``Top Gun: Maverick'' instantly compresses the time since the previous movie, the ultimate fusion of nostalgia and modern challenges

Memories of items and music that touch your heart

Key items include Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses, a leather jacket, a modified Kawasaki ninja bike, and a self-parody scene in which Maverick rides his motorcycle alongside a fighter jet on the runway. The ``reprint'' of the book makes my heart warm. The F-14 fighter plane "Tomcat" that Maverick and others flew in the previous movie also appears.

However, the thing that most instinctively brings back memories of `` Top Gun '' is the music. The opening scene of `` Top Gun, '' which realistically shows fighter jets taking off and landing from an aircraft carrier, is accompanied by Kenny Loggins ' ` `Danger Zone, '' and this song is remembered as a set with the movie. ``Top Gun: Maverick'' recreates the sense of unity between video and song that will go down in movie history almost perfectly. And while Hans Zimmer was used for the sequel's score, Harold Faltermeyer from the previous film also participated in the score, which is sprinkled with familiar sounds.

Furthermore, speaking of the same song used in the previous work, there is " Great Balls of Fire ". Goose performed and sung this famous song by legendary rock singer Jerry Lee Lewis , which is also translated into Japanese as ``Fireball Rock,'' in `` Top Gun .'' In ``Top Gun: Maverick,'' his son Rooster sings the song while playing the piano in a bar, and it gets a lot of fun. It's a touching scene that needs no explanation. As a side note, Meg Ryan played Goose's wife Carol in Top Gun , and her first husband, Dennis Quaid, played Jerry in Great Balls of Fire (1989). -He plays Lee Lewis.

“Top Gun: Maverick” © 2022 Paramount Pictures Corporation. All rights reserved.

In that bar scene, the music playing on the jukebox also has the effect of a time slip. " Let's Dance " is a 1983 song by David Bowie . " Get It On " was released by T. Rex in 1971, but Power Station 's 1985 cover of it also became popular. The mood of the 1980s is clearly emphasized. This evocation of nostalgia in ``Top Gun: Maverick'' shortens the time lag from the previous film, but will this not be a ``backward'' of the movie that ``those days were better?'' That certainly makes sense. However, on the other hand, six IMAX cameras are installed in one aircraft, creating unprecedented flight action footage. While inheriting the spirit of Hollywood that challenged innovative entertainment in the 1980s, ``Top Gun: Maverick'' also takes on the latest challenges with an eye to the future.

The person who made this fusion a success was probably Tom Cruise. In order to make the sequel a reality, his commitment to making the flight scenes ``live-action'' resulted in a level of immersive visuals that could never be expressed with CG. Why do movies excite and move people throughout the ages? I think ``Top Gun: Maverick'' is one answer to that question, as it inherits the good old traditions of nostalgia and live-action while also challenging an unprecedented sense of adventure.

I'm sure Tom himself would be really happy with the sequel. A scene in which his own military aircraft, the P-51 Mustang, also appears in the movie. The smile on his face seemed to be a sign of his confidence, knowing that his spirit of taking on the challenges of film, which he has devoted his life to, was the right one.

Interview and text: Hiroaki Saito

Became freelance in 1997, contributing movie reviews and interview articles to various media such as movie magazines, theater pamphlets, and movie sites. The column is constantly updated on Yahoo! News.

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"Top Gun: Maverick"

Friday, May 27, 2022

Distribution: Towa Pictures

© 2022 Paramount Pictures Corporation. All rights reserved.