Top Gun: Maverick (2020)

Ossoi · May 24, 2022

Can someone explain the importance of "covering your wingman" in the 2v2 of the first movie?

If you and your partner are on the first enemy, what's stopping the second from taking out the guy covering the wingman?

Mahes · May 24, 2022

Ossoi said:
Can someone explain the importance of "covering your wingman" in the 2v2 of the first movie?

If you and your partner are on the first enemy, what's stopping the second from taking out the guy covering the wingman?

The wingman's role is to support aerial combat by making a flight both safer and more capable: amplifying situational awareness, increasing firepower, and allowing more dynamic tactics.

As described by goggle. Essentially it decreases the likelihood that the enemy can get away while there is a Wingman covering. Yes the 2nd fighter could come up behind. If that happens then the Wingman can maneuver in ways that cover the main better allowing him to get the shot. The 2nd fighter has to be careful taking the shot as the Wingman could maneuver in ways that allow for a potential hit on the primary target. It opens up a lot of possibilities that do not exist if they are separated.

Ossoi · May 24, 2022

Mahes said:
. The 2nd fighter has to be careful taking the shot as the Wingman could maneuver in ways that allow for a potential hit on the primary target

Ok makes sense, thanks

Seananigans · May 24, 2022

Grim1 said:
Then he works out for 2 to 3 hours. Not like the rest of us. Tom has a ton of drive and he works very hard at making movies. Drive and hard work tend to pay off over time.

I give him a pass for his personal life, scientology, etc. Because he doesn't talk about it, hasn't had any "public" scandals, and he tends to make the kind of movies i like. Don't really want to know who my favorite actors are as a person. Gets in the way of the character he or she is trying to portray.

That could all change over night if something strange / unforgivable about him came out and ruined his public image though. Just being in a semi cult isn't enough.

That level of drive and crazy cult-like behavior tend to go hand in hand.

Chukzombi · May 24, 2022

Grim1 said:
Then he works out for 2 to 3 hours. Not like the rest of us. Tom has a ton of drive and he works very hard at making movies. Drive and hard work tend to pay off over time.

I give him a pass for his personal life, scientology, etc. Because he doesn't talk about it, hasn't had any "public" scandals, and he tends to make the kind of movies i like. Don't really want to know who my favorite actors are as a person. Gets in the way of the character he or she is trying to portray.

That could all change over night if something strange / unforgivable about him came out and ruined his public image though. Just being in a semi cult isn't enough.

eh i have no problem with Tom Cruise, hes literally from my neighborhood. i'm very happy with his movies, even the scenes where loses his shit and his voice gets all high pitched and squeaky so i bust out laughing. just saying the guy may be a workoholic perfectionist, but he isnt immortal, he has help and he can afford the best.

Ossoi · May 25, 2022

7.5/10

Some things I liked, some things I didn't like.

They kept the Harald Faltermeyer theme, I was worried they wouldn't. I let out a "fuck yeah" when the first chords kicked in

Aesthetically it is similar to the original in some places e.g. Colour palette - Tony Scott used a very distinctive style and I was worried this movie would look more "modern" and feel out of place when next to the original, but you can see they've emulated the look/feel in a lot of places

Was a bit worried by some reviews that made me think it would be a Force Awakens style remake, but it wasn't as extreme as that

Movie was less about dog fighting but I guess that replicates real life?

The dynamic with rooster was better than the trailers lead me to expect, was more fleshed out than just "you killed my dad"

Having his romantic interest be the same woman referenced in the first movie was a pointless reference. Her character was generic romance interest.

It reminds me of Cobra Kai in that it's made with respect for original whilst trying to appeal to larger audience, although it's stylistically closer to the original than CK

Edit: and on that last point, with these sequels it's a balance between referencing/staying true to original and nostalgia/member berries for cheap "likes". There were some moments that I felt were just member berries

Butthurt · May 25, 2022

I didnt watch the original one for the fucking love story. Tell me about the fighter sequences!

Ossoi · May 25, 2022

Butthurt said:
I didnt watch the original one for the fucking love story. Tell me about the fighter sequences!

"Movie was less about dog fighting but I guess that replicates real life?"

Ok, one criticism that expands on the above:

The Top Gun training is just mission training not actual Top Gun competition as in the original. The way the training is done felt very "on rails" with everything spelt out for the audience. Whilst there is a bit of dog fighting at the start, it's Maverick owning everyone - which makes sense due to the way aval combat has evolved. They even mention that only one of the pilots from group has an actual kill

Then the actual mission itself is a bombing run, the whole purpose being to evade detection and enemy jets being scrambled. It's almost identical to the Death Star Assault of Star Wars

They also explain that the enemy jets are more advanced.

There is a dogfight at the end but only features a 2v1

Also, the grand theft auto escape in the Tomcat was the only eyeroll part of the movie. Could be some member-berry shit but I guess it highlights the difference between analogue jets and digital

.

It will be interesting to see how re-watchable this movie is as a combo with the original, which is probably my most watched movie ever. I could easily do it 3-4 x a year.

Also, I realised when I sat down at 1155pm that I was the only one at the showing despite the cinema being fairly busy. So I checked the listings again and they'd added a second midnight showing for the xPlus screen, which is the showcase version of Imax. Went out , upgraded ticket to switch screens because why not?

Janx · May 25, 2022

Gravel · May 25, 2022

spronk said:
wow thats a real plane and shit not CGI fuckery

It's CGI fuckery, because it was a Blue Angels jet.

I'm also not 100% sure I buy this idea that it blew over the building. I honestly don't remember that well, but I remember a building being there multiple days. Whether or not that was pre or post this shot I can't recall. I will say they flew the route several times. The jet flew super low and then pulled up SUPER hard.

There's also another building not too far from there. A permanent one.

Gravel · May 25, 2022

Sylas said:
pointless rant

ugh I hate when movies get just basic facts wrong. Embellish sure, make shit up, idc, but basic shit? is annoying. Like if you were a marine and everytime some hollywood shit has marines running around with their scopes mounted on backwards or shitty trigger discipline. it's infuriating.

Top Gun is in Nevada, not North Island (San Diego). There is no fightertown, San Diego. In fact, there are no fighters at all in San Diego. There's nothing but Helicopters there. Have you even been to North Island? here's a Hint, it's an Island, a rock in the middle of the ocean. You can see the ocean from anywhere on the island. It doesn't look like a desert as far as the eye can see like you see in this film.

The fighters are all in Lemoore. You know, the place where you filmed this entire movie at? The place you name dropped when you said the nerdy new backseater guy was from?

why the fuck would you bother to claim this takes place in North Island vs Lemoore? Or better yet, why not just say Fallon Nevada? It's not like any of these places have name recognition where people will suddenly identify with the movie now.

Ok finished it. thought it was decent. warning, going to go on another nitpicking rant:

F18s only have 1 fire bottle, with 3 pathways for the fire extinguishing agent to go through, left engine, right engine, apu. Once she blows it to put out the left engine fire, that's it.
All fighters have FLIR pods (the laser guidance system), there would be no need for the 18Fs (2 seaters) to fly along and lase for the single seaters. 2 Seater fighters are basically pointless, they only have 1 mission (FAC-A), other than that they are mostly used as trainers on land. At sea every carrier has 1 squadron of them but really, the dude in the backseat is basically coffee bitch. he just holds things for the pilot. Most female aviators (99%) are backseaters.

In fact most 18Fs onboard a carrier are actually used for tanking (airborne refueling) even though they are the worst jet possible for this role (they are heavier due to 2 cockpits, yet they hold less fuel also due to 2 cockpits, ergo they burn more fuel to fly and have less fuel for the other aircraft taking fuel from them) and the backseater doesn't do anything in refueling missions. Again its basically a pointless aircraft but someone has to do airborne refueling and there is no point wasting an actual fighter (single seater) on it so we use foxtrots. Also when configured as tankers they don't have FLIR pods.

Now you may be thinking "well the pilot has to focus on flying that's why they used back seaters to focus on lasing" and you would be wrong. No way on earth at those Gs are you going to fucking around with tdc (the mouse) targeting with your fingers like that. In a situation like that where you are dive bombing directly towards the thing you are trying to blow up you would just use boresight/velvec slaving and the laser would automatically target the thing you are flying at.

The foxtrots were there for only one reason, diversity quota. ultimately it's a film about maverick and goose's son, 2 white men. Adding 2 pointless foxtrots to the mix adds 4 extra cast members, and lo and behold, black, female, latino, plus 1 nerd to boot.

The only country we sold F14s to was Iran back before 79...So I take it enemy country enriching uranium was Iran but...snow? also they don't have shit for technology, so like the enemy country was supposed to be some Russia/Iran hybrid nation I guess?

