for laughs.

[Raja]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Just rewatched and saw that. Honestly? Before closed captioning, because sometimes it's hard to make out who is saying what, with the loud music, or even noise, her name just didn't connect with me. Plus Anderson/Goose whispered he name the first time.

Anyway, I guess it's a nice call back. But Maverick being in love with her all those years? Pfft.

Especially since the original made such a big deal about Maverick finally falling in love, but it was with Charlie.

I remember Meg Ryan making that statement about Charlie but Maverick was still the immature man child. He had not yet lost his best friend nor seen combat

[methodwriter85]

On 7/24/2022 at 9:47 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Glen Powell looks too much like Mr. Tori Spelling for me and I couldn’t tell if he was supposed to be this generation’s Maverick or Iceman. Either way, a huge fail.

Glen Powell is a great case of a guy who maybe doesn't have the most interesting face in Hollywood, but he carries himself with a charisma that in my opinion makes him pretty sexy. He's really charming in "Set it Up" with Zoey Deutch and I loved his bit scenes as John Glen in "Hidden Figures." He was supposedly very close to getting the Goose part and Hangman kind of seemed like a consolation 2nd place prize for him.

[GHScorpiosRule]

5 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

He was supposedly very close to getting the Goose part and Hangman kind of seemed like a consolation 2nd place prize for him.

Do you mean Rooster? He was 2 when Top Gun came out!😉

[methodwriter85]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Do you mean Rooster? He was 2 when Top Gun came out!😉

Right, Rooster. Lol

[choclatechip45]

I saw this for the fourth time because I wanted to watch it and it's not on streaming yet. Theater was half full it might never leave the theaters. 

[anna0852]

I went to get (another!) ticket and I was shocked at how full the theatre was.

[RunningMarket]

I saw it for the second time at the IMAX in my city (which boasts a several-stories high screen). It was completely sold out. 

[BetterButter]

[khyber]

Mr. Khyber was attached to an F-14 squadron when he was in the Navy. Miramar, weapons tech. All his deployments were on aircraft carriers. Watching this movie with him was listening to a constant stream of "well, they wouldn't be able to do that" etc.  It was pretty funny. But even with all the technical faults he still really enjoyed the film.  Its nice when you have a question about Sidewinder missiles that the person next to you can answer it.

[choclatechip45]

I'm so happy this is on VOD!

[krankydoodle]

I was finally able to see this and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's amazing it works as well as it does. I know some think Glen Powell would've been a better Goose, but I thought the casting was pretty much perfect. I especially enjoyed Jon Hamm being perpetually fed up with Maverick and Charles Parnell quietly rooting for him. And what a presence and voice Parnell has. No wonder he was featured in the trailer. I also thought Tom Cruise and Jennifer Connelly had surprisingly nice chemistry.

I'm not especially interested in flying, but some of the scenes were jaw-dropping. There's an overhead view of the Darkstar approaching Mach 10 that's just stunning. And the scene with Maverick and Rooster spiraling together toward the ground, and another near the end when the enemy pilot pulls his fighter up perpendicular to the ground and spins to avoid a missile were incredibly thrilling. What a ride!