Top Gun: Maverick Gives Fans An Electrifying Sequel That'll Take Their Breath Away

    

      When looking back at the biggest blockbuster films of the 1980's, very few managed to take the audiences breath away like Tony Scott's Top Gun did. Released in 1986, the film became a box office smash that put Tom Cruise on the map to becoming a major star while showcasing groundbreaking aeriel footage that electrified audiences along with an unforgettable soundtrack. With how influential Top Gun managed to become, it's no surprise that a sequel was in high demand. After spending years in development hell and experiencing numerous delays due to COVID-19, the long-awaited sequel "Top Gun: Maverick" finally arrives and delivers a stunning crowd-pleasing sequel that outshines it's original

      Set 36 years after the original, the sequel finds Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) being brought back to the aeriel combat school  called Top Gun to train a group of new elite fliers for a dangerous mission to destroy a uranium enrichment plant. Making a long-distant sequel is by no means an easy feat but Maverick stunningly pulls it off in a form that stays true to the past while moving the story into a newer era. For those who grew up loving the original Top Gun, they'll be thrilled to discover that Maverick is an even more satisfying experience that maintains the originals  groundbreaking edge along with possessing a surprising amount of heart.  

      As far as performances go, Maverick's cast is on top form here with everyone bringing their A game to the sequel. Cruise is riveting as an older and wiser Captain Maverick struggling to stay relevant in a field that's tilting increasingly towards self-piloting. Along with Cruise, Miles Teller leaves a huge impression with audiences in playing Lt. Rooster, son of Maverick's late best friend, Goose. Teller completely convinced with his characters frustration towards Maverick, as well as desiring to follow in his fathers shoes. Cruise and Teller showcase strong chemistry while conveying the pain that both still feel over Goose's death. Jennifer Connelly is terrific as Maverick's rekindled love interest Penny, whose a single mother, bar owner, and daughter of a former admiral. Val Kilmer reprises his role as Iceman in a special appearance that'll leave fans of the original satisfied. Jon Hamm does great as Vice Admiral Cyclone, who strongly opposes Maverick's return to Top Gun despite his qualifications. The newer additions to the cast deliver noteworthy performances including

Glen Powell in a surprisingly strong role as F/A-18F mission candidate and Roosters rival Hangman with Lewis Pullman also impressing as Lt. Bob Floyd, Monica Barbara as Lt. Phoenix Trace, and Ed Harris as Rear Admiral Chester, Mavericks superior and head of the Darkstar program. Overall, Maverick's cast brings both charm and heart to the sequel, making it work effectively.

      Replacing the late Tony Scott in the directors chair is Joseph Kosinski. The latter does an exceptional job of honoring Scott's work on the previous Top Gun by sticking close to the formers directorial style, while further advancing the technological aspects of the story. Like the previous film, Kosinski fills the story with intense aeriel combat that's breathtaking to watch, particularly with using never before seen technology including cameras inside the fighter jets showing the actors flying the planes themselves which adds to the surreal feel of the story. Kosinski incorporates the same type of visual stamp that Scott added in Top Gun with certain scenes containing beautiful sunset shots, along with ones involving Maverick's character riding a motorcycle. At 137 minutes, Maverick is fast-paced with its length never becoming apparent to the audience. The soundtrack consists of original memorable pieces such as "Danger Zone" to enormous effect with Hans Zimmer's score adding to the stories power. Although the films new song "Hold My Hand "sung by Lady Gaga doesn't outdo the impact of Berlin's "Take My Breath Away," it still packs a tremendous punch in driving the stories main narrative. 

