At the outset, I wish to apprise the readers that this blog is not a review of the movie Top Gun: Maverick but is a tribute to great cinema, unfolding as to why it can be called ‘perfection-redefined’. Tom Cruise has forged a new yardstick to measure ‘excellence’ which will inspire anyone pursuing ‘perfection’ in any field whatsoever; of course only if one can emulate the real spirit behind the colossal movie.
My interest in movie-going had extinguished many years ago, especially since the comic heroes have taken over, parting from reality. I posted a blog ‘Ethan Hunt - The Stoic Spy’ many months ago and I revealed my observations beneath the extraordinary stoic philosophy of the American Spy and the reasons why I appreciate the character of Ethan Hunt. A few days ago, on 26th May, my inner childish passion triggered once again after a very long time, to go to Prasads’ Large Screen at Hyderabad, once again, to live the experience of real cinema in Top Gun: Maverick and since then, I have been impatient to post this blog.
Top Gun: Maverick does not merely belong to the category of ‘action’ movies, it is bigger than any TED presentation showcasing exceptional achievements. It's the greatest cinema ever made on Earth, until now, without using miniatures or employing much CGI technology. The stage chosen for filming Maverick is the limitless sky and the act is a live experience of the heroic death-defying exploits of the American pilots in fighter jet planes. The United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor programme, more popularly known as TOP GUN, teaches fighter and strike tactics and techniques to selected naval aviators and naval flight officers. Director Tony Scott made the original Top Gun movie in 1986, which was a massive hit, but he died in 2012.
Tom is now 60 years old but his passion for cinema, which has grown to Himalayan heights, can be witnessed in his commitment to perform, in person, any of the stunts in his spy movie franchise Mission Impossible. The success of the original Top Gun lasted many years and even after 36 years, his fans praise it. Though 60 today, Tom Cruise has not aged much in physique since the original, hence him continuing to be the lead makes perfect sense. Director, Joseph Kosinski, the producer Jerry Bruckheimer, in association with Paramount Pictures, have now made Top Gun: Maverick with the one and only Tom Cruise, who is undoubtedly the highest contributor of this mammoth movie specifically made for the large screen.
The secret ingredient of this movie is only the spirit of Tom Cruise, who performed live in the sky in the cockpit of F-18 fighter jet planes and inspired all his co-stars too to perform along with him. It’s a pure rush of adrenaline pumping into your heart until the edge of experiencing the air combat scenes at close quarters. No technology can match the excitement when Tom Cruise teleports his audience to the skies. It’s no more two-wheelers or four-wheelers or helicopters as in MI sequels; it’s F-18 war jets in Maverick, with cameras fixed in the cockpits of the warplanes and it’s the ultimate experience that Tom Cruise offers the cinema audience for now.
Tom Cruise is not a stuntman or just an action movie producer or an actor who performs his own stunts, he is spiritual in performing his roles. Telling a story on screen is different from living it — they are two different things altogether. We see Hollywood stars regulating their bodies from muscular physique to mere skeletons to live their roles, but taking risks in a death-defying act in flying an F-18 or an F-14 at jet speed is impossible, for they are not paid to take such risks in the first place. Tom trained himself to fly aeroplanes in ‘American Made’ and flew BMW helicopters in Mission Impossible: Fallout, the 6th edition of the MI franchise; and now it’s F-18.
One of the most memorable movies during my school days was The Blue Max, released in 1966 starring George Peppard. The acrobatics and dog fights of the warplanes of World War II thrilled me in my childhood and remains in my memory until now, and later it was Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, which was made exceptionally well. But Top Gun: Maverick takes the audience to a level high above the sky to Mach-10 velocity. If one wants to excel in their profession by taking it to a level higher, then there is no other teacher than Tom Cruise who has taken high risk in his profession of cinema-making, raising the bar to the epitome to entertain his audience in a manner no other cinema producer or actor had ever dared until now.
Top Gun: Maverick opened in cinemas worldwide on 27th May and grossed USD 146 million on its opening day. Tom arrived in style on a helicopter with the logo ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ at the world premiere held at San Diego, California, on the USS Midway Aircraft carrier and said, “36 years later we are here. It’s surreal. We made this for the big screen.” On the eve of the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick at Cannes Film Festival, the French Air Force saluted the event and its maker Tom Cruise by flying its fighter jet planes and painting the colours of their national flag in the sky above the venue.
I recommend all to go to a theatre near you and see TOP GUN: MAVERICK and experience how an actor and producer, Tom Cruise motivates all to never settle for your past best, but continue to improvise until you last on this Earth. A person close to me declared, ‘Looks like Hollywood is divided into Tom Cruise on one side and the rest on the other, just like Apple and the other system technologies.” If one wants real entertainment on the edge, then viewing it on the big screen at a theatre near you will make your day. I give it a rating of 10/10 and I am mad at the science of mathematics that it does not permit me to give 11/10. Many see it as ‘entertainment’, but I see it as a ‘spiritual discourse in action’ by Tom Cruise, inspiring us all to pursue for the best in our not-so-perfect lives.
I will peer at Oscars 2023 to see if the Academy surrenders at least 10 of its statuettes to Top Gun: Maverick and Tom Cruise, including the original song “Hold My Hand … I won’t let go till the end.,” a heavenly song by Lady Gaga, and make the celebration worthy of itself.
Click here (skip the ad) and relish the song of Lady Gaga: https://youtu.be/O2CIAKVTOrc
I saw Top Gun Maverick today and was blown away by how good it was. I was expecting a Lame Money Minting sequel like the normal Hollywood series, but this one outperforms the original. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen, however I didn't like the first bar scene since it was too long. The first moment in which Tom goes hypersonic was breathtaking and gave me shivers. Overall, I agree with Prem Kumar Pothina that this cinema is raising the bar to the epitome to entertain his audience in a manner no other cinema producer or actor had ever dared until now.