Top Gun: Maverick

Es ist längst bekannt, dass Kosinski sowohl die visuelle Seite als auch die Emotionen beherrscht. Hier wird er außerdem von Bruckheimer und Cruise auf einer sehr angenehmen Welle der Nostalgie getragen. Die Verbindung mit dem ursprünglichen Film ist sehr liebevoll, die Beweggründe der Figuren sind komplexer und umfangreicher. Die Fans vom Original bekommen dasselbe, es ist aber besser und mehr. Die Actionszenen haben ein Upgrade bekommen, es ist eine zuvor noch nie gesehene, physisch sorgfältig gemachte Flugshow wie von Nolan. Ich war schon lange nicht mehr in dem IMAX-Sitz so gefesselt. Den fünften Stern bekommt der Film nicht, weil das Handlungsschema die ersten 90 % der Laufzeit vorhersehbar war; so, damit es den Fans vom Original gefällt. Die letzten 10 % der Laufzeit sind dann eine märchenhafte und tolle Hollywood-Attraktion. Ich habe mich auch über die Eingliederung der Figur von Val Kilmer gefreut. (25.05.2022)

Tommy negotiated a 20% cut of every ticket sold, clever boy, and with himself as producer he serves us a fairytale that is beautifully filmed, but with a plot that is cliché as hell. Fighter jets have never been so sexy, in the cockpit shots you can totally see the effects of overload on the actors' faces, every extra mach – nostalgia is fine if you know how to work with it – but it all goes follows classic predictable Hollywood notes, you can guess exactly what will happen in the next scene, there is no moment of surprise, this film can only dream of some surprising twists. I was thoroughly bored for the first half, and in fact for the rest of the film. The only one who gave me the creeps was Val Kilmer, especially if you know about his health. The final praised action set-piece looked like a CGI cut scene from “Call of Duty”, the only thing missing was a gamepad in my hands. I think the current 92% here is nonsense. (31.05.2022)

Of course, the biggest attraction of the new Top Gun is not the supersonic fighter jets, but Tom Cruise in thrall to his own acting legacy. As is usually the case with legacy sequels, 90% of the plot is a copy/variation of the events of the first film (the opening and closing credits are practically identical). Whereas Cruise was a student in the first Top Gun, this time he’s an instructor (and stand-in father) who shows the novices how it (aerial manoeuvres and action movies) is supposed to be done. Thanks to his emphasis on the human element (repeating the line that what matters is the pilot’s skill, not the machine’s capabilities), he saves the day (and the action genre, which he is breathing new life into). Nevertheless, he remains a rebellious outsider who rides the (same) motorcycle, wears the (same) leather jacket, doesn’t respect authority and doesn’t read manuals. At the same time, however, he obediently serves the military-industrial complex, so his rebelliousness is only superficial. Because Maverick chose to go his own way (just as Cruise’s career comprises a separate universe that is not part of the dominant comic-book multiverse), he has not put down roots and remains a solitary figure (which is constantly emphasised by how he observes the other characters from afar rather than coexisting with them). Like the most recent Bond film, Top Gun: Maverick is packed with nostalgic looks back at the past, admitting one’s own vulnerability and coming to terms with the fact that our time on earth is limited (Cruise will soon be 60 years old). Seeking out and pondering the parallels between Maverick and Cruise by going through his filmography and reflecting on his image as a star was truthfully more entertaining to me than the numerous aerial scenes, which, with the exception of the last one, which takes place over a snow-covered landscape for the sake of variety, are interchangeable, with such rapid cuts that you can’t really enjoy them much anyway (it’s worth seeing the film in IMAX mainly for the sound). The same is true of the variation on the legendary volleyball scene. The game of (American) football on the beach is shot predominantly against the sun, chopped up with a lot of unnecessary cuts and absolutely asexual. I guiltily admit that watching it made me long for Scott's advertising-video aesthetic and shameless objectification of semi-nude male bodies. I would have found such stylisation more appropriate for a blockbuster heroic, action-melodrama that basically takes place completely outside of any real socio-political context, in a world that exists solely for the purpose of showing off aerial acrobatics and Tom Cruise’s smile. 75% (24.05.2022)

