Top Gun - Maverick post-viewing discussion (SPOILERS)

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Tangentially related to that.  I was chatting with a retired F-15 pilot a few years about his experiences and what his thoughts were on the F-22.   He said he was in on some exhibition tests where his 5 plane flight was sent into simulated combat with a lone F-22.

The F-15s lost.   Every time.   He said it wasn't even close.

Last month I watched an F-22 at an air show do just the most ridiculous moves.   It really is an enormous leap forward in combat aviation.   To paraphrase the movie "sometimes it really is the plane".

Was a sophomore in HS when the original came out. Just saw the new one tonight. Two thumbs up. 
 

Did I see Tom Skerritt in the credits? I must have missed him. 

KyAllroad said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Last month I watched an F-22 at an air show do just the most ridiculous moves.   It really is an enormous leap forward in combat aviation.   To paraphrase the movie "sometimes it really is the plane".

I suppose, to put it in automotive terms, it'd be like comparing a C3 Corvette (70s tech like an F-14) to a modern C8 on a racetrack. Assuming both are stock, of course, I don't care how good a driver you are, that C8 is going to smoke the C3.

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

That's an excellent way to explain it to car people like me :)

Could the dialogue have been a bit smoother in points?  Yeah.

Is it improbable that there would ever be an actual mission that would be a real-life trench run? Yep.

Is it impossible that an F14 would have been kept in airworthy condition by the Iranians? Maybe not impossible, but probably unlikely.

Could a tomcat have taken off in such a short distance? Nope.

But none of that mattered at all.  The practical effects were so satisfying to watch.  The cinematography was epic, showcasing the beautiful scenery and the amazing machines that flew through it.  The story had just enough plausibility to keep you in the universe while also being unserious enough to remind you that you're watching an action adventure so you should just enjoy the ride.  The story wasn't anything innovative or new - classic Hero's Journey story - but it respected the original and built on it instead of trying to prove that "everything you thought you knew was wrong!"  The characters developed and grew but not in crazy new directions that would seem implausible.

They were also able to wrap all the nostalgia in to the story without making it seem like they were pandering.  Including Penny - a kind of throw-away non-character from the original.  Having her drive a classic Porsche like Charlie, but not the same one.  Having the pilots partying in the bar to Goose's son playing Great Balls of Fire.  But they didn't just rest on the feels that we got from nostalgia, they had a new storyline that didn't depend on the old one or rehash it.  Where Force Awakens merely re-told the original while throwing in callbacks, this movie acknowledged the original and layered a new story on top of it.

I know that Tom Cruise sometimes seems like a crazy person, but damn he is incredibly good at his job.  This is one of the few movies that I want to go back and see again before it leaves theaters.

Just saw it in theaters. I've never seen the original, but felt it wasn't super necessary. It lays out the basics pretty well. I loved it. It was a spectacle to watch, had some humorous moments, had some heartfelt moments, had callbacks to the famous scenes of the original but didn't get too mired in nostalgia. And Tom Cruise did Tom Cruise things.

Sure the plot didn't make a ton of sense following real world logic, but it was good enough to make you not care. As one site pointed out, there's no way a mission like this would get pulled off by only one branch of the military. You'd have a Navy ship launching the cruise missiles, an Air Force B2 doing high-altitude bombing of the target and Army F-22s providing cover. Maybe that's why the mission was a success, har-har (Operation Eagle Claw anyone?)

Supposedly the original script called for F-35s but the military got squeamish because it could possibly leak classified specs, so that's why they used F-18s.

The whole "What were you thinking?!" "You told me not to think!" *Tom Cruise defeated stare* exchange had everyone laughing. Same with the whole hand signal exchange with the Su-57 pilots. "Never seen that one before either." Also loved where Maverick told Rooster to check the breaker for the rear seat gear, Rooster asks him where it is, and Maverick is like "No clue, not my territory."

The part where they strolled in to steal the F-14 was pretty clever/realistic. With everything going on, no one would have really looked twice to see who they were. Pilot suit and helmet, yup, they belong here.

Also, was Bob's calling just being Bob a reference to The Last Samurai?

Apparently Tom Cruise had to be talked into making Top Gun: Maverick, he wasn't really interested in making a sequel.

https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/tom-cruise-apparently-had-to-be-convinced-to-make-top-gun-maverick-and-director-joseph-kosinski-shares-his-epic-pitch

While the plot may not have been realistic, it was internally consistent and everything happened for plausible reasons. I'm just fine with that. 

The 911 really jarred for me, though. The original 356 was a '58 speedster, which was 28 years old at the time the film was released but was definitely a classic even then. The new 911 is a '73, which is 49 years old. She should have been driving a 964 or even a 993. 

Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:

Saw it last night totally loved it. The mach 10 was ridiculous, but whatever. Also, maverick somehow survives his plane exploding at mach 10 and who knows what altitude. He was wearing a spacesuit to pilot that one. I wondered if the plot point was to intentionally destroy the aircraft and end the program

My thoughts are that since the Darkstar isn't real and we don't see him eject, we don't know what the Darkstar ejection process is, but since the spec called for Mach 10, presumably it had some sort of ejection process that ensured the survival off the pilot at Mach 10 (eject the whole cockpit like an escape pod maybe?)

Also, the way I interpreted it was that he put it into a shallow dive to bump the speed up to Mach 10.1, because Maverick always has to take things a little bit further, and then the controls locked up, he couldn't level out and it continued to accelerate until it blew up. But the plan was definitely just to prove that it met spec to save those guys' careers.

Also, is Ed Harris never not a scary military SOB?

Keith Tanner said:

While the plot may not have been realistic, it was internally consistent and everything happened for plausible reasons. I'm just fine with that. 

The 911 really jarred for me, though. The original 356 was a '58 speedster, which was 28 years old at the time the film was released but was definitely a classic even then. The new 911 is a '73, which is 49 years old. She should have been driving a 964 or even a 993. 

I was just bummed that Tom didn't keep the old battleworn GPZ900

Also, saw this quote from Miles Teller

In reply to NickD :

Didn't he dust it off when he was at his hanger in the opening sequence? And the new Kawi H2 wasn't until he got to Top Gun?

In reply to fatallightning :

Yeah, I meant I'm sad he didn't keep it the entire film. Poorly phrased. The new H2R wasn't as cool

In reply to NickD :

Yeah, that thing looks like a Michael Bay Transformers reject.

Is it bad that when I saw that hanger setup, that I assume is also his domicile, I was like, yeah, I could live like that. I'm sure it was meant to convey that he has no family, little in terms of worldy goods besides the oily bits and refuses to "grow up", but it was a vibe.

In reply to fatallightning :

I'm pretty sure that's intended to be a dream home for a lot of us. Not gonna lie, it works for me.

What's the car poking out? Something green and low and old. Looks like it's parked beside a lift.

DBR1? If so, Maverick is a heck of an investor.

Also, this is a nice touch.

Saw it and I loved it. I mean, I am a TOTAL fan boi so I was going to love it no matter what, but still. Some thoughts. 

Thank goodness for call signs, because the love interest calling him Pete was a buzzkill. No offense to any Petes out there, but if you need someone to bomb the bad guys, you call Mav, not Pete Mitchell. 

I still have the hots for Jennifer Connelly. There, I said it. Her character was divorced and she got 100% custody, so I am assuming that she made out in the divorce and got money for bars and classic 911s and such. Its plausible. 

We don't know much about Maverick's background, but its safe to assume that he came from a very wealthy family, went to the Academy just like Grandad and Dad did, and flies jets for the rush. He is independently wealthy and that makes his patriotic service that much cooler.  Its plausible. 

I admit, I have not flown an F-14 in a while, but there are no keys or security codes required? Not plausable. 

-Mach 10 crash scene- nod to The Right Stuff?

-did I see a Tomcat on the carrier flight deck in the opening scene?  
 

-I liked the ninja and the new ninja 

-I liked the 911 bathtub nod

-I really liked Jennifer Connolly 

-I loved his hangar 

-p51 almost plausible for a single O6 who lives in a hangar hahahahaha jk maybe he bought Tesla stock   

-yeah- TG has been up at Fallon for years. And almost all fighter pilots are married 30 year olds with kids. Some don't even have six pack abs! Suspend your disbelief. I can't see them partying in Reno. 
 

-Also, Tommy baby, you don't wear the whites to tell your girl you are going to die in a top secret mission. But Tommy loves his Navy whites. I prefer our Coast Guard whites, but it's preference. Hahah.  

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to fatallightning :

I'm pretty sure that's intended to be a dream home for a lot of us. Not gonna lie, it works for me.

What's the car poking out? Something green and low and old. Looks like it's parked beside a lift.

Two motorcycle lifts side by side is what those are. 

In reply to Teh E36 M3 :

It is parked beside A lift, just not THE lift then ;)

The bikes on the wall don't seem to be terribly accessible. I assume they are not for riding.

In reply to Teh E36 M3 :

I think that Maverick having access to berkeley-you levels of money explains a lot, honestly. Good take. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

So why does the Porsche in the new movie have to be the same "age" as the one in the original movie was?  To most of the world they are just "old Porsches"...

What about Maverick riding around without a helmet, hi-viz vest/jacket, gloves, or boots (maybe he had boots)?  Aren't these required for all active duty when riding on or off base?