The other Maverick thread is carefully not mentioning plot points of the movie, because we are good people and don't want to spoil the fun for anyone else.
Let's use this thread to discuss plot points and spoilers.
The other Maverick thread is carefully not mentioning plot points of the movie, because we are good people and don't want to spoil the fun for anyone else.
Let's use this thread to discuss plot points and spoilers.
Seriously, if you haven't seen the movie don't read this. Go buy a ticket and the big tub of popcorn and come back.
Ok.
Maverick's first stunt in the movie was hitting Mach 10+ in a super duper research plane that was about to get its funding cut. Somehow, hitting Mach 10.0 would save it. I'm gonna set aside the suspension of disbelief required for a Mach 10 capable aircraft - was destroying the one prototype really the best way to save the program? Seems to me it would have been shut down at that point with nothing to show for it but a bill to clean up the wreckage.
Best part of the F-14 dogfight footage to me was the fifth gen fighter doing a ridiculous fifth gen move and Rooster going "what the berkeley?". Exactly the reaction we all would have had :) Rooster trying to figure out the back seat of the F-14 was pretty hilarious as well.
I have to give the writers credit for coming up with a plausible way for Rooster and Maverick to end up flying together. Plausible in terms of properly connected events, not in how military pilots should behave :)
Is there an awkward beach volleyball scene?
In reply to ShawnG :
No, it's beach dogfight football which I think was invented simply as a thin excuse for a lot of oiled skin. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Gotta play homage to the original.
The fact that there was a fully fueled and armed Tomcat just sitting there ready to go, and that Maverick was able to take off in it in what looked like about 300 feet of taxiway.... doesn't matter at all because it was awesome.
By the way, the generic "Fifth generation fighter" in the movie is a Sukhoi SU-57.
So how the heck did the filmmakers get their hands on one or two Su057s? It's not like they're sitting around.
The moves that thing pulls off are spectacular.
This really is the only role that Tom Cruise is suited for.
He's fighter pilot size, not kick-ass-and-take-names-secret-agent size.
Keith Tanner said:So how the heck did the filmmakers get their hands on one or two Su057s? It's not like they're sitting around.
The moves that thing pulls off are spectacular.
Everything is CGI now.
The Spruce Goose may be in a movie soon.
ShawnG said:Keith Tanner said:So how the heck did the filmmakers get their hands on one or two Su057s? It's not like they're sitting around.
The moves that thing pulls off are spectacular.
Everything is CGI now.
The Spruce Goose may be in a movie soon.
Top Gun made a big deal about doing practical stunts and effects. It's a lot less CGI than you'd think. But those SU-57s have to be, right?
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/27/movies/top-gun-maverick-flying-scenes.html
Wikipedia says Russia has built 16 SU-57s. I'd be surprised if they're all airworthy, and I doubt they'd be in the mood to lend any to us for filming.
I thought the movie was a ton of fun, but some nits to pick:
The Navy moved Top Gun to NAS Fallon, NV in 1996, but I guess that would have made the beach football/sailing scenes harder.
How does one afford a P-51 Mustang on military pay?
What exactly is Hondo's billet (job)?
In reply to Will :
Hondo is the go-to guy. That's it. He's just the guy.
If Penny, a bar owner, can live on the beach in San Diego and drive a long-nose 911 then Maverick can afford a P-51.
The entire mission is absurd. The Star Wars esque "shoot a missile into an exhaust port....TWICE" is patently absurd. The mission would have been carried out by the Tomahawk cruise missiles and didn't need pilots at all.
The flying at speed up a canyon is absurd. Modern military tactics would have multiple layers of strike aircraft with specific parts of the mission. F-16 Wild Weasel planes to take out the SAM sites, F-22 Raptors flying cover to engage the "scary all black 5th gen fighters", and much more. Sending in 4 planes to fly a near suicide mission and hold everything else back just isn't how we do business.
There is more but I'll give others a chance.
Keith Tanner said:In reply to Will :
Hondo is the go-to guy. That's it. He's just the guy.
If Penny, a bar owner, can live on the beach in San Diego and drive a long-nose 911 then Maverick can afford a P-51.
Less than 20 years ago the magazine related to this forum had an article on cheap Porsches. It featured, non-S, long hood 911's as an affordable car for under $10,000. The broke bar owner wouldn't change cars too often. More plausible than the rest, and all in all great
eye candy.
It's make-believe
Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:Keith Tanner said:In reply to Will :
Hondo is the go-to guy. That's it. He's just the guy.
If Penny, a bar owner, can live on the beach in San Diego and drive a long-nose 911 then Maverick can afford a P-51.
Less than 20 years ago the magazine related to this forum had an article on cheap Porsches. It featured, non-S, long hood 911's as an affordable car for under $10,000. The broke bar owner wouldn't change cars too often. More plausible than the rest, and all in all great
eye candy.
And another nod to the original. Maverick's love interests in both films drove classic Porsches, Charlie had a 356.
As for Maverick's Mustang, I suppose he could have saved up. He doesn't have any kids or anything, so his expenses are probably low. I dunno. But apparently, that particular P-51 actually belongs to Tom Cruise.
KyAllroad said:The entire mission is absurd. The Star Wars esque "shoot a missile into an exhaust port....TWICE" is patently absurd. The mission would have been carried out by the Tomahawk cruise missiles and didn't need pilots at all.
The flying at speed up a canyon is absurd. Modern military tactics would have multiple layers of strike aircraft with specific parts of the mission. F-16 Wild Weasel planes to take out the SAM sites, F-22 Raptors flying cover to engage the "scary all black 5th gen fighters", and much more. Sending in 4 planes to fly a near suicide mission and hold everything else back just isn't how we do business.
There is more but I'll give others a chance.
Yup. Your point being? No one went in expecting accuracy, this is in your face fairy tail fun. And it works.
It was Star Wars-esque. Then again, Star Wars was kind of 633 Squadron-esque. 
Annoying, I've spent 10 mins googling, and I can't find anything about filming the Sukhoi Su-57. Everything I see is about what it is, what would win a real dog fight, paying the Pentagon $11,000 an hour for the F18's (sounds cheap to me), but I can't find anything about the Su-57's being filmed or CGI. Unfortunately that work thing means I need to stop googling now.
I think I would enjoy a documentary of them making the movie just as much as I enjoyed the movie itself. I also thought the $11k an hour seemed like a good deal. I would guess the armed forces don't mind spending a bit on this as recruitment as well.
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 (since it was cancelled anyway) but give all the program team a big win to move them to a better new navy job.
I also loved how maverick was grounded permanently by the navy and then just woke up early the next morning and hopped in an f18 and took off.
In general, the filmmakers had a hard task, which was to not make a fool of themselves with a poor follow up to the first. They really did a good job with this movie.
I would see it again and I would see it again in the theater!
Did you say spoilers on a Maverick?
Guarantee the SU-57s were CGI, as was any shot of the F-14 in the air. They hoisted a museum plane on the museum ship USS Midway to film the landing scene, but there hasn't been an airworthy Tomcat outside of Iran since 2006.
I asked my 9 year old nephew if he wanted to see this, and he said no, he wanted to read the book first. He's all excited about the Bad Guys movie and has read all the books. So, uhh, anyone know when the book's coming out?
We're taking him to go see Bad Guys. Maybe I'll sneak out and go watch Maverick again.
If those SU-57s were CGI (I expect they were), the outside shots were great, especially that crazy "all stop and just give up on real aerodynamics" move it pulled. I've seen footage of that sort of thing done at airshows, but wow.
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