(L to R) Holt McCallany, Henry Czerny, and Nick Offerman in Paramount’s ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two.’
It might seem as though the next two ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies should already be in the can by now, but given Covid delays and cast scheduling, the cameras are indeed still cranking on ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two’, the eighth instalment.
That’s not all – both McQuarrie and Offerman (virtually) stopped by the Light The Fuse Podcast to discuss the actor’s experience on the movie.
“Nick is quite literally drinking from the firehose, getting his first full bore ‘Mission: Impossible’ seeing-how-the-sausage-is-made,” McQuarrie said.
“It’s really fun and fascinating. There’s a handful of very high caliber actors that I’m getting to work with as well as the lead guy, and getting to toss the ball around is incredible,” Offerman explained. “Getting to watch them deal with the fire hose technique is fascinating, because everybody brings a great deal of elan and panache and years of experience. And watching McQ and Tom do their thing, you can’t really describe it to people. You have to be there. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s like they’re painting an incredible mural and we’re all the paints.”
The full episode of the podcast lands on Wednesday, but you can hear a preview here.
(L to R) Mark Gatiss, Janet McTeer, and Charles Parnell in Paramount’s ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two.’
No word on whom Offerman or McTeer are playing, though they could be government/military types – Offerman’s character is pictured alongside Holt McCallany, who we know is playing the Secretary of Defense, and what looks to be Henry Czerny, returning from the original ‘Mission: Impossible’ as Eugene Kittridge.
The plot of the next two ‘Mission’ movies is still a closely-guarded secret, though from the first teaser, we did get some hints. The return of Kittridge points to more trouble from within the Impossible Mission Force, as Kittridge is giving off real villain vibes. He tells Ethan Hunt he’s effectively on the wrong side of history and that the “ideals” he’s been fighting for don’t exist. There are shots of people being gassed with a mysterious green substance, explosions and all manner of chases.
And, of course, there are massive stunts, which as per usual, represent Tom Cruise putting his life on the line to up the spectacle with each movie.
Monica Barbaro and Tom Cruise on the set of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Paramount, and particularly star/producer Tom Cruise, look like smart people right now in their decision to delay releasing ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ until theatrical conditions within the ongoing pandemic improved.
Because the high-flying sequel has now shot to the top of the domestic box office chart. ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ has passed the likes of ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ and ‘The Batman’ to earn an impressive $409 million, and the cash altimeter just keeps on climbing.
While ‘Multiverse of Madness’ had been sitting top of the domestic earner list, scraping close to $400 million itself, Cruise and his team have moved past them, with Strange unlikely to catch the pilots now that the Marvel movie is headed to Disney+ on June 22. ‘The Batman’, meanwhile, sulks in third with $369 million. We’re sure Warner Bros. is happy with that result – Batman just sulks because he’s always sulking.
Don’t go shedding any tears for Disney and Marvel, though: given their seemingly rock solid superhero brand, the latest ‘Doctor Strange’ movie is still ahead internationally, earning $932.5 million worldwide compared to ‘The Batman’s $770 million and ‘Maverick’s $763 million. That said, expect ‘Top Gun’ to keep earning, with a few markets still to open.
Made for a budget – at least the one that was reported – of $170 million (not factoring in the huge amounts of money that the studio poured into a promotional tour that has included a kick-off at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, a special event honoring Cruise at the Cannes film festival and the return of the star’s usual whirlwind tour of different countries), ‘Maverick’ opened to $126.7 million when it opened on May 27.
And though the considerable PR campaign spend means it’ll need to keep earning, Cruise’s star power and interest in the legacy sequel concept has meant that crowds are turning out for it.
Most importantly, they have kept turning out for it everywhere the movie is playing, and ‘Maverick’s worldwide totals are all the more impressive given that it isn’t playing in Russia or China, usually huge earning drivers for big blockbusters.
Plus, while ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ knocked it from the top of the weekend charts, ‘Maverick’ boasts better reviews and will likely enjoy longer legs than even the giant dinosaurs.
It’s a far cry from the days of the 1986 original, which was made for $15 million (much of that was on jets and baby oil) and, adjusted for inflation, has earned $440 million worldwide.
This latest release also marks a big success for Cruise, whose biggest movies before this were two of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ entries. Paramount is no doubt thrilled that two more are on the way to ride the Cruise wave next year and in 2024.
Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
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Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in ‘Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Tom Cruise is quite possibly the greatest movie star in the history of cinema!
His films have grossed over $8 billion dollars at the box office, and the actor is more than willing to hang off the side of a building or an airplane in order to entertain audience.
Now, with ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ opening this weekend, let’s take a look at the best action movies Tom Cruise has ever made, including the new ‘Top Gun.’
When Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders) is arrested for treