Could Top Gun: Maverick be “The Perfect Blockbuster”? Audience Brought To Tears At CinemaCon 2022
Paramount Pictures held the very first public screening the of the iconic, mega-budget sequel, Top Gun: Maverick at CinemaCon last week, and the first reactions were out of this world!
Journalists from the audience have claimed that the film is “terrific in every conceivable way” and “the perfect blockbuster.”
The film had the audience of 3000 cheering on several occasions throughout the screening, and even had some wiping back tears.
Brian Robbins, the president of Paramount Pictures, introduced the screening at CinemaCon. He stated that Tom cruise had well and truly earned his reputation as the most audacious Hollywood actor.
Ahead of CinemaCon, major buzz and excitement was generated when it was confirmed by both Paramount, and Oscar and Grammy winner, Lady Gaga, that an original song was written for specifically the film. The single is titled “Hold My Hand” and was released on May 3, shortly after CinemaCon.
The audience have praised the film for the incredible cinematic experience it has created. Reviews have commented on how nostalgic and unexpectedly emotional the film is, the crazy amounts of action, and the breath-taking aerial combat sequences.
Director, Joseph Kosinki, recently reported that incredibly, he shot close to 800 hours of footage for Top Gun: Maverick, which is “as much as the three Lord of the Rings films combined”.
Due to the fact that the cockpit is clearly far too small fit a film crew, Kosinski and the filmmaking team taught each of the actors how to operate the equipment on set themselves in order to effectively shoot scenes inside of the cockpits. Tom Cruise into more detail; “We had to teach the actors about lighting, about cinematography, about editing. I had to teach them how to turn the cameras on and off, and about camera angles and lenses. We didn’t have unlimited time in these jets. If they were going up for 20-30 minutes, I had to make sure that we got what we needed.”
Director Joseph Kosinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and cast member Glen Powell mentioned feeling a sense of sacred responsibility to achieve a level of perfection when creating the film in honour of the original. Top Gun: Maverick takes place more than 30 years after the 1986 classic. They knew it would be a challenge to live up standards of the classic ’80s action film, but felt a strong sense of duty and responsibility to meet those standards.
Koninski mentioned that Tom Cruise described the process of creating the second film as “hitting a bullet with a bullet. He goes on to say “We knew the bar was high. We weren’t going to stop until the movie was perfect.”
“One word: Wow! #TopGunMaverick is absolutely terrific in every conceivable way. The action & flying is crazy intense & continually changes & evolves. You’re on the edge of your seat. I was not prepared for how emotional it was, too. The crowd cheered a dozen times. It’s real deal” - Erik Davis, Managing Editor at Fandango.
“TOP GUN: MAVERICK is the perfect blockbuster. Not only did it feature dazzling aerial combat sequences, but I actually cried, it’s that emotional. And call me crazy, but I humbly predict that it WILL land a Best Picture nod next year. It’s not just THAT good, it’s VERY good” - Jeff Sneider, Senior Film Reporter at Collider.
“Top Gun Maverick is going to completely blow away fans of the original and may even make some new ones along the way. Truthfully, even though the plot is very dependent on that of the original, I found the film to be better than the original in almost every way” - Scott Menzel, Founder of Hollywood Critics.
“Absolutely loved Top Gun: Maverick. Blown away by the cinematography and flying scenes and of course Tom Cruise’s performance. Rest of the cast was great with special props to Miles Teller and Glen Powell. This is the kind of movie you want to see on the biggest screen possible” - Steven Weintraub, Editor-in-chief at Collider.
“Top Gun: Maverick nails it. Huge, emotional, LOUD Hollywood moviemaking at its most rah-rah ridiculousness. Shirtless beach football, Kenny Loggins, Val Kilmer, final 30 minutes of pure action. Also extremely interesting geopolitical angle I’ll have to get into later…” - Barry Hertz, Deputy Arts and Film Editor of Globe And Mail.
Paramount will screen Top Gun: Maverick at the Cannes Film Festival before finally releasing the long awaited sequel on May 26.