That was better than the first Top Gun. Loved how the whole movie was building towards the mission, and at the end you know exactly what they're doing and how difficult it is. SO well done. The final dogfight was amazing.

Got kinda emotional when Kilmer showed up. And I'm pretty sure there was sniffling in the theater at the end when Maverick and Rooster finally embrace.

And if you didn't get amped up when Danger Zone blasted, you might be dead.

That was freaking AWESOME

bthotugigem05 said:

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I thought they handled Kilmer's illness and speech limitations really well.

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Agree. It was perfect

The drum beat hit of Gaga's song right as Rooster is looking at Mav's collage board was also very well done.

Incredible!

Agree, Miles Teller played his part very well. Felt so authentic to me.

And the scene of Maverick sneaking on to the course to prove it could be done? Fantastic scene, probably my favorite

SO MANY CALLBACKS!!!!

SO GOOD. And perfect placement for the sole PG-13 f-word.

So awesome. Enjoyed every minute of it.

It hits all the right notes and brings the pain of Gooses death to final conclusions

It's like Top Gun had a baby and Star Wars, The Right Stuff, Iron Eagle, and Behind Enemy Lines are all the father.

Haven't read through this yet, but…

For context - graduated from high school 36 years ago. Saw Top Gun a few days later. This is completely in my wheelhouse.

I am actually shocked they pulled this off. Loved it.

A lot of fan stuff right off the bat. Got into the story quickly and I was sucked in. Once we see Ice it really took off for me. So we'll done.
The last hour was just fantastic.

Headed into it I was worried about too much fan service - especially in two areas I saw in the trailers:
Gooses kid playing great balls of fire and the football game. Thought it would be too much for me and an eye roll moment or two.

Both scenes worked so well for me (maybe because I had such low expectations for them) I was pleasantly surprised.

Will be back to see it soon. Real soon.

Oh yeah so, ejecting from a plane going Mach 10 would be instant death, right?

Yep, I've always asked, "wouldn't it be awesome if they made TopGun into a Star Wars movie?" But I never thought about making StarWars into a TopGun movie. But they did it and they freakin nailed it.

My favorite part was when Maverick described the 2M wide ventilation shaft... Hangman was all 'that's impossible even for a computer!... and then Rooster was all "its not impossible......"

Edit... just saw the post above... my joke was one post too late. But seriously, an entire top gun movie dedicated to training to blow up the Death Star. Amazing

Legit thought someone was about to make a Star Wars joke.

One thing that was very apparent... they took extreme care in doing some things exactly like the oroginal.

For example, the camera heights and angles at the end carrier scene with all the high-fives and hugs was practically the same scene from '86. Same for the opening carrier shots. That can't be easy to do, but they got it perfect.... felt like home for us older guys.

jr15aggie said:

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One thing that was very apparent... they took extreme care in doing some things exactly like the oroginal.

For example, the camera heights and angles at the end carrier scene with all the high-fives and hugs was practically the same scene from '86. Same for the opening carrier shots. That can't be easy to do, but they got it perfect.... felt like home for us older guys.

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Agreed. Thst opening sequence was just perfect. I was only 3 when original came out in theaters, so swing that sequence on the big screen was awesome.

I kinda wish they could do a special viewing of both films. Make it a kid day matinee, with a meal break in between.

I'd go.

This movie had no right to be this good, IMO.

Sure, there were "cheesy" call backs to the original, but they were sparing enough, and hit just right for me personally, that I loved them.

What really blew me away was the storytelling/screenplay. I don't think there has been a movie, since maybe The Dark Knight, that felt so unpredictable and wide open in the 3rd act. The stakes were so well defined leading up to the mission, that once it starts, its like a roller coaster ride till the end, and I was along for the ride. But its genius is that it presents you with several instances where bad things can happen, and the movie up until those points is structured in a way that you can imagine that the movie will let said bad thing happen.

The construction and execution of the 3rd act (but the whole film) is a masterclass, IMO.

Cinematography was beautiful. Also the way they seamlessly integrated CGI and real shots of planes was brilliant. They established a visual language with the real life shots and then used that in their shots that were fake so that it goes together so perfectly that it all seems real (for the most part).

Score was great. That Lady Gaga song is used perfectly in the movie, and definitely makes me like it 100x more.

Cruise's performance is top notch, and the rest of the cast does a brilliant job too, IMO. Kilmer makes the most of his limited screen time and that scene anchors the whole movie, emotionally.