      With Maverick's story, the script conveys a powerful message regarding how ones own life experience can enhance their growth and change of perspective. Maverick's character is shown as still being haunted by Goose's death with him fearing a similar fate with Rooster. Their conflict is convincingly played out as Maverick struggles to let go of the past for the sake of Rooster's future. The romance between Maverick and Penny comes off as feeling natural with Maverick having someone to confide in regarding his dilemma with training Rooster. Maverick and Iceman's friendship is shown to have endured in between the two movies with the latter looking after Maverick's career. Some of the other themes explored in Maverick besides risk taking and testing one limits, include the future of air combat as Maverick is told by his superiors that his time with flying is numbered as well as his students, though he constantly disobeys orders to show his commanders that actual pilots are still vital to carrying out pivotal missions. The dialogue throws out key motivational lines such as "Trust your gut," or Maverick's character explaining that being a pilot "is not what I am, it's who I am," emphasizing his passion for flying. Like the original Top Gun, the enemies identity is left a mystery for the audience to figure out. The best part of Maverick's script is how true to feels to its main character with Maverick finding his hook as being a navy test pilot turned instructor, while leaving enough room for his character arc to grow through confronting his past.

      With the current cinematic landscape being heavily comic book driven, it's refreshing to have Maverick come along that's designed to represent the best form of popcorn blockbusters while greatly surprising with its quality as a superior sequel. All of the things that audiences love about the original Top Gun are present from the reprisal of the "Danger Zone" theme to a brand new Volleyball sequence involving Maverick's students. Given the rarity of sequels matching their predecessors legacy, Maverick doing so is a crown achievement for all of those involved.

Final Verdict: A must see for both Top Gun and Tom Cruise fans. 

Images Courtesy Of Paramount Pictures

Everything Everywhere All At Once Provides A Fresh, Creative, and Thrilling Multiverse Ride

       When thinking of the concept of a multiverse, one generally pictures it as being tied to the comic book film genre with Marvel utilizing it in films including Spider-Man: No Way Home or Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. It's usage within the superhero genre makes it even more surprising to experience the same concept in a completely different genre. With Everything Everywhere All At Once, the film combines both Sci-Fi and adventure to create an unusually thrilling multiverse experience that's boasted by a career-best performance from Michelle Yeoh. 

      Everything Everywhere All At Once's plot revolves around a middle-aged Chinese immigrant (Michelle Yeoh) finding herself being overwhelmed by life including trying to navigate her relationships with her husband (Ke Huy Quan), her daughter (Stephanie Hsu) and her father (James Hung), along with dealing with a hostile IRS agent (Jamie Lee Curtis) auditing her business records and threatening to close down her laundromat. In doing so, she is visited by a different version of her husband who informs her that she's the last person whose able to save the multiverse. Everything's plot is one that's unexpectedly funny, thoroughly entertaining, and surprisingly heartfelt with its exploring of themes regarding midlife crisis, maternal love and acceptance. The film proves to be extremely effective in showing a different side of the multiverse concept, while maximizing the talent of its main cast and filmmakers to their fullest potential. From fantastic acting to deeply emotional storytelling and carrying a stunning visual flare that's combined with martial arts, Everything everywhere All At Once delivers on its main titles promise while presenting itself as being one of the years pleasant surprises.

      In terms of acting, Everywhere's cast deliver fantastic performances with Michelle Yeoh giving what's arguably a career-defining performance as dissatisfied laundromat owner Evelyn Quan Wang, whose experiencing a midlife crisis. She commands the screen with not just bringing her trademark martial arts skills into play, but demonstrating strong dramatic range. Stephanie Hsu hugely impresses as Evelyn and Waynond's daughter Joy, whose revealed as being a threat to the multiverse. Her performance is not only scene-stealing but she shares terrific chemistry with Yeoh, making their mother-and-daughter dynamic relatable to audiences. Key Huy Quan is terrific as Evelyn's meek and goofy husband Waymond with his best moments being when shifting between multiple versions of Evelyn's husband. Veteran actor James Hong does a fine job playing Evelyn's demanding father Gong Gong. Jamie Lee Curtis is solid in a surprising yet strong supporting role as an aggressive FBI inspector Deidre Beaubeirdra with other noteworthy supporting roles including Tallie Medel as Joy's girlfriend, Becky. Overall, Everywhere's cast bring much energy, enthusiasm, and realism to the story with everyone essentially being on their A game here. 