One of the movies of the year and one of the best sequels ever. Joseph Kosinski isn't a standout directors for me, Only the Brave is a big emotional hit, Tron was interesting and Oblivion was mediocre, but Top Gun: Maverick is definitely his best and most ambitious work to date. We've been waiting a long time for the film and the trailers already indicated that it was going to be one hell of a ride, but I didn't expect it to hit me and pull me in so much, as fighter jets aren't exactly the stuff I seek out in movies. Everything here is just right from the performances (Tom Cruise is excellent and really cool, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller and Glen Powell are also great), the precise technical side caught up to perfection, great dialogues, emotional scenes, decent pacing, occasional humour, great music with Lady Gaga's final song included, intense tension and great action from the training to the 30 minute finale, which is built up ad absurdum – I stopped breathing there and lost track of time. The story itself may not be sophisticated, but that doesn't matter at all. The film has heart, balls, juice and drive and won't leave anyone cold, certainly not anyone who loves movies. What Le Mans 66 is to racing movies, Top Gun 2 is to aviation movies. Definitely the best movie with fighter jets and with The Northerner for me the movie of the year so far. Story 4/5. Action 5/5, Humor 3/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 5/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 5/5, Emotion 5/5, Actors 5/5. 9/10. (27.05.2022)

An inexplicable phenomenon in the form of a film that does not advance the genre forward, does not stand out in terms of acting, repeats itself like a song, and visually quotes a decades-old original scene by scene – and yet critics, viewers, children, and grandparents all nod their heads in agreement and struggle to admit that they just saw the film of the year. Honest action, where screws visibly fly off fighter planes and oil drips, a cliché seen a hundred times, which quakes with every emotion, and the essence of the 80s, extracted to the core, still works a couple levels better at every moment than it did in 1986. Top Gun: Maverick is the opposite of fan service because it brings us back to a fandom that most people only halfheartedly like, and not many would include it among their favorites. And yet it crushes us with nostalgia for times we didn't experience, forcing us to melancholically ponder fates we didn't know for three decades, and we honestly go in any direction it shows us, wondering why we never became pilots. (30.05.2022)

In Mission: Impossible – Fallout there were several sequences when the film crossed the line of fiction and built an exalted monument not only to its protagonist, but also to the actor who portrayed him. Top Gun: Maverick works simultaneously at the levels of fiction, reflective adoration and meta-commentary. Thus, when the line “The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction” is uttered and Maverick responds, “Maybe so, sir. But not today”, it’s not just the title character or Tom Cruise, as the last thoroughbred Hollywood star, speaking for himself, but also for the 1980s blockbuster model. All of the warning lights are blinking red, alerting us that this old/old-world colossus shouldn’t be able to stand up to the bigger, faster, more finely tuned competition made with the latest hardware and software. We constantly have the feeling that this isn’t how it’s done anymore, that the time for that has passed, that everybody wants something more sophisticated, more advanced and more contemporary. But here it is simply confirmed that it is not the machine that matters, but the pilot. Of course, there are cheesy camp and crypto-queer levels to the film, but judging by the audience’s reaction, these are not flaws, but part of a delightful viewing experience, as the film doesn’t just wink at the viewers, but looks them right in the eye with its hard-to-resist gaze. Also, following Žižek’s analysis of Rammstein’s music and concerts in relation to Nazism, we can even say that the second Top Gun gives us a passive experience with Scientology (though, unlike in the case of Rammstein, this is not all based on caricature and it certainly does not subvert the reflected ideology). Tom Cruise can be condemned and hated for a number of things, but unlike other megalomaniacs of our time, he cannot be denied the recognition that he is without equal in his field, i.e. in cinematic spectacles. Not because of the massive paydays that he receives or how he fleeces his subordinates, but rather because he can tear down everyone for the perfectionist vision that he has worked so hard to create. Top Gun: Maverick proudly shows off its banal and obsolete engine, which should be in the salvage yard, but the living awe generator working the stick squeezes more power out of the old beater than anyone before him. ___ Footnote: In a handful of melancholically dreamy moments and plot motifs, Cruise’s ode to flying evokes Miyazaki’s understandably more poetic and multi-layered monument to fighter aces, Porco Rosso. (26.05.2022)

