'Top Gun: Maverick' first reactions: Tom Cruise is 'our greatest movie star' in 2022's 'best film'
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LAS VEGAS – He can be our wingman any time.
Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Tom Cruise's charismatic Navy pilot from "Top Gun," is soaring back to the big screen in next month's "Top Gun: Maverick" (in theaters May 27), a long-gestating sequel to Tony Scott's 1986 action drama.
The $150 million movie touched down Thursday at the annual film convention CinemaCon, where roughly 3,000 theater owners, studio executives and journalists gathered to witness its debut screening. And judging by the thunderous applause inside the The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, as well as ecstatic reactions on social media, "Maverick" is poised to fly high at the summer box office.
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" 'Top Gun: Maverick' is blockbuster filmmaking done right," entertainment journalist Brent Simon wrote.
TOP GUN: MAVERICK is blockbuster filmmaking done right: intuitive action editing; a script with steel-girded structure, and a savvy sense of how to blend and match legacy characters with new faces; genuine emotional resonance. It’s feel-it-in-your-bones great. #CinemaCon
— Brent Simon (@SharedDarkness) April 28, 2022
"The best film of the year," said The Wrap reporter Drew Taylor. Sean O'Connell, managing director for film site CinemaBlend, called it "a masterful adrenaline rush. Tom Cruise is our greatest movie star."
#TopGunMaverick is a profound cinematic experience and easily the best film of the year. What Kosinski, @chrismcquarrie, @eddiehamilton and of course @TomCruise have accomplished is epic and intimate, heart stopping and heartbreaking. However good you think it’ll be, it’s better. pic.twitter.com/gZ75xQYxDs
— Drew Taylor (@DrewTailored) April 28, 2022
Yes. So much yes. #TopGunMaverick is a masterful adrenaline rush. Tom Cruise is our greatest movie star. This delivers EVERYTHING you want in a blockbuster. Aerial scenes are jaw dropping. Character work is fantastic. Pure action with massive heart. A must see! pic.twitter.com/c8WvoInUze
— Sean O'Connell (@Sean_OConnell) April 28, 2022
"Just because something is predictable doesn't make it any less satisfying," wrote SlashFilm editor Ben Pearson, commending the "absolutely killer air action" and saying it's "exactly what fans will want."
Top Gun: Maverick: Just because something is predictable doesn’t make it any less satisfying. It has a near-identical structure to the original, but with some added drama between Maverick and Goose’s son. Absolutely killer air action. It’s exactly what fans will want.
— Ben Pearson (@benpears) April 28, 2022
Lady Gaga also got high praise for her original song contribution, "Hold My Hand." "A total banger," raved Scott Menzel, founder of entertainment site We Live Entertainment. Forbes box-office pundit Scott Mendelson suggested Gaga's anthem is even better than the film itself.
Lady Gaga’s Hold My Hand is a total banger and closes out #TopGunMaverick on a high note.
— Scott Menzel (@ScottDMenzel) April 28, 2022
Lady Gaga song for TOP GUN 2 >> TOP GUN 2.
— Scott Mendelson (@ScottMendelson) April 28, 2022
Along with Cruise, "Maverick" brings back original star Val Kilmer and , while introducing a bevy of new characters played by Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, Monica Barbaro and Glen Powell.
Powell plays a pilot trainee nicknamed Hangman and was singled out on Twitter for his performance. The actor teased his role in an interview with USA TODAY last month.
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"He's just like any fighter pilot in the 'Top Gun' universe, he's got a little bit of an ego," Powell said. "But he's righteous in his ability and his talent, and he's a good time. He captures that fun spirit of what I think 'Top Gun 1' was: If you don't walk away from the original and want to be a fighter pilot, you're crazy."
Contributing: Brian Truitt
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Top Gun 2' early reactions: Tom Cruise sequel praised at CinemaCon