Top Gun 2: Greatest Cinematic Event of the New Millennium

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

Maverick stew? Get the marketing guys on that.

I'd buy that stew.

[Mexal]

2 minutes ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

Maverick stew? Get the marketing guys on that.

I'd buy that stew.

More like Rooster stew given DMC's interpretation of the film.

[DMC]

1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

Tom Cruise fought hard to have Top Gun: Maverick delayed to be released in theaters, so I thought the ultimate way to say fuck you to him was to watch it on the smallest screen possible 30,000 feet in the air.

It's a solid film, but not anywhere close to the hype and praise some people are giving it.

I absolutely loathe what Bill Maher has become.  He's always been a bitter old man, but the last couple of years - due to being attacked by the left - he's decided to make it his mission to focus on random leftist overreaches instead of the obvious problems that plague this country today.  Anyway, he ended his "new rules" tonight entirely devoted to this film:

The complete lack of definable enemy was, indeed, part of why the film was piece of shit.  But also because the actions in the final act clearly would have started a war with whatever "enemy" this apparently was.  That's a big part of why it was predominately Mystery Science Theater for me and my family..and anyone with a brain.

[BigFatCoward]

I assumed going in from the trailer it would be about the resentment of Mav causing the accident which I thought was lame. So I was pleasantly surprised when they made it so clear that had absolutely nothing to do with it and there was a clearly defined whole other reason that made more sense.

Did you download Topgun Maverick from Wish by any chance? 

[polishgenius]

9 minutes ago, DMC said:

But also because the actions in the final act clearly would have started a war with whatever "enemy" this apparently was. 

 

The assassination of one of Iran's top generals didn't start a war with them in real life, and Libya didn't declare war on the US after they bombed Gadaffi's house in 86. Reality is, who declares war on the US unless America does it first? It's not something that happens by anyone with a shred of self-preservation. And like the whole premise here was to stop Iran random mystery nation getting nukes they could then actually have something to compete with America with. 


But tbh even that is setting aside that I'm not really sure we need to take the geopolitical reality of Top Gun that seriously. It was pretty much entirely an excuse plot to give Tom Cruise a trench run scene to fly in. Perfectly reasonable to find that too egotistically wanky for your tastes, but 'it wouldn't happen in real life' is a weird argument about this kind of movie.

[DMC]

1 minute ago, polishgenius said:

The assassination of one of Iran's top generals didn't start a war with them in real life, and Libya didn't declare war on the US after they bombed Gadaffi's house in 86.

Yeah Gadaffi is a terribly uninformed comparison and it's quite hilarious to compare Soleimani to what happened in the third act of the film.

8 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

It was pretty much entirely an excuse plot to give Tom Cruise a trench run scene to fly in. Perfectly reasonable to find that too egotistically wanky for your tastes, but 'it wouldn't happen in real life' is a weird argument about this kind of movie.

This..is pretty much exactly what I've been saying.  It's Tom Cruise jacking himself off to an absurd premise.

[DMC]

19 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said:

Did you download Topgun Maverick from Wish by any chance? 

I don't even know what "Wish" is.

[BigFatCoward]

2 minutes ago, DMC said:

I don't even know what "Wish" is.

https://www.distractify.com/p/wish-app-fails

 

[DMC]

1 minute ago, BigFatCoward said:

https://www.distractify.com/p/wish-app-fails

 

Hohkay.  Thanks for sharing!

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

5 hours ago, DMC said:

I absolutely loathe what Bill Maher has become.  He's always been a bitter old man, but the last couple of years - due to being attacked by the left - he's decided to make it his mission to focus on random leftist overreaches instead of the obvious problems that plague this country today.  Anyway, he ended his "new rules" tonight entirely devoted to this film:

The complete lack of definable enemy was, indeed, part of why the film was piece of shit.  But also because the actions in the final act clearly would have started a war with whatever "enemy" this apparently was.  That's a big part of why it was predominately Mystery Science Theater for me and my family..and anyone with a brain.

Agree one thousand percent on Bill Maher. Haven't watched him in over a decade.

Disagree on the lack of a definable enemy. The enemy is whoever the US says it is. There, "defined".

5 hours ago, polishgenius said:

 

The assassination of one of Iran's top generals didn't start a war with them in real life,

...yet...

5 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

https://www.distractify.com/p/wish-app-fails

 

That rocks. Half of those are just not giving a fuck and the other half are confusing inches and millimeters on the engineering drawings. 

[BigFatCoward]

13 minutes ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

Agree one thousand percent on Bill Maher. Haven't watched him in over a decade.

Disagree on the lack of a definable enemy. The enemy is whoever the US says it is. There, "defined".

...yet...

That rocks. Half of those are just not giving a fuck and the other half are confusing inches and millimeters on the engineering drawings. 

And yet they are closer to the original than DMCs understanding of Maverick. 

[Raja]

I agree a bit with DMC here, my take away from the movie was that it was a combination of both re: his father's death and also putting the brakes on his career.

As to the broader point regarding the movie - I liked the movie, I think the scenes in the planes are spectacular. But there is plenty of things in the film that don't work for me. Jennifer Connoly's character and the time spent with her is pretty much wasted and the 'enemy' being these unmarked randos makes the final act feel like 1. It has no stakes and 2. Feels more like a simulation, which also contributes to the no stakes bit.

