Top Gun Maverick

 

Top Gun Maverick

 Curse is getting long in the tooth, as we all are, but he is still Tom Terrific.  He is one of the most bankable movie stars in Hollywood. This film has surpassed the weekend opening record with a box office of $156m.

 This is not a great movie, but it is fun and watchable. The film is basically a two man story between Tom Curse and Miles Teller. Teller is the son of Curse’s wingman, Goose, who died in the 1986 film. There is history between them. Jennifer Connelly is sprinkled in as the love interest. Their romance is as steamy as lukewarm coffee. 

 Other actors include  Jon Ham as Vice Admiral Beau. He reprises his tight lipped Ad Men persona. Ed Harris has a brief appearance as a stern tight ass admiral; a real stretch for him. There are the other Top Gun pilots talking trash and jockeying for the top spot. In deference to  #metoo there is a female hot shot.

The only other actor from the original film is Val Kilmer. In real life Kilmer is suffering from throat cancer. He talks in a coarse whisper (his voice was created using AI). It is a touching moment when they embrace. Some elements of the 1986 film were recreated. Instead of a bare chested volleyball game, there was a bare chested touch football game (the lady wore a bra). Tom looked great for a 59 year old man child.

 The movie is predictable. There are some surprising twists and turns, but the outcome is  never in doubt. A hallmark of Curse's movies are the stunts. Curse has a reputation for insisting on doing his own stunts. The jet scenes are a major feature of the film. Spoiler alert Tom does not fly the jets himself. The actors are filmed in the jet fighters experiencing crushing G forces; no FX was used. Being crushed by G forces is not flattering and to Tom's credit he is willing to look like a quivering smashed tomato. The Navy charged $11,000 per hour for the jets.

 It is not necessary but you may benefit from seeing the 1986 Top Gun to get some perspective. In a way this is a nostalgic movie linking 1986 with 2022. Tom is not waiting another 36 years for his next sequel, Mission Impossible 8 comes out next year.

 

Noah

This film is a mish mash of movie genres; fantasy, sci-fi, adventure and Bible stories. The problem is which reference point do you use? In a sci fi movie like Star Wars you have no problem accepting a Wookie, a Death Star or a guy with a fish head playing a clarinet in a dive since your reference point is sci fi. In Noah, no matter how hedonistic you may be, your reference is the Bible. When fantastic creatures are on screen they are just incongruent. Bible stories themselves have elements of fantasy but there is a commonality to them. The fantasy in this movie falls outside of that commonality. When I saw the Watchers (fantasy creatures), I sat up and said “what the heck” (I did not say heck, I said something else). I guess the writers could not get beyond spit balling the script.

Russell Crowe does not look like a 500 year old pre flood patriarch, rather he looks like He-Man. He has on going battles with the bad guy king Tubal-Cain played by Ray Winston; a British actor who is basically a thug with an Equity card. All the actors are very good. This is about the third time Jennifer Connelly is married to Russell Crowe on screen. Antony Hopkins, Methuselah, is Noah’s grandfather and does some wizardry with Emma Watson (go figure) who is Noah’s adopted daughter. Methuselah gives Noah magic beans (sounds familiar) to get the Ark started.

The Ark looks like a failed wood shop project. It is a long tar covered rectangular box of logs and timber. The animals came two by two, or so they say. Then Noah’s family goes throughout the Ark with incents putting the animals to sleep. Fortunately humans are not affected. This biblical anesthetic is complemented by iron, bamboo, tea, gun powder and iron pipes all in the same time line. Even fantasy needs some rationale and order. The writers never heard of PBS.

Towards the latter part of the story the film focuses on solid dramatic acting without gimmicks. It is a key climatic moment and very well done. Is it that well done to carry the film? I would not go so far. In the end to legitimize the film the writers steal two sub plots directly from the Bible. Noah is seen picking grapes and getting drunken from his five day old wine. In the Bible Noah is the first drunk. The script alludes to the Curse of Ham (Ham is Noah’s son) but it needs to be more revealing (see Genesis 9:20). It is odd that a movie so divergent wants to end on the right side of God. May be sacrificing the writers is justified?