Also, on your rant, North Island 100% has a runway capable of landing a jet. Why they decided to say the Top Gun school was there, I don't know, but it's definitely feasible.

Gravel · May 25, 2022

Xarpolis said:
I remember the guy posting all about it. I don't know if it was this thread though. I think the posts were like... 2019 range. Maybe even as old as 2018. I don't see any of the posts in this thread, at least.

Spoilering the posts. They're in the Top Gun thread.

Gravel said:
We heard some rumors yesterday that the Top Gun people were around (the only other rumors had them filming around Thanksgiving, since most of the place will be shut down).

Anyway, my wife said they saw a couple F-14's painted green flying around. They may have been adversary planes, but we generally don't see F-14's here. Also possible that they were F-14's painted to look like MiGs or whatever the bad guy in Top Gun 2 is supposed to be.

There were also truckloads of people driving on the dirt roads near the runway which is something that generally doesn't happen. Likely related.

Gravel said:
Not too long ago Half in the Bag was talking about Mission Impossible and how it's essentially just become home videos of a rich guy (Tom Cruise) doing cool shit that we get to pay to watch.

Tom was doing some Super Hornet flying around today. Not sure how much more filming they've got, but I guess he might be doing a few days of it (I didn't go out to the flight line, assuming it's not completely cordoned off with filming anyway).

He's been sitting in the back seat with a stick, and apparently he really wanted to be in the front seat and they said, "Not a chance." Tom then asked how much an F/A-18 costs.

Gravel said:
Alright, that was fucking cool. I'm assuming they were just shooting from the ground because there wasn't a chase plane, but they just had a jet flying straight up with afterburners and then diving. It's about 7pm so just at dusk. Never seen afterburners at night like that, but it was awesome. They did it three times. Kind of got bored waiting to see if they were doing anymore though.

Oh, and I did try to record it, but it's so dark that you couldn't see shit.

Gravel said:
Nah. In fact, if not for the rumor mill, you'd never even know they were filming. The only reason I do is because I work out near the flight line and there were mystery signs that went up on this part of the base Monday (most people on the base don't have flight line access).

Gravel said:
So they're actually filming in our building this week. In fact, I passed a Paramount truck on my way to lunch just now. Pretty neat, although kind of meaningless since I can't actually go watch the filming or anything.

I'm actually a little pissed because I missed the meeting they had where they were looking for extras.

Gravel said:
Wow, what a fucking madhouse it's become. All the other filming days I was kind of vaguely aware of their presence, but today they're all over the place.

There are 5 or 6 trailers in our parking lot (Tom Cruise is definitely here; one of my coworker's husband is currently babysitting him since it's a secure facility), dozens of trucks and equipment fucking everywhere. From hearing people talk, it sounds like they'll be filming until midnight tonight. And likely the next couple days. Should be interesting. They took over one of our labs to build into an office, which is strange to me since I feel like you could make an office in a studio for way cheaper. They also got permission to use some base police SUV's that it sounds like will be involved in some kind of stunts.

I wish I could take pictures, but there's no photography allowed here at all. That's why everyone is being babysat, to ensure they're not sending pictures (for some reason they're being allowed to have phones even though we're not).

I'd say there's a good chance our pilots will be doing some flights tonight. Might be able to get some cool video if that takes place. I'll do my best if I see it.

Gravel said:
In today's news from...close to...the set. Yesterday afternoon they apparently did a call back to the motorcycle on the runway scene. They used the same bike from the original. Also, confirmed that Val Kilmer and Jennifer Connolly are both here (although I haven't seen them, nor Tom, myself).

In a big surprise to me, as I was leaving work about 45 minutes ago, a Blue Angels jet took off. Unless it's some crazy coincidence, I would imagine the Blue Angels will be making an appearance. It was only one jet and he's been circling for the entire time, so I'm pretty sure they're spotting. I may get an impromptu Blue Angels show tomorrow during work. So that'll be fun.

Not sure what else. I'm sure I'll have more news tomorrow once I get into work. I don't really know wtf is going on. We're going to try to see if we can get on the actual set tomorrow. Apparently the "escorts" I mentioned earlier were the lowest paid government employees we have here for the most part (since Paramount basically gave us a chunk of money, they're trying to stretch it as far as possible). Since we're apparently on the very high side of the pay here, we're hoping we can leverage it into a short "tour."

