It took Tom Cruise 36 years to head back to the danger zone to bring a Top Gun sequel to the screen, and the first reviews from movie critics said it was well worth the wait.
Top Gun: Maverick earned a 96 per cent positive rating on the Rotten Tomatoes review aggregation website, which had collected 75 reviews as of Thursday afternoon. The movie debuts in theatres on May 27.
Cruise returns in the film as Pete Mitchell, the cocky navy pilot, codenamed Maverick, who has never risen through the ranks because of his penchant for bucking authority.
Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press called the movie “a textbook example of how to make a sequel”.
“The movie satisfies with one foot in the past by hitting all the touchstones of the first film,” Kennedy said, “and yet stands on its own.”
Box office analysts predict the movie from Paramount Pictures will rank as one of the biggest box office hits of the summer. The movie had been scheduled for release in June 2020, but Paramount delayed its debut multiple times during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice Pro, said ticket sales would hit $US100 million ($A146 million) over the Memorial Day weekend in the US and Canada. That would make it highest-grossing debut of Cruise’s career.
Critics said the movie offers thrilling flight scenes, an emotional story and strong performances by the supporting cast including Miles Teller, who plays the son of Goose, Maverick’s partner who died in the original 1986 film.
HOLY. SMOKES! #TopGun Maverick belongs in the sequels better than the original club Immaculate pacing, phenomenal chemistry from the cast, perfectly balanced adrenaline rushes, create an EPIC, action-packed part two! Cruise is great and the score is fantastic! pic.twitter.com/9qyQYKgL9H
— Leo Rydel – Geekly Goods (@LeoRydelGG) May 11, 2022
I never thought I’d be questioning my own place in the world, or my morality by watching Top Gun. But here we are. Whatever praise this movie gets is 100% warranted. One of the best blockbusters ever. #TopGun #TopGunMaverick pic.twitter.com/wzbEgAMY0D
— Hunter Bolding (@HunterBolding) May 11, 2022
When #TopGun throws a premiere, the sky’s the limit. Check out all the highlights from the #TopGun: Maverick Global Premiere aboard the @USSMidwayMuseum. #TopGunTakesFlight pic.twitter.com/3l17q72Pt6
— Top Gun (@TopGunMovie) May 10, 2022
But most of the praise was showered on Cruise.
“It’s a fresh-faced gloss on the original … powered, like the original, by a star who’ll simply never stop being a star,” wrote K Austin Collins of Rolling Stone.
Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly said the movie “belongs in almost every scene to Cruise”.
“At this point in his career, he’s not really playing characters so much as variations on a theme – the theme being, perhaps, The Last Movie Star,” she said. “And in the air up there, he stands alone.”
The man, the myth, the Maverick. #TopGun pic.twitter.com/jJ5oWw8d9S
— Top Gun (@TopGunMovie) May 11, 2022
Landing at the #TopGun: Maverick red carpet, the Maverick way. @TomCruise #TopGunTakesFlight pic.twitter.com/bd6Wegw74N
— Top Gun (@TopGunMovie) May 5, 2022
Last night was a celebration 36 years in the making. Truly incredible. #TopGun pic.twitter.com/kbpU9AL98v
— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) May 5, 2022
Tom Cruise gushes over Lady Gaga
“I love GaGa” “who couldn’t love GaGa” “that woman is force of nature” #HoldMyHand #TOPGUN #TOPGUNMAVERICK pic.twitter.com/EpfN2Sfigw— Scott | Fighter Pilot (@scott_wiggle) May 5, 2022
#HOLDMYHAND ✈️ OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
OUT NOW 🖤 @TopGunMovie https://t.co/nZdpIIGTC6 pic.twitter.com/3KHGB5mWqL— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) May 6, 2022
Watch the original trailer:
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