Academy Award-nominated director Quentin Tarantino praises Joseph Kosinski and Tom Cruise’s record-breaking sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. As a devout cinephile drawing from various genres and styles (while maintaining a proclivity for graphic violence and nonlinear narratives), Tarantino burst onto the scene in 1992 with Reservoir Dogs. He would go on to helm classics such as Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. While he’s supposedly one feature away from retirement, Tarantino will remain a prominent voice in the industry.
Following nearly a decade in development (and pandemic-related delays), the sequel to Tony Scott’s 1986 action drama, Top Gun, arrived in theaters earlier this year. Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick, picks up with Cruise’s titular aviator 36 years after the events of the original film. Due to his “need for speed,” Pete “Maverick” Mitchell defies orders, destroys a prototype plane, and is subsequently sent back to TOPGUN thanks to Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer). There he must train a detachment of graduates—which includes Goose's son, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller)—for a dangerous mission into enemy territory.
Tarantino recently appeared on Cinemablend’s podcast ahead of his own podcast, The Video Archives, which sees him and longtime friend Roger Avary discuss the medium they love. While promoting his show, Tarantino praised Top Gun: Maverick as a “true cinematic spectacle” faithful to its predecessor. Read what he had to say below:
“Normally I don't talk about new movies that much because then I'm only forced to say good things, or else I'm slamming someone. And I don't want to do that. But in this case, I f--king love Top Gun: Maverick. I thought it was fantastic. I saw it at the theaters. … That and Spielberg's West Side Story both provided a true cinematic spectacle, the kind that I'd almost thought that I wasn't going to see anymore. It was fantastic. But also, there was just this lovely, lovely aspect because I love both Tony Scott's cinema so much, and I love Tony so much that that's as close as we're ever going to get to seeing one more Tony Scott movie. (Koskinski) did a great job. The respect and the love of Tony was in every frame. It was almost in every decision. It was consciously right there, but in this really cool way that was really respectful. And I think it was in every decision Tom (Cruise) made in the film. It's the closest we're ever going to get to seeing one more Tony Scott movie, and it was a fucking terrific one.”
Following Top Gun: Maverick's nostalgic end credits tradition, Scott’s name appears in its memorial dedication. From acquiring stars Kilmer and Cruise to commandeering an aircraft carrier for a scene, Scott was the heart and soul of the original Top Gun. The director was originally involved in developing a sequel and, after his death in 2012, Cruise was reluctant to move forward without the correct vision. That said, Top Gun: Maverick opens the same way as the original film and spends its runtime aware of it. Not unlike a Tarantino film, Top Gun: Maverick is undeniably cool—from its aerial sequences to throwback dialogue—simultaneously silly and uncompromising in its ability to appeal to audiences new and old.
Top Gun: Maverick is only the second movie since 2019 to pass $1 billion at the box office and the highest-grossing film of Cruise’s career, which has surpassed Titanic as Paramount's biggest movie ever. Following last year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, the film drew an unprecedented number of people back to movie theaters. However, comic book movies are rarely praised for reviving a type of cinematic experience that has all but been forgotten, let alone by someone as respected as Tarantino.
Source: Cinemablend