Nostalgia pushed to the limits, driven by the human desire to overcome obstacles. Cruise breathes life into this and sets out on the ancient battle between man and the machine meant to replace the man. The test is a Mission Impossible = to destroy an impregnable and almost invisible (probably) Soviet nuclear missile development center. Overall quite current right now... nostalgic but still current. Excellent actors. Primarily Teller and Powell. Equally macho hard-asses as last time learn to work together and keep pushing the limits and Maverick is the boss that is meant to teach them how. This direct and simple story is presented excellently and giving feelings of intense pleasure in just the right places, with the main protagonist looking for a place to belong. The bits with Kilmer are great and Jennifer Connelly is amazing again. Oh, and Tom Cruise carries it all on his shoulders with the strength of the last rightful star in Hollywood. A dying breed. But a chapter in itself. The mucking about at Top Gun is just a warm-up for the final inferno which will bowl you over not only at the IMAX, but even in a regular movie theater. Marvelous maneuvers by the F-18 (and another iconic machine) with gripping dog fights that have the viewer pinned to his seat. For two hours, the world was completely fine; the movie worked wonders on me again - I enjoyed it. Time is your worst enemy! (25.05.2022)

Ein ideales Hollywood-Erlebnis, ausgeklügelt bis ins kleinste Detail. Eine große Portion Nostalgie und ein gut genutzter Starglanz von Tom Cruise, über den schon zu Zeiten des Tschechoslowakischen Filminstituts festliche Oden geschrieben wurden. Das Warten bis zum Ende der Covid-Beschränkungen hat sich gelohnt. (02.06.2022)

The first one was youthful, impetuous, restless and surprisingly a lot harder and less predictable. The second one plays on safety. Lest it sound bad, it's a great movie. What Bruckheimer was able to produce, Kosinski to shoot, and Cruise and co. to star in will be in the textbooks for the next decade on how to make an "aerial film." All those polished shots, breathtaking camera twists and F18s rolls (and it wouldn’t be Tom Cruise without a Cobra at least once per film) are truly eye candy and you can't help but smile at the commitment of the actors. But there is not a single surprise, not a single unexpected scene throughout – there is one hint towards the end, but after a few seconds the sensation dissipates in another onslaught of clichés. Of course,we are speaking about clichés with refinement, elegance and overall acceptable consistency throughout, though. The filmmakers partially develop the story of Maverick and actually kind of recreate the fan-favorite moments of the first film for audiences three generations younger. The older ones smile because they know, the younger ones stare wide-eyes because they don’t know and they like it a lot. That means everyone is a target and that's why Maverick will make a bundle and deservedly so. However, the screenwriting qualities are not nearly as high as the technical ones. But that in the end is obviously not such a problem for a high rating, because when Cruise puts on his dusty jacket and sits on his motorbike at sunset, it's hard not to just slap five stars on there out of nostalgia. (01.06.2022)

The story is lemonade again, but this time not as flashy and more sensitive than the previous time, and you don't think so much about Hot Shots while watching it, and if you giggle at anything, it's perhaps only at the plan, which is reminiscent of the destruction of the Death Star – even using the Force in the final set-piece :) Otherwise, everything is perfectly fine, the film whizzes along for two hours like a fighter jet, and Tom Cruise proves that he deserves his star status as much as anyone, regardless of all his oddities. The aerial scenes are incredible, and watching the closing credits I thought to myself that at least half of those people must be from insurance companies. The last time I felt this authentically "there" in the cinema was probably when watching First Man, which was not filmed in any rockets. Top Gun: Maverick is, in short, an excellent, honest film with so many scenes that I'd like to see again that I'd rather watch the whole film right away. (03.06.2022)

Es muss zwar nicht gerade überraschend, innovativ oder fehlerfrei sein, aber im neuen Top Gun: Maverick ist alles so effektiv, fesselnd und einfach "richtig" gemacht, dass es für mich das perfekte Publikumserlebnis der letzten Monate war. So macht man Fortsetzungen nach Jahren, so macht man Hollywood-Blockbuster, so macht man einfach FILM. Und nach dem Kino unerwartet während der magischen Stunde bei orangefarbenen Aura der untergehenden Sonne zurückzukehren, war das i-Tüpfelchen auf dem Kuchen. (05.06.2022)

