I grew up with diametric differences in social perspectives. Part of me adulated hippies. I loved peaceniks, adored counterculture movies like M*A*S*H and Easy Rider. I hated Nixon and anything resembling patriotism.
At the same time I loved movies and shows that portrayed America as the best and brightest nation in the world. Good old American superiority was the answer to all the world's problems.
Robert A. Heinlein's books portrayed a future where patriotism, spirit, and engineering were the paths to salvation.
Now I know it's all a bunch of crap.
I don't hope for utopian perfection. We as a species are too adversarial, too competitive, too greedy for peace and love to rule the world.
America is responsible for a lot of problems in the world. We are far, far from perfect.
There's a lot of gray area. I still believe human decency on every level is the only way to bring about a better tomorrow. Hate begets more hate, rage begets more rage, violence begets more violence.
For all of America's faults, the country does a lot of good. I never served in the armed forces, but I worked for the Navy for ten years. Our jobs were to prevent and combat pollution in the waterways of the Earth. I saw my share of slackers, but a lot of people give their best every day to get the job done. Men and Women doing their thankless tasks, fighting the good fight. The United States Government spends a lot of money to help keep the oceans clean.
Of course I never met anyone like Top Gun's Maverick. He's the stuff of comic books. In fact, Top Gun: Maverick is nothing more than a patriotic superhero movie. Tom Cruise plays a ne-er do well dogface Naval pilot putting the classic unbeatable rebellious American spirit on an impossible mission. Is there ever any doubt he, and we, will succeed?
I can pretend for a couple of hours, can't I? If I can suspend my disbelief in order to watch a werewolf movie or read a ghost story, I can go back to my youth for a couple of hours and believe that Americans are the Good Guys. No task is too big, no challenge too formidable.
Yes, I enjoyed Top Gun: Maverick. Tom Cruise is good at this stuff. He's got the looks, he has the swagger, he walks the walk. It's a huge production and as such a very well done movie. The performers all hit their marks and their dialogue walks the fine line of smart/dumb a movie like this needs.
Like most others, I think it's a better movie than the original. I was never a fan of Top Gun. It's all right, but I always considered the movie to be a big, blown up, jingoistic music video.
Top Gun: Maverick is a little long at one-hundred and thirty-five minutes. Thank God they didn't bloat it out to an intolerable three hours.
This movie is exactly what you expect it to be and what you hope it will be. Like a good soldier, or should I say pilot, it does its duty and the mission is accomplished. You already know whether or not you want to see it. I finally did, three years after its release. I was in no hurry and I finally found a DVD for one dollar. I got my money's worth, but I'm glad I didn't pay much more.
Written by Mark Sieber
At the same time I loved movies and shows that portrayed America as the best and brightest nation in the world. Good old American superiority was the answer to all the world's problems.
Robert A. Heinlein's books portrayed a future where patriotism, spirit, and engineering were the paths to salvation.
Now I know it's all a bunch of crap.
I don't hope for utopian perfection. We as a species are too adversarial, too competitive, too greedy for peace and love to rule the world.
America is responsible for a lot of problems in the world. We are far, far from perfect.
There's a lot of gray area. I still believe human decency on every level is the only way to bring about a better tomorrow. Hate begets more hate, rage begets more rage, violence begets more violence.
For all of America's faults, the country does a lot of good. I never served in the armed forces, but I worked for the Navy for ten years. Our jobs were to prevent and combat pollution in the waterways of the Earth. I saw my share of slackers, but a lot of people give their best every day to get the job done. Men and Women doing their thankless tasks, fighting the good fight. The United States Government spends a lot of money to help keep the oceans clean.
Of course I never met anyone like Top Gun's Maverick. He's the stuff of comic books. In fact, Top Gun: Maverick is nothing more than a patriotic superhero movie. Tom Cruise plays a ne-er do well dogface Naval pilot putting the classic unbeatable rebellious American spirit on an impossible mission. Is there ever any doubt he, and we, will succeed?
I can pretend for a couple of hours, can't I? If I can suspend my disbelief in order to watch a werewolf movie or read a ghost story, I can go back to my youth for a couple of hours and believe that Americans are the Good Guys. No task is too big, no challenge too formidable.
Yes, I enjoyed Top Gun: Maverick. Tom Cruise is good at this stuff. He's got the looks, he has the swagger, he walks the walk. It's a huge production and as such a very well done movie. The performers all hit their marks and their dialogue walks the fine line of smart/dumb a movie like this needs.
Like most others, I think it's a better movie than the original. I was never a fan of Top Gun. It's all right, but I always considered the movie to be a big, blown up, jingoistic music video.
Top Gun: Maverick is a little long at one-hundred and thirty-five minutes. Thank God they didn't bloat it out to an intolerable three hours.
This movie is exactly what you expect it to be and what you hope it will be. Like a good soldier, or should I say pilot, it does its duty and the mission is accomplished. You already know whether or not you want to see it. I finally did, three years after its release. I was in no hurry and I finally found a DVD for one dollar. I got my money's worth, but I'm glad I didn't pay much more.
Written by Mark Sieber
The author does not allow comments to this entry
No comments