He’s back to take your breath away
With thrilling aerial dogfights at 1,189mph, strap yourself in for the low-down on Tom Cruise’s new Top Gun sequel blockbuster
IT HAS been 36 years since the original Top Gun blasted Tom Cruise to Hollywood superstardom. Now the movie’s long-awaited sequel is set to transport a new generation of fans into the ‘danger zone’. Top Gun: Maverick, which has critics raving, will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joining the 59-year-old actor on the red carpet in London the following day for a UK Royal premiere.
While sequels rarely live up to the hype, those who have seen this $200 million blockbuster predict it will dominate the box office this summer and could even snag a Best Picture Oscar.
A producer who saw the film in
LA last week said: ‘It’s the perfect summer movie and the best sequel since The Godfather Part II. Everyone was worried the hype couldn’t possibly match the movie, but this is a great film.
‘It has everything you want from a Hollywood blockbuster and Tom Cruise is magnificent. He’s nearly 60 but this is his movie. He proves why he’s been a superstar for so long.’
The film, which opens across the UK on May 27, tells the story of the US Navy’s elite ‘Top Gun’ fighter training school.
It introduces favourites from the original film, such as Val Kilmer’s Iceman, to a new batch of flying aces, which include black and Hispanic Top Guns – and a female pilot.
‘It’s just a fantastic thrill ride from the start,’ the source said. ‘It has everything from the most spectacular aerial dog-fight scenes to moments so heartbreaking you could hear people sobbing. It’s one of those films where you immediately want to go back in and watch it again.’
Hollywood pundits predict the movie could make $1billion globally in its opening weekend and may go on to challenge Avatar as the most successful movie ever.
‘It is so good everyone expects it to win a ton of Oscars next year,’ the source said.
‘It’s bound to win all the technical awards because the aerial fight scenes are incredible but it should get nominated for Best Picture, it’s that good.’
Here’s all you need to know about the film which – as Top Gun’s original theme tune promised – will take your breath away…