|
The sequel to the 1986 blockbuster, called "Top
Gun: Maverick," earned a 96% positive rating from 76 reviews
collected on the Rotten Tomatoes website.
The film is set to debut in cinemas on May 27.
In the movie, the 59-year-old Cruise reprises his role as Pete
Mitchell, the cocky Navy pilot who has never risen through the
ranks because of his penchant for bucking authority. Mitchell,
whose code name is Maverick, is asked to train a group of young
fighter pilots for a specialized mission.
Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press called the new film "a
textbook example of how to make a sequel."
"The movie satisfies with one foot in the past by hitting all
the touchstones of the first film," Kennedy said, "and yet
stands on its own."
Box office analysts project the movie will rank as one of the
biggest box office hits of the summer. It had been scheduled for
release in June 2020, but distributor Paramount Pictures delayed
the release multiple times during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice Pro, estimated that
ticket sales would hit $100 million over the Memorial Day
weekend in the United States and Canada. That would make it the
highest-grossing debut of Cruise's career.
The actor is promoting the movie at events around the world. At
a premiere in San Diego, he made a grand entrance by piloting a
helicopter onto an aircraft carrier. Next week, he will attend a
screening at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
Critics said the movie offers thrilling flight scenes, an
emotional story and strong performances by the supporting cast,
including Miles Teller, who plays the son of Goose, Maverick's
partner who died in the original film.
But most of the praise was showered on Cruise.
"It's a fresh-faced gloss on the original ... powered, like the
original, by a star who'll simply never stop being a star,"
wrote K. Austin Collins of Rolling Stone.
Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly said the movie "belongs
in almost every scene to Cruise."
"At this point in his career, he's not really playing characters
so much as variations on a theme — the theme being, perhaps, The
Last Movie Star," she said. "And in the air up there, he stands
alone."
(Reporting by Lisa RichwineEditing by Marguerita Choy, Richard
Chang and Leslie Adler)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
