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Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Directed by:
Joseph Kosinski

COUNTRY
USA

Genre
Action/Drama

NORWEGIAN TITLE
Top Gun: Maverick

RUNNING TIME
130 minutes

Produced by:
Jerry Bruckheimer
Tom Cruise
Christopher McQuarrie
David Ellison

Written by:
Ehren Kruger
Eric Warren Singer
Christopher McQuarrie


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell

Tom Cruise ½
Tom "Iceman" Kazansky Val Kilmer -
Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw Miles Teller ½

Penelope "Penny" Benjamin

Jennifer Connelly
Beau "Cyclone" Simpson Jon Hamm
Jake "Hangman" Seresin Glen Powell ½
Natasha "Phoenix" Trace Monica Barbaro -
Robert "Bob" Floyd Lewis Pullman -

Chester "Hammer" Cain

Ed Harris -
Solomon "Warlock" Bates Charles Parnell -

Reuben "Payback" Fitch

Jay Ellis -

 

Review

Just when it seemed like it had rendered itself completely irrelevant with its obsessing over superhero franchises and remakes, Hollywood threw out this lifeline to the fast diminishing population of adult moviegoers. And it was immediately rewarded with incredible box-office numbers. Unlike so many films in the action/adventure genre of recent, Top Gun: Maverick is a proper movie – traditional escapism for long-time movie buffs – which is as enjoyable to see as it is a relief. Granted, we are talking about a sequel here, but it’s a sequel that stands firmly, independently and confidently on its own feet as an apolitical, unironic, straightforward movie made with aesthetics and thrills in mind. And one of the reasons the action works so well is that it feels organic. CGI is used as a tool, not as a foundation, which makes a world of difference for how the flying action looks. From the minute Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is reintroduced, and once all the nostalgia has quieted down, Top Gun: Maverick gets into its slick, well laid out setup of fighter jet training, an exhilarating real-life mission, and only a semi-vapid romance between Maverick and Penny, played with a perpetual pose by Jennifer Connelly. Tom Cruise, on the other hand, looks amazing and gives one of the most compelling performances of his career. When Maverick is told by his old pal Iceman that "it's time to let go" and Cruise replies "I don't know how", the actor looks to be tapping into more real emotion than he has ever done before. I, for one, believe that Cruise might not know how to let go, but luckily there is no need to just yet.

Copyright © 18.09.2022 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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