Top Gun Maverick

[Jon Dent]

Top Gun Maverick is a phenomenal technical achievement slathered in a pure, retro 80's summer blockbuster. Just like the original Top Gun it's bright, broad, flashy, cheesy, and full of Tom Cruise showing you why Tom Cruise is cooler than you'll ever be.

But holy shit, when this movie is firing on all cylinders you probably won't care.

This is pure big screen escapism done right. The entire film is visually beautiful, with absolutely stunning, vertigo inducing aerial footage. The music score is one again led by Harold Faltermeyer, and his main theme has lost none of it's epic sweep over the years. The sound design is impressive, clean and unusually dynamic. You'll be impressed by the balance of audio elements in the movie. Whereas most big releases have screamingly loud music (looking at you The Northman), here it is at a far more pleasant level, but some of those explosions and jet engine roars will still take your head off.

When the planes aren't in the air the movie can't help but suffer a little bit, as that's when the cheese comes in. The heightened conflict between Maverick and Rooster is as predictable as it gets, but winning performances from Cruise and Teller make it work about as well as it can. The romance between Cruise and Jennifer Connelly is shallow and disposable, and the banter between the pilots has more than it's fair share of groaners (although some good one liners too), but it's so sincere and comfortable with how dumb all of it is that you can't help but buy into it anyway (although you might hate yourself for doing so). I could see every twist and turn coming a mile away with it's high beams on and horn blowing, but I still soaked up every cheddar covered moment because this movie knows exactly what it is, and that confidence is felt in every frame.

[Mike Blakesley]

After having seen the movie at CinemaCon, I was looking forward to seeing it again when it came out and liked it just as much the second time. It's a crowd-pleaser that pushes all the right buttons, hits all the right notes, and delivers exactly what fans of the original (and of Tom Cruise) will expect. I think repeat visits on this one will be strong.

I liked the story (easy to follow, unlike many other movies we've had lately -- looking at you, Marvel) and the cinematography is flat-out outstanding. The sound mix that rattles the seatbacks with those jets is equally impressive.

If there has to be a negative, I guess that it would be the story is kind of predictable -- but what else can you expect? It's that kind of movie, and they're all that way. But it's such a well-done film, you can forget those nitpicks and just sit back and enjoy the ride.

What's odd to me is, we've had two shows but almost zero kids so far. I was expecting lots of kids, considering school just let out here. But, the weekend is just beginning.

I also really liked Tom Cruise's heartfelt intro to the film. He's a big booster of the theatrical experience and he's a good one to have on our side.

4 out of 5 stars from me.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I'm not the biggest Cruise fan, but he does manage to pull off quite something here. It was one of the first movies this year that kept me engaged from start to finish, all the while the story is nothing really special.

It's nice to see that Hollywood can still make action movies with scenes that manage to connect on a human level. Not just as much random shit flying around as possible, but stuff that makes sense and is therefore much more thrilling and engaging.

The cinematography and the soundmix really managed to bring the sheer forces involved with those fighter jets onto the big screen. This is a movie you need to see in the cinema, on the BIG screen with thundering sound, so go out there and watch it while you still can...

[Stefan Scholz]

I am still looking forward to it, on a screen with bright, contrasty images and a capable sound system installed, played at ref + x.
That's where my problem starts. Not really possible in my home town.
I tried on Thursday noon, in an auditorium with painted gypsum board, and some 1980's disco style speakers plus no surround. I gave up. Junk.
But I saw the potential, of an eye filling screen and a contrasty, bright image for the movie to lure me into the story. Yes, probably thin, but still Cruise knows how to make this a pleasing, immersive thing I can dive into. And will be satisfied at the end.
A good movie, but again ruined by many exhibitors.

[Jon Dent]

We had a bit of a slow start with TGM. Thursday was a near sellout, then Friday and Saturday were kinda slow. Then yesterday hit......

We've had near sellouts every showing the last two days. I think word of mouth is really driving people to come to this one. And like others have noticed I'm seeing a crowd that is on average older than the typical one.

Everyone I've talked to afterwards has been absolutely raving about it.

[Mike Blakesley]

We've had people in that we haven't seen in years. Quite a few that saw the original Top Gun here. Universal raves from everyone, people of all ages are liking it. Our biggest crowd for a single show was last night, surprisingly -- I thought it would be Saturday or Sunday.

It's yet another movie to add to the long list of films that have "exceeded expectations," this time by a country mile. It's amazing what the combination of a good movie with a good story, a good marketing campaign, an enthusiastic star that promotes the film, and a theatrical window can accomplish. I wish more movies had that combination but two often one of those features is missing.