Joseph Kosinski's direction here is incredible. I know it's early, but I hope he ends up in the Oscar best director conversation, because I think what he was able to achieve here is the definition of movie magic. It's on par with The Dark Knight, Fury Road, and Gravity as action oriented movies that are also (at least approaching) cinematic masterpiece territory, IMO. Hyperbole? Well I did just see it last night, so we will see if it holds up on rewatch.

Also, my theater was packed and LOVED it. Lots of clapping in the third act, specifically when Hangman shows up and when they finally land on the carrier. I hope this makes a zillion dollars, and I eat my words about it not appealing enough to all the demos to get there.

Family outing last night and we absolutely loved it! When the first notes of the opening music hit my teenaged kids had to make sure I was going to be okay. Felt like I was 12 again. Maybe had to suspend reality here and there, but I don't care...that's what movies are for.

Felt like the Ice/Mav scene brought out some real emotion for Tom Cruise. It seemed like genuine sadness for a friend. But maybe I'm overthinking it and that's just what a really good actor can do. Or maybe it's the scientology...

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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That was better than the first Top Gun. Loved how the whole movie was building towards the mission, and at the end you know exactly what they're doing and how difficult it is. SO well done. The final dogfight was amazing.

Got kinda emotional when Kilmer showed up. And I'm pretty sure there was sniffling in the theater at the end when Maverick and Rooster finally embrace.

And if you didn't get amped up when Danger Zone blasted, you might be dead.

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Watching MAv watch Rooster doing GBoF did it for me.

The opening chime for the theme song at the beginning raised goosebumps for sure.

Quote:

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But its genius is that it presents you with several instances where bad things can happen, and the movie up until those points is structured in a way that you can imagine that the movie will let said bad thing happen.

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My favorite review line so far. Nailed it!

My wife's question is why do our enemies have 5th Gen aircraft and we don't.

MooreTrucker said:

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My wife's question is why do our enemies have 5th Gen aircraft and we don't.

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They explain in the movie why the F22 isn't suited for the mission. Something about their GPS system being confused by the low altitude/terrain, or maybe jammed? It felt like a strain. But Hollywood . . .

And if you're going to think too hard about it, I thought a better question was why we didn't have F22s prepared to protect the F18s on the way back.

Loved it. When Mav was flying the course run to prove it could be done, I think I held my breath for the entire 2 minutes. It made me think of the Star Wars trilogy and how people wanted and expected a beloved character to return to the screen after a long hiatus and absolutely put on a masterclass on kicking ass. We unfortunately didnt get it with Star Wars, but we absolutely got it here.

I also thought it might be a little on the nose to have Rooster dressed up like Goose, playing Great Balls of Fire on a bar piano, but I loved that scene. Gut wrenching just watching Tom Cruise's face.

The wife did laugh out loud at Mav running full speed on the beach and in the woods. You could tell Tom was thinking to himself "Mav isn't the only one who's still got it. I'll still outrun these kids!"

Weel, ya know Tom Cruise has it in his contract to run sometime in every movie.

'03ag said:

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MooreTrucker said:

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My wife's question is why do our enemies have 5th Gen aircraft and we don't.

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They explain in the movie why the F22 isn't suited for the mission. Something about their GPS system being confused by the low altitude/terrain, or maybe jammed? It felt like a strain. But Hollywood . . .

And if you're going to think too hard about it, I thought a better question was why we didn't have F22s prepared to protect the F18s on the way back.

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F35s, not 22s. When the admirals asked Maverick about the mission he said something regarding F35s would be the choice but their bombs are GPS guided and would be ineffective due to GPS jamming at the site, thus the need for laser guided munitions with the F18. Sounds like BS to me.

Another thing that this one did right, the opening text used "ensure" instead of "insure."

Real answer. Cruise wanted to actually fly an f35. Military said hell no.

I enjoyed it for the most part, but damn there were some plot holes.

any of the people that disliked this movie, in this thread, need to lighten up

Uranium enrichment plant

That was the fastest 2 1/4 hours I've ever spent! Absolutely incredible what they pulled off and it was worth the wait.

Didn't mind the trench run mimic as it gave a performance objective to push the limit of one of (now) inferior airframes. Perfect mention above re:Pearl Harbor / Doolittle raid.

All the callbacks/setups just worked for me. Agree the training montage might have been the most fun and danger felt real going into 3rd act. Was a little worried we were going to get a full Behind enemy lines run as well but luckily they cut that short.

Lots of watering eyes in theater watching Mav / Rooster embrace.

Once again, sound system sales are going through the roof this Christmas as this will once again set the standard of "show off to our friends" bar.

All hail Tom Cruise.

"Where am I?"

"Earth."