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By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Entertainment Blogger
There is a lot of buzz – particularly here in San Diego – about the long-awaited and much-anticipated sequel to the wildly popular Top Gun movie. Starring Tom Cruise, it’s called Top Gun: Maverick.
Rotten Tomatoes called it epic with the reviewer stating he on the edge of his seat during the entire premier. Non-stop action!
Well, I’m taking a wait-and-see approach.
The reason, you see, is that Hollywood is almost as famous for making horribly disappointing sequels as it is for blockbuster hits. How many times have you left the theater after a sequel, saying to your date or friends “well THAT sucked?” Several, I’m sure.
A few notable exceptions, of course, are the first two Star Wars sequels (I just never got into all the computer-generated graphics of the many modern ones) and Vacation. Rocky II wasn’t bad but the subsequent ones were unwatchable.
To me, Hollywood sequels are like trying to date the same girl several years later. You might try and make it work, but you can never recapture that original magic.
So I’m not exactly on the edge of my seat to see Top Gun: Maverick.
Tom Cruise Is Back For The Sequel
Making a Top Gun sequel without Tom Cruise would, of course, be foolish. Cruise also insisted on bringing back Val Kilmer, who played the love-to-hate character “Ice” in the original and was outstanding in The Doors but had a lot of health problems the past few years. The fact that he is in this movie is a plus.
Beyond that, here’s a couple reasons why I think I will be disappointed in it.
Unlike The Original, No Active Aircraft Carrier Was Used In The Filming Of Top Gun: Maverick
That brought real authenticity to the first movie. The directors, camera crew and actors had to work around normal carrier operations. This time, the U.S. Navy did not grant such access. Instead, the carrier scenes were filmed aboard the U.S.S. Midway, which is now a museum in San Diego Bay. It it retired and doesn’t leave the dock.
Few, If Any Scenes Were Filmed In San Diego
The majority of the movie was filmed at the Naval Air Station, North Island, Coronado. That area is closed off to the public. So there’s no cool scenes around San Diego – the car chase up steep Laurel Ave., the sunset motorcycle ride on the path along San Diego Bay, the make-out location at the end of that scene which was shot by the tuna boats adjacent to the Midway, no beach house used by “Charlie” that is now a cookie shop in Oceanside and certainly no bar scene with Goose playing “Great Balls Of Fire” on the piano at Kansas City BBQ.
There Is A Beach Volleyball Scene
Girls will like the fact there is a beach volleyball scene, shirtless men bumping a ball in the sand.
In Conclusion
Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised by Top Gun: Maverick. But I have learned that, when it comes to Hollywood sequels, it’s best to manage one’s expectations.
See Also:
• Top Gun: Maverick San Diego Premier And Tom Cruise
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