Directed by filmmaking duo Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the talented duo do a fantastic job of bringing the stories multiverse to life in a way that is visually striking with breathtaking imagery. The action sequences consist of thrilling martial arts violence which showcases characters being injured, killed, and stabbed with bizarre bits including a character stapling a paper to their own forehead. The pacing goes back and forth between different universes, giving the movie a trailer like feel with a zany mood. Some of the films bizarre sequences include a fight scene involving a butt plug, characters having hot dog fingers, and one including talking rocks. The soundtrack helps in bringing the films most fantastical elements to life with the music giving off a unique sci-fi action feel that blends operatic, post-rock, and electronica influences together. As for overall directing, the pair do a marvelous job of crafting a visually stunning world, that's over-the-top in the best way combined with rampant quick cuts which delivers a whiplash feel. In a cinematic era which finds innovativeness to be a rarity, the duo do a highly commendable job of bringing a different type of multiverse to the screen. 

      For a story that's multiverse centered, it carries a tremendous amount of heart behind its narrative with Evelyn's character experiencing all the different versions of her life that both showcase missed opportunities, as well as making her appreciate those surrounding her. The story is very much one that revolves around themes regarding life choices, the realization of ones mistakes and their full potential, fate, family, and ultimately feeling needed. The films humor is cleverly inserted into the films action with quirky bits including Evelyn's character performing random tasks in order to fully access her multiverse abilities. Her character is shown to be running a run-down laundromat along with her struggling financially due to drowning in IRS bills. Her relationship with Joy serves as being the heart of the film with both carrying not only enormous amounts of pain from familial relationships, but love for each other nonetheless. Evelyn's character is presented as being full of regret regarding not living the life she originally envisioned to have, as well as not meeting the expectations of her demanding father. This is subtly shown through her relationships with both Waymond and Joy with the latter being shown to slip further into darkness while her mother taps into all her unused potential from the multiverse. What makes Everywhere's script such a brilliantly clever piece of writing is how well layered it is. While it may seem that the script juggles numerous themes and subplots simultaneously, it's actually meant to appear as such to show how chaotic Evelyn's life is as she connects with different universes of herself. 

      One of the more noteworthy aspects of Everything is how personal the filmmakers make the story feel. The film offers audience an experience that's visually dazzling while boasting powerful themes pertaining to self-discovery along with familial dynamics that'll make them appreciate their loved ones a little more. With bearing a high concept such as the multiverse, Everything All At Once makes effective use of it in a way that's both refreshing and emotionally satisfying while bringing out the best from its main cast.

Final Verdict: SEE IT

The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent Provides Nicolas Cage Fans With A Massively Fun Experience

      When looking at classic mega stars, few have had a career that's as transformative along with being up-and-down as Nicolas Cage's. With a career spanning the course of 40 years, Cage has experienced a rising stature that includes multiple Oscar nominations, box office bankability that placed him as being one of the top 90's A-list stars who generally delivered high quality work, and a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. However, despite these moments of recognition, his career has experienced a downward spiral over the course of the last decade with it being reduced to a string of direct-to-video fare, along with his off- screen persona developing a devoted cult following online. Taking notice of the latter, Hollywood decided to capitalize on the bizarre legacy of Nicolas Cage with producing an action-comedy that's wildly creative while having the eccentric star playing himself. For Cage fans, The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent serves as a glorification of everything that audiences love about the thespian star while implying that there's a brand new generation of filmgoers ready to discover Nicolas Cage. 

      Massive Talent's plot revolves around an aging Nicolas Cage (Played by himself), accepting $1 million to attend a wealthy fans (Pedro Pascal) birthday party on a remote island, only to discover that the latter is dangerous after being recruited by the CIA to utilize his most iconic movie characters to rescue both himself and his family. What's most appealing about Massive Talent's plot is not just that it plays off as being a slick action comedy, but seizes the opportunity to glorify it's main star while poking fun at his recent career hurdles. The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent is smart, funny, and aware of what it's target audience desires to see which is Cage in peak crazy made. In that regard, the film doesn't disappoint and reminds audiences that although his career has taken a bizarre turn in the last decade, Cage nonetheless remains a pop culture icon with numerous works to be proud of.

      Much of where Massive Talent's entertainment value lies is within the performances of its cast. Both Cage and Pedro Pascal are fantastic and deliver chemistry that's electric. Cage gives an over-the-top performance with all the different layers of his acting chops being displayed. In addition to playing a fictionalized version of himself, he also portrays Nicky Cage, a younger figment of Cage's imagination that's based on his infamous appearances during his promoting of Wild At Heart. Pascal is hilarious and equally brilliant as Cage super-fan and billionaire Javi Guiterrez. He brings everything to his role as Cage's sidekick, along with demonstrating that his character has nothing but profound respect and admiration for him but worries that his undying affection could ultimately undo their friendship. The rest of the cast give noteworthy performances that add to the films fun level of energy including Sharon Horgan as Cage's ex-wife Olivia, Tiffany Haddish as CIA agent Vivian, Ike Barinholtz as Vivian's partner Martin, Alessandra Mastronardi as Gabriela, Jacob Scipio as Carlos, Neil Patrick Harris in a hilarious though brief role as Cage's agent Richard, and Lily Sheen as Cage's daughter Addy. As solid as Massive Talent's cast manages to be, it's the on-screen chemistry between Cage and Pascal that makes the film

      As for the films overall look, director and co-writer Tom Gormican surrounds the cast with gorgeous scenery and cinematography which beautifully captures the Spanish island of Majorca along with highlighting the colors. The films use of CGI in showing a young Nicky Cage is convincing and effectively blends in with the rest of the scene. The violence presented in the film falls within the category of being cartoonist though not to the point where the audience is instantly taken out of the plot. With the films pacing, the story is always kept constantly moving for the duration of its 106 minute running time. Gormican excels with keeping the narrative straight-forward along with working off charismatic energy that both Cage and Pascal bring to the screen. He crafts a story that's not only funny but heartfelt with exotic scenery.

       The writing for Massive Talent is clever in how it allows its main star to be himself while celebrating his peak movie star status with references to career highlights such as Guarding Tess, Leaving Las Vegas, Con Air, The Rock, and Face/Off. The film thrives on Cage's particular brand of acting with the story operating as being a self-referential action comedy. Although molded by Cage's star persona, the script dives into themes pertaining to divorce, parenting, success, failure, disappointment, and ultimately emphasizing the importance of family. The script explores Cage's character being so consumed by his work that he often sidelines his own daughter. One scene for example includes Cage's obnoxiousness coming to a head at his daughters birthday party in a hilarious fashion. While it doesn't carry the most original plot with many of its elements being lifted from other mega star-themed films like Last Action Hero and Being John Malkovich, Massive Talent makes use of these familiar story beats while presenting a playfully effective new adventure. 

 

      While the film doesn't shy away from making fun of Cage's eccentric persona, it does so in a way that always maintains the highest level of respectability and admiration for the star. In order to fully enjoy the experience, one must be thoroughly familiar with Cage's body of work as numerous references to his previous works are thrown around. Some of the films best moments are those in which Cage and Pascal's characters bond over Paddington 2, or discuss writing a screenplay together while on LSD are some of the films funniest moments. Not only will audiences get a kick out of the bromance between the main leads, but they'll be reminded of the reasons they love Nicolas Cage as a movie star. As a film that gives Cage his best look in years, The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent is a hilariously fun and rewarding experience. 

Final Verdict: A Must See for Nicolas Cage fans.

Images Courtesy Of Saturn Films Burr!

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Scares Up A Genuinely Fun And Visually Dazzling Sequel

NOTE: This Review contains NO SPOILERS  

     

      When looking back at the first Doctor Strange film, one see's an enjoyable and visually dazzling entry in the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe while serving as an effective introduction for its title character. Little did audiences know the impact which the character would have on the MCU's overall timeline going forward. Now six years later and coming off the heels of Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans finally get treated to the much anticipated and overdue sequel to Doctor Strange with Evil Dead director Sam Raimi helming the story this time. If one found the original to be a wild and exhilarating ride, they'll be even more impressed with Multiverse Of Madness as it's not only enormously entertaining but is full of surprising twists.

      Madness plot has Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) casting a forbidden spell that opens a portal to the multiverse. However, a threat emerges that may be too powerful for his team to handle. The sequel works both as a worthy follow-up to the original while connecting other key storylines of the MCU together to make for a thrilling ride. Everything about Multiverse feels bigger in scope with the inclusion of Raimi's directing skills making the sequel not just hugely entertaining, but distinctive from other films within the universe. If one found the Multiverse aspect of Spider-Man: No Way Home to be insane, they're in for a wild surprise as Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness takes the concept to even more absurd lengths but does so in the most entertaining fashion, while allowing it's visionary director to place his talents as a filmmaker on full display. 

      When it comes to performances, Multiverse's cast thrives with everyone delivering fantastic performances. Benedict Cumberbatch keeps getting better and better at playing Stephen Strange with him legitimately feeling like he was born for the role. Elizabeth Olsen is stellar as Wanda Maximoff with her playing a more darker, brutal and tormented version of her character this time around. Her performance is made even more impressive with her character shifting back and forth from the Scarlett Witch to a grief-stricken Wanda whose struggling to regain her humanity here. Benedict Wong is great as Strange's mentor and friend Wong with his character being so lovable that it's almost near impossible for audiences not to find him appealing. Chiwetel Ejiofer does well in playing an alternate version of Strange's former mentor-turned-enemy Karl Mordo. One of the films more impressive performances goes to Xochitl Gomez as teenager America Chavez, who carries the ability to travel between dimensions by punching open doorways. She brilliantly plays her character as being someone whose running away from their uniqueness at first yet slowly learns to embrace it. Along with Ejiofer returning from the first film, Rachel McAdams reprises her role as Strange's former love interest Christine Palmer with her character bearing an interesting character narrative this time around. As a whole, Multiverse's cast deliver fantastic work with everyone appearing to be genuinely enthusiastic with playing their characters.

      Replacing the original director is Sam Raimi, who proudly places his trademark directorial stamp all over the film. Known for his horror roots with the Evil Dead series along with his early comic book work the original Spider-Man trilogy, Raimi blends both works together to give audiences a film which feels darker than the typical MCU fest. In doing so, he also pushes the boundaries of  Multiverse's PG-13 rating with the film being full of jump-scares, dead bodies being resurrected, violent and graphic deaths which include the decomposing of bodies, people being burned and are shown turning into ash, and terrifying fight scenes that show the decimation of entire villages with high body counts. On a visual level, Multiverse ranks among the MCU'S finest works with much of it being attributed to Raimi's unique style of visual flare. The music by Danny Elfman is effective with him reteaming with Raimi to produce one of his best composed pieces in years. At 126 minutes, Multiverse keeps thing fast and tense with its stellar pacing while allowing enough time for plot and characters to properly develop. Overall, Raimi delivers an installment that's darker and more terrifying than the typical MCU film while maintaining the same comic book style fighting and peril. 

      Whereas Madness story is dark, it tackles themes that pertain to courage and teamwork while also emphasizing ones like power, grief, love, doing what helps the greater good, and righting wrongs. The story bounces back and forth from the perspectives of Strange and Wanda with the latter still grieving from the events of WandaVision. Despite committing unimaginable acts of terror throughout the film, the audience finds themselves connecting with her characters state of grief despite being terrified of her capabilities. With the latters inclusion, the stakes are raised higher here with Strange going up against one of the MCU's most formiddable opponents. The development of the films side characters are strong with America being presented as both intriguing and sympathetic with Wong being delivered a handful of some of the films best lines. The surprise cameos that appear in the film are top-notch with them being guaranteed to generate gasps from audiences. Despite the film boasting elements of horror, there's enough laughs throughout the film to smooth things over for audiences. As a whole, Multiverse's writing does a fine job of building off the characters established from the original while continuing Wanda's journey from where audiences left off in WandaVision. 

      While it's not the most original nor inventive  Marvel film, Madness works in moving things forward while delivering more complexed portraits of its main characters  It doesn't feel like the typical Marvel flick which is actually a positive aspect of the film because it strives to be different while advancing the character of Dr. Strange. Although not the best work to come out of the universe recently, it still manages to cast a powerful spell with audiences along with showing the importance of a directors personal stamp over a story. 

Final Verdict: For both Marvel and Sam Raimi fans, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Is A Must See.

Images Courtesy Of Disney