![]() ![]() It quickly became a staple of the decade and a classic and an icon was born.Īfter more than 30 years, the sequel picks up the story with Maverick, one of the Navy's top aviators, where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.Īfter a series of circumstances land him in hot waters, Iceman – who has now become an admiral – sends Maverick to train an elite group of aviators for an urgent mission, which is to bomb a foreign country's unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant – yes, the country goes unnamed but it is a little on the nose admittedly. The dialogue was thoroughly entertaining most of the time. The story was simple enough to form a foundation and not lead to too many plotholes. The original was a perfect blend of great action and unmistakable cheesy 80s scenery. His heroic deeds do not go unnoticed and he returns to the academy as an instructor. In the end, Maverick graduates – losing out on the Top Gun trophy to Iceman – and upon his graduation is thrust into action where he shoots down three enemy fighter planes alongside Iceman who shoots down one as well. Together, they have great time at the academy that is until the unfortunate demise of Goose caused by a maneuver that Maverick had undertaken. Maverick is assisted by Nick Bradshaw, or the Goose. ![]() ![]() The original was the story of Pete Mitchell, code-named Maverick, a daredevil Navy pilot ace, who is accepted into T op Gun, Miramar's elite Fighter School where the impulsive young pilot had to compete with the best of the best, including Tom Kazansky, the Iceman, a brilliant and highly competitive fellow student. So, after a long-winded Cruise missile, let's get into the meat of the matter: How does the sequel fare compared to the original? Like I said: Put aside the personality and applaud the professionalism. That has been the standard of Cruise for as long I can remember. Today, the professional standard for anyone in an action film is to learn to fight, train for the physical and when the camera rolls try to capture as much of the stunts in the frame as possible. The ideals that have now finally become the norm that audiences expect: Clean, physical action unfiltered and unsullied – mostly – by computer generated-imagery (CGI) and camera trickery to hide the incompetence of actors. What Cruise has done through all of this is nothing short of amazing: He has maintained his action demeanor, his outlook on what a good action film should look like throughout three decades, ignoring the crazes, the trends of the day, staying true to his ideals. The likes of Keanu Reeves have helped immensely in repopulating the genre with such flicks and in the meantime showcasing that such films and such scenes were what audiences were hungry for and that such flicks are incredibly profitable. Now, we are back to a plateau of sensible action films that can hold the camera steady for longer than a second and that actually give the audiences what they crave: Uncut action sequences with practical effects in all their glory for everyone to see. In one film it's helicopter stunts, in another it's motorcycles, it's climbing the tallest building on Earth, it's hanging from the side of a plane, it's dogfighting in military jets – one consistent stunt, or cliche some might say, is in every film there's a scene of him running at full speed, but other than that he always finds ways to spice things up and bring something original to the table. The great thing is – just like Jackie Chan whom I could write an entire essay of admiration on – his work in the action scene always involves a unique aspect. Cruise has accepted that audiences come to theaters to see him and his stunts, so he does not cut any corners to deliver the product that people have paid to see. Whatever you think of the man's personal beliefs and ideas, his professional attitude you have to appreciate. ![]() The film can be a terrible mess of plotholes, insensible and ridiculous storylines sprinkled with absurd acting, but – if it's an action flick – you can be sure that Cruise's scenes will certainly be entertaining to watch. You can count on Tom Cruise to deliver one key aspect in each of his films. One thing that has stayed the same since the original film is the action, which is still great ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |