Thirty-six years.
That’s how much time fans have been waiting to see Maverick go to heaven for the sequel Top Gun.
The cult action movie of 1986 was so popular that it earned a place in the National Film Registry and played an important role in launching the career of the then bright-eyed Tom Cruise.
While unchanging devotees may say you can’t improve on the original – it seems the following steps may have just made it if critics ’reviews have anything to go through.
Ahead of the May 26 release of Top Gun: Maverick, aggregator review sites are already showing stratospheric results to continue.
Rotten Tomatoes has a 96 percent positive rating, while Metacritic shows 81 points, indicating “universal recognition”.
In the new edition, Cruz returned to the cockpit in the role of Navy pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, who refuses to be promoted despite 36 years of service.
Also resuming his role as Val Kilmer as Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, and Miles Teller as newly recruited as Lieutenant Bradley’s “Rooster” Bradshaw, the son of the late Maverick’s best friend Nick “Goose” Bradshaw.
Several of the most respected critics of the film industry have given Maverick a perfect score of five out of five stars, including Empire, The Telegraph and the BBC.
They agreed, saying it surpassed the original because of its vivid episodes and exquisite performances, and Collider critic Ross Banaime even called it “one of the greatest sequels ever made.”
“It’s also hard not to say that it may have some of the most exciting action scenes to ever hit the sky, and gives Cruz one of his best roles, returning to the role that made him a star,” he wrote.
Nicholas Barber of the BBC agreed.
“The new film improves the old in all respects,” he wrote.
“The story is smarter and more exciting, the dialogue is sharper and funnier, the relationship is richer, the air tricks are likely to make you sick. In many pictures, the actors are clearly on planes, and although they may not be piloting, they are certainly being thrown at breakneck speed. “
Director Joseph Kosinka was praised for taking over the mantle from the late Tony Scott for the sequel and giving the action an “inner” and “joyful” feel.
But the biggest applause was reserved for Cruz, some tipped him for an Oscar.
“Despite this man’s invariably amazing personal life, no militant star working today requires the quality that Cruz demands,” wrote NY Post critic Johnny Aleksinsky.
And from Ian Freer of Empire: “(Cruz) does a great job of keeping the Maverick spirit and arrogance while keeping everything tasteful and age-appropriate. Thirty-six years later, his conviction is still breathtaking. ”
The sequel Top Gun has long been in the pipeline, but the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant production delays.
But the final version seems worth the wait, and box office predictions expected Maverick to be one of the box office films of the year.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/top-gun-maverick-scores-rave-reviews-36-years-since-original-c-6783184
