There aren't many stars like Tom Cruise anymore.
He's one of the last actors standing who can draw people to the movies just because his face is on the poster. He's proven that once again with "Top Gun: Maverick."
Director Joseph Kosinski completely blindsides us with a sequel to Cruise's classic 1986 movie that is hands-down better than the original.
From the amazing dogfight sequences to the cameras inside the cockpit showing the actors go through the g-forces, the action scenes are what you'd expect from a Tom Cruise movie.
But what elevates this one is the actual story.
By the third act, you are completely sucked into Maverick's latest adventure and you have no clue if he's going to survive it. That's a dramatic quality you don't often get these days with a blockbuster.
And it's paid off. The movie has grossed over $1 billion at the box office, a surprising first in Cruise's career, but even more astounding as it was achieved during the pandemic, while audiences are still slowly returning to the big screen. — JG