Joseph Kosinski

One of the few sequels I've seen that far surpasses the original. Of course, in my mind, "Top Gun" was a "B" movie. Technically it was very impressive, the in-cockpit shots and other aerial photography was top notch. In the Blu-ray extras, we learned that the director actually planned to be an aeronautical engineer in college, and it showed. The high school macho of the original gave way to more adult, restrained dialogue, tho there was the inevitable asshole in the Top Gun class and the show more tear-jerking scene. show less

A rather good story with some intriguing character moments and relatively decent twists, but the pacing is not very good, especially in the middle of the film. It being slow in the beginning is mostly a good thing, as it sets the mood and premise up well, but once the protagonist finds the surviving astronaut, the film would have benefited a lot from harsher editing. This keeps it from four stars with me, but it's otherwise a highly enjoyable yarn.

A small team maintains power facilities on a ruined, emptied Earth.

It's real science fiction, and that is a rare and precious thing. Despite everything that's wrong with it (and there is a LOT wrong with it), I have say it's good. It fails in most regards when it comes to being a movie. But when it comes to being science fiction, the most important thing is to be worth talking about - to raise questions and interesting ideas that are worth analyzing and discussing. And as far as that goes, show more it absolutely succeeds. Just don't make me watch it a second time.

Concept: A
Story: C
Characters: F
Dialog: C
Pacing: D
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: C
Music: C

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.3/4 show less

When the Navy is ordered to destroy a nuclear power plant in difficult terrain, the Navy brings in Maverick to train up the pilots for the mission. One of the pilots is his old RIO Goose's son who hates him. The Navy brass that were made to bring him in also want to get rid of him. As usual, he does things his own way. He ends up leading the mission on the power plant and getting shot down. Goose's son gets shot down trying to protect him. They end up stealing an old F-14 and making a run show more for it.

A fun, old school movie. show less