We almost never do the "paid" ads on Facebook, but for this one we decided to go ahead an run an ad on FB and Instagram promoting our seats and sound, along with this particular movie. I adjusted the "reach" out to 50 miles since there are a couple of larger towns within that radius to us. The ad cost $50 and ran for 7 days. It was amazingly successful, we've had many people in the door that we've never seen before and a ton of likes, shares, and comments.

[Jon Dent]

I'm also really happy for Joseph Kosinski, the director. Ever since Tron: Legacy he's been someone to watch and it looks like he finally found the perfect vehicle for his skills. It may not be as visually stylish as T:L or Oblivion (although the opening Mach 10 flight comes awfully close) but it's hard to overstate just how well Top Gun: Maverick is put together.

[Lyle Romer]

It was visually stunning, exciting and the Atmos mix was fantastic (no extremely noticeable directional sounds but just an immersive sound field). I saw it in Dolby Cinema at AMC so other than the no masking it was about as good as presentation gets these days on a 56 ft or so screen (measured by ceiling tiles).

The story was good enough to make the action make sense but left a little to be desired and wasn't as good as the original. As said above, you could see all the "twists" coming a mile away. Val Kilmer's role was kind of shoehorned in there but I guess it added some nostalgia. I enjoyed the way they kept the cheesy 80's soundtrack and style.

Definitely something that needs to be seen on a big screen with big sound. Tom Cruise's intro was a nice touch. It did, however, prove that he is human and does, in fact, age. I still hope that I can look that good when I'm 59.

I'll give it 5 stars for being exciting and engaging. The writing and acting was not exactly The Godfather but it delivered on what it was meant to be.

[James Wyrembelski]

I loved the big "THANK YOU" to the start of the film. That needs to be done more often.

Best turn out of the year so far, universal raves as Mike said, and I'm even up this Friday from last. Our best single show was tonight.

[Darin Steffl]

This is doing GREAT for us so far. The first Friday was slow and made me nervous but it was a holiday weekend and our highschool graduation. Since then, business has picked way up and word of mouth is spreading like crazy. I loved the movie personally and have seen it twice. I think it's better than the original.

Most people are loving it and we're seeing some repeat customers now coming in twice for it. All comments on our Facebook have been positive for this movie.

It's on track to be our #1 grossing film since we reopened in March 2021. I also loved the intro from Tom and I think this movie is what it takes to get a certain demographic of people back to the movies who haven't been in the last 2.5 years. Everyone has been very happy walking out at the end of the show.

Our best attended show was tonight, Sat @ 7pm.

[James Wyrembelski]

Just posted our best day since 2019.

THIS is a three week title...

[Lyle Romer]

Not that this is a review, per se, but more of an indication of how much people like it and how good the word of mouth is. I read that the 32% drop from week 1 to week 2 was the smallest drop ever for a movie that had an opening weekend above $100 million. What makes that more impressive is that last Sunday was the day before a holiday so Sunday evening would have been stronger than a normal Sunday.

[Jon Dent]

We pretty much sold out our second Sunday evening. And this is after a solid week of Top Gun in both of our theaters. I bet the owner lunch that TG:M wouldn't beat Spiderman: No Way Home. Not sure if I should start saving up but it isn't looking good for me.

[Harold Hallikainen]

Though not a review, but related to the movie:

Paramount accused of copyright infringement over ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

https://www.wwlp.com/news/paramount-...-gun-maverick/

Paramount Pictures was sued on Monday by the family of the author of an article that inspired the movie “Top Gun” over copyright infringement related to the film’s sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.”

The complaint says Paramount did not acquire the rights to the 1983 article “Top Guns” by Ehud Yonay prior to releasing the second installment, Reuters reported.

Ehud’s widow and son, Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay, are now seeking damages and to prevent the distribution of the film as well as future sequels, the news service reported.

“The iconic 1986 film all started with Paramount securing exclusive motion picture rights to Ehud Yonay’s copyrighted story immediately after its publication,” the lawsuit says, according to ABC News.

“In fact, the author’s story was duly credited on the derivative 1986 film, which is widely known to have been based on the story,” it adds.

Paramount obtained the rights needed to exclusively produce the 1986 film based on Yonay’s writing.

But the complaint filed Monday accuses Paramount of “thumbing its nose” at federal copyright law after the company supposedly ignored how the copyright reverted to the Yonay family in January 2020.

Meanwhile, Paramount refuted the claims in a statement to Reuters on Monday.

“These claims are without merit, and we will defend ourselves vigorously,” the company said.

The Hill has reached out to Paramount for comment.

“Top Gun: Maverick” grossed more than $548 million globally in its first 10 days of release, making it the biggest blockbuster hit of the year, ABC added.

[Jon Dent]

The jaded skeptic in me wants to point out that they've had over two years to speak up about this, yet they only do so once the movie becomes a big hit.

Pretty sure they just want Paramount to toss a few millions at them to go away. Not sure their case has a chance in an actual court of law.