Tom Cruise receives critical acclaim for ‘Top Gun’ sequel
Tom Cruise promotes the film at events around the world
It took 36 years for Tom Cruise to return to the danger zone, and movie critics said Thursday it was worth the wait to see “Top Gun” on the big screen again.
The sequel to the 1986 blockbuster, titled “Top Gun: Maverick,” received a positive rating of 96% from 76 critics.
The film is set to debut in cinemas on May 27.
In the film, 59-year-old Cruise reprises his role as Pete Mitchell, the arrogant Navy pilot who never rose through the ranks due to his penchant for authority. Mitchell, codenamed Maverick, is tasked with training a group of young fighter pilots for a specialized mission.
Mark Kennedy of The Associated Press called the new film “a classic example of how to make a sequel”.
“The film satisfies with a foot in the past by touching all the first film’s touchstones,” Kennedy said, “and yet stands on its own.”
Box office analysts predict the film will rank among the biggest box office hits of the summer. Its release was scheduled for June 2020, but delayed several times during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice Pro, estimated ticket sales would hit $100 million over Memorial Day weekend in the United States and Canada. That would make it the highest-grossing start to Cruise’s career.
The actor promotes the film at events around the world. During a premiere in San Diego, he made a grand entrance by piloting a helicopter on an aircraft carrier. Next week he will attend a screening at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
Critics said the film offered thrilling flight scenes, a moving story, and strong performances from 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 went to Cruise.
“It’s a shiny new face on the original…propelled, like the original, by a star who will simply never stop being a star,” wrote Rolling Stone’s K. Austin Collins.