Zum ersten Top Gun, wenn ich Hot Shots nicht mitzähle, konnte ich mich erst vor zwei Tagen aufraffen, damit ich mir im Kino den zweiten Teil ansehen kann, der jetzt überall in Superlativen besprochen wird. Da ich den ersten Teil erst jetzt gesehen habe, konnte ich nicht mit nostalgischen Erwartungen an den zweiten Teil herangehen, so wie man alte Freunde nach x Jahren wieder trifft. Die erste Folge ist ein Achtziger-Jahre-Gag wie kein anderer, aber einen gewissen Kultstatus als Männerfilm kann man ihm nicht absprechen. Der zweite Top Gun, der nach 36 (!) Jahren in die Kinos kam, hat mich in vielerlei Hinsicht wirklich überrascht. Obwohl er wieder diese Macho-Atmosphäre verströmt, fühlt er sich nicht so flach (und leicht albern) an wie sein Vorgänger und enthält sogar mehr als einen starken Moment, der gelegentlich eine dicke Konzentration von Zwiebeln im Kino verursachte. Außerdem gefiel mir die Besetzung der sympathisch-charmanten Jennifer Connelly und sogar Miles Teller, dessen Gesicht (wie auch das von Tom Cruise) mir bisher nicht wirklich zugesagt hat, aber in diesem Film hat es mich überrascht (außerdem ist es den Maskenbildnern gelungen, eine verblüffende Ähnlichkeit mit Goose hervorzurufen). Ich lobe auch die kleine, aber umso eindrucksvollere Rolle von Val Kilmer. Aus technischer Sicht ist es ein solide gedrehtes Werk mit einer Reihe atemberaubender Aufnahmen, von denen einige subtil auf den ersten Film verweisen, während andere die heutigen technischen Möglichkeiten voll ausschöpfen. Am Ende wären es zwar keine reinen fünf Sterne, aber ich muss zugeben, dass mich Maverick diesmal wirklich mitgerissen hat. P. S. "Don't think. Just do." (29.05.2022)

Top Gun und seine Fortsetzungen sind für mich aus mehreren subjektiven und objektiven Gründen nostalgisch, bewegend und symbolisch. Die erste Folge habe ich als Kind mit meinem Vater in einem Kleinstadtkino mit Holzsitzen gesehen. Nach dreißig Jahren wiederholten wir diese Erfahrung in einem Kleinstadtkino, allerdings in einem bequemen Sitz, von denen unser Kino bei der Rekonstruktion einige erworben hatte. Val Kilmer, das wohl berührendste Element der Fortsetzung - wie das Drehbuch sich mit seinem Lebensschicksal auseinandersetzt und es zumindest symbolisch in die Geschichte einbaut. Tom Cruise, ein Schauspieler, der seit Jahrzehnten zu meinen Lieblingsschauspielern gehört, und verdammt noch mal, egal wie er es anstellt, wenn wir alle mit 60 so aussehen würden, wäre die Welt voller gut aussehender Männer. Das Gleiche gilt für Jennifer Connelly im weiblichen Kontext. Ich habe jede Minute und jede Szene sehr genossen und stimme zu, dass dies eine der besten Fortsetzungen aller Zeiten und eines der größten Kinoereignisse dieses Jahres ist. Die Kampfszenen sind super dicht, und die Hyperkorrektheit hat mich diesmal überhaupt nicht gestört. Am Ende fehlte also wohl nur noch "Take my breath away"... (28.05.2022)

The best possible mix of nostalgia and honestly heavy-handed filmmaking, which is breathtaking in its peak moments. All of which is also bolstered by a very good script that opens old wounds here and there, but does it in a totally founded and sensitive way, which "only" adds to the mosaic of all the things that are delightful about this film. The final mission is a technical, emotional, and considerably cathartic experience, and I wouldn't be afraid of the superlative that this has one of the most impressive final sequences I've ever seen. Thanks, Tom and everyone else. [95%] (15.08.2022)

The prototype of a perfect summer blockbuster. A cinematic blast that is two levels above the rest of the Hollywood production. An awesome mix of action, suspense, fun, nostalgia, and emotion. It’s probably the best of Tom Cruise's extensive movie career. Whatever rave reviews you will read about the new Top Gun, they're very likely to be true. (21.06.2022)