Refuse to watch that bill maher clip because he's a racist xenophobic white dude.

[DMC]

1 hour ago, BigFatCoward said:

And yet they are closer to the original than DMCs understanding of Maverick. 

Man someone really wants to join Cruise and R. Kelly in the closet...

 

[Veltigar]

It's already an older article, but I have to share it because the Guardian's top pick comment on it is:

"I feel the need, the need for greed." 

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/11/top-gun-maverick-sequel-conversations-under-way

How is Top Gun 2 doing financially @Deadlines? What Deadlines? Any hope of it overtaking other films that are still above it in the box-office list?

17 hours ago, DMC said:

Man someone really wants to join Cruise and R. Kelly in the closet...

 

I mean honestly, I'd love to. I could dine out on that story for years. Like "Bitch please, you think your life is weird? Let me tell you about the time I was locked up in a closet with Tom Cruise, John Travolta and R. Kelly"

 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

If I'm being very conservative with projections, Black Panther's inflation adjusted domestic box office is next. It'll top that given another week. Jurassic World's inflation adjusted domestic box office is after that. It might top that. Beyond that, no, it isn't likely. Avatar's Domestic cume is to far away and I don't think there are any International records that are within reach.

It has a chance of overtaking Star Wars: The Last Jedi for 8th spot at the all-time UK box office, although I don't even know if it's still playing there. Plus the Brits have bigger problems right now.  

Edited September 11, 2022 by Deadlines? What Deadlines?

[Veltigar]

18 hours ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

If I'm being very conservative with projections, Black Panther's inflation adjusted domestic box office is next. It'll top that given another week. Jurassic World's inflation adjusted domestic box office is after that. It might top that. Beyond that, no, it isn't likely. Avatar's Domestic cume is to far away and I don't think there are any International records that are within reach.

It has a chance of overtaking Star Wars: The Last Jedi for 8th spot at the all-time UK box office, although I don't even know if it's still playing there. Plus the Brits have bigger problems right now.  

That's precisely why they need some diversion over there in the UK  

[Myrddin]

Are we really concerned about lack of defined enemy here? The movie is about fighter pilot school. Where they learn to fly better. Their final exam is going up against the real thing. End of story.

There's no more thought or need for thought here then when you log into an online game. It's your team vs the other team. Fight.

The movie promised fast planes, cocky pilots, and (for Veltigar) beach football. It delivered on its promise. Anyone looking for more bought a ticket for the wrong movie. I love me some heavy films and though provoking dramas. I also like to kick back and just have fun. TG:M was the latter and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

[Veltigar]

11 hours ago, Myrddin said:

Are we really concerned about lack of defined enemy here? The movie is about fighter pilot school. Where they learn to fly better. Their final exam is going up against the real thing. End of story.

There's no more thought or need for thought here then when you log into an online game. It's your team vs the other team. Fight.

The movie promised fast planes, cocky pilots, and (for Veltigar) beach football. It delivered on its promise. Anyone looking for more bought a ticket for the wrong movie. I love me some heavy films and though provoking dramas. I also like to kick back and just have fun. TG:M was the latter and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

You enjoyed it too, admit it 

[DMC]

On 9/12/2022 at 4:26 PM, Myrddin said:

The movie promised fast planes, cocky pilots, and (for Veltigar) beach football. It delivered on its promise. Anyone looking for more bought a ticket for the wrong movie.

To be clear, I entirely agree with this.  My original post was (I thought) rather apparently exaggerated, drunkenly flippant, and, yes, imbued by being frustrated that's what we chose to watch that evening.  But, soberly (not to say I am right now, because I'm not), my point was similar to Maher's in the clip I posted - this movie should not be nearly as highly thought of as it is, by critics nor on this thread.  (Of course my post was also a bit of trolling that many bought into so I enjoyed that too.)

This forum, and particularly this subforum, spills tons of digital ink criticizing and picking apart the relative mediocrity of MCU and Star Wars films and TV shows - and now especially HotD and ROP.  That's decidedly where this film is at - a mediocre MCU film (which, granted, these days is almost all of them).  Yet, it's perceived as more "special" either because it's simply different/a shiny new toy compared to all those other relentless IPs, or - as I clearly enjoyed making fun of - the nostalgia of Gen X.

That's all I was saying.  The film undeniably has great production values and is competently acted and plotted, but it basically boils down to:  planes go "swoosh!", Tom Cruise goes "arrgh!", and we all go "sploosh!"

[Raja]

On 9/12/2022 at 9:26 PM, Myrddin said:

Are we really concerned about lack of defined enemy here?

I am, and it's not just a random thing people in this thread have come up with, it's present in quite a few reviews too. If you're not, good for you. News at 11, people can have different reactions to the same piece of art. It's *okay* that people don't have the same reaction as you to a film ( I can't quite believe I have to say this to an adult)

 

On 9/12/2022 at 9:26 PM, Myrddin said:

There's no more thought or need for thought here

'Stop thinking', is an extremely poor response to reasonable criticism

Edited September 15, 2022 by Raja