I have seen almost every single Tom Cruise movie there is. The one that I have yet to see is Vanilla Sky. It never drew me in. Here’s the thing about Tom Cruise, as a person he’s got some interesting issues (bur who doesn’t?). As an actor, he’s reliable.

He’s particularly reliable in action movies. He does many of his own stunts. In Top Gun: Maverick he performed real aerial stunts as pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. He grins. He goes all in. I believe he probably has a good work ethic in that he’s never going to just satisfice. He takes pride in his work. Maybe he’s a megomaniac. At the end of the day, his films for the most part are entertaining. I have to admit I have no idea why he did the Last Samurai movie. That should just be erased from everyone’s memory and all vaults.

What the movie Top Gun symbolizes to me is a can-do spirit and a nostalgia for being daring. This film could have bren released in 2020. However, we were in the midst of a pandemic and not many would have gone to the movie theatre. As it is, my local movie theatre has permanently closed. Such an odd feeling. I used to go at least twice a month to the movies and then everything became about streaming. We lost that big-screen collective viewing expetience. Watching a movie and then heading to the restroom and hearing all the immediate commentary. My current ringworm is Take my breath Away. Takes me back to another time.

In the movie Maverick must deal with the ghosts of the past. These all haunt us as we age. But we can confront them with flair and a bit of confidence that we’ve done a good job.