Took some video of the Blue Angels jet circling my house. I'll edit and post later. Not that it's particularly interesting.

Gravel said:
Blue Angels jet still circling. Been almost an hour now. Got a few videos of it going right over the house.

Edit: Video. My other ones were kind of potato looking (hard as shit to get a good video of a jet in the air, especially flying so low). Best one was only a 4 second clip.

Gravel said:
So today they had one of our SAR SH-60's flying right outside our building. They kept going straight up about 50 feet and then pulling hard, almost on its side, and then turning around to do it again. Tom Cruise was definitely in the helicopter, because my wife looked at the flight schedule and T. Cruise was on it for a 0800 safety brief.

I also got to go on set today, although, unfortunately they weren't filming at the time. I just missed it by about 15 minutes, because they were out near a little guard shack they built for this where Tom was riding around on his motorcycle.

I'm home early right now because they basically told everyone to leave if they could, because at 4 (15 min) they're going to be doing low flyby's on the guard shack (I think with the Blue Angel jet that's here?). Going to go out in my back yard again to see if I can see anything, although I'm far enough away that it probably won't be exciting. I was tempted to stay there, but it sounded like we'd be stuck for at least an hour. And it's windy and cold, and I see jets flying low most days anyway (our building is at the end of the runway).

Anyway, the set is just a hangar so not super exciting. They had a mock SR-71 made of wood inside (it fooled me, as I've seen one in person and it looked real enough). Also a little office they built. Otherwise it just looked like our normal hangar with a bunch of cameras setup. There's another set in the lab that I didn't see, but I think they're done filming there. In case anyone cares though, they wanted "nerdy" extras for it, because I guess it's actually going to be some kind of lab/research setting in the movie.

Gravel said:
If I told you, I'd have to kill you.

Filming at our location will be wrapping up this weekend, and unfortunately, I didn't get to see any of the principal actors (I may have seen some of the others, just not recognized them). My "cool story bro" for today is that Tom flew up his "coffee guy" yesterday who made everyone coffee. My coworker's husband said it was the best thing he's ever drank. So I guess he's worth the money. I suppose if I were that rich I'd have random people I flew all over the country too.

Nirgon · May 25, 2022

Is Kylo Ren going to be the new Top Gun? Will Tom Cruise hook up with a black chick? Will someone say this was fine and there was none of that, then I see it and there is?

Sylas · May 25, 2022

Wasn't any of that shit. If you read my 2nd rant you'll see the forced diversity, and its really only an issue if you are US Navy who works/flies/has intimate knowledge of F18s and know they used gimped aircraft in order to accommodate said diversity. For general audiences theres like 0 woke shit.

Jimbolini · May 25, 2022

I will go see it for sure, but let's get serious about fictional pilots and skill level.

Would "Maverick" even make the top 10?

Stringfellow Hawke in Airwolf would be my #1 draft pick.

Wedge Antilles #2 for sure.

Then it's a !@#$ toss up !

Mahes · May 26, 2022

Jimbolini said:
I will go see it for sure, but let's get serious about fictional pilots and skill level.

Would "Maverick" even make the top 10?

Stringfellow Hawke in Airwolf would be my #1 draft pick.

Wedge Antilles #2 for sure.

Then it's a !@#$ toss up !

Hey now,

If we are going to discuss fictional pilots...

Chersk · May 26, 2022

I'm hearing this is well worth the trip to a theater.

Aychamo BanBan · May 26, 2022

2:00pm tomm.

Huge boner waiting

Kajiimagi · May 26, 2022

Tried to get the wife to go see it with me. She's still terrified of COVID , no theater for me.

Aychamo BanBan · May 27, 2022

Search

Top Gun: Maverick (2020)

Ossoi

Potato del Grande

Mahes

Bronze Baronet of the Realm

Ossoi

Potato del Grande

Seananigans

Honorary Shit-PhD

Chukzombi

Millie's Staff Member

Ossoi

Potato del Grande

Butthurt

Ossoi

Potato del Grande

Janx

Gravel

Mr. Poopybutthole

Gravel

Mr. Poopybutthole

Gravel

Mr. Poopybutthole

Nirgon

Log Wizard

Sylas

Jimbolini

Semi-pro Monopoly player

Mahes

Bronze Baronet of the Realm

Chersk

Trakanon Raider

Aychamo BanBan

Kajiimagi

Aychamo BanBan