The original “Top Gun” wasn’t an instant success when it was released in 1986.
The action drama starring Tom Cruise as Maverick received mixed reviews …
The original “Top Gun” wasn’t an instant success when it was released in 1986. The action drama starring Tom Cruise as Maverick received mixed reviews and had decent but less than exceptional box office results. However, as the weeks and months passed, it became a cult classic and ultimately earned $357 million worldwide after being produced for just $15 million. It would be too easy to say “Top Gun: Maverick” annihilated box office expectations during Memorial Day weekend in 2022 simply because of nostalgia. There seems to be more to it than that. Many reviewers are saying the sequel’s success is because of the pro-America messaging that’s been absent from most Hollywood blockbusters for years.
“Maverick” is devoid of virtue signaling. There are no trans fighter pilots, Top Gun school drag performances, or monologues about white privilege. The film relies on quality storytelling and action scenes that are real rather than computer generated. Perhaps, in a way, the film is nostalgic for how entertainment used to actually entertain. The Federalist called the “Top Gun” sequel “unabashedly patriotic” and “free of token left-wing social and political propaganda.” Reviewer Elle Reynolds wrote, “The only agenda being pushed is that America is the best country in the world and the men and women who risk their lives to defend her are heroes worthy of our respect.”
The movie sailed to $156 million domestically over the four day opening weekend, in part because of the 80s nostalgia – from leather bomber jackets to characters like Val Kilmer’s Ice Man, who fans remember from the original. Cruise, of course, plays Maverick, and though he’s still a rebel, he’s also matured into a man. This concept alone is worth celebrating in a culture that seems to promote eternal adolescence. A reviewer at Outkick expressed similar sentiments. They pointed out sequels that tried – and failed – to turn action flicks into cheesy girl-power advertisements, like the latest “Terminator” movie and the 2019 version of “Charlie’s Angels.” Meanwhile, “Maverick” includes women to showcase their strength as being different but just as important as their masculine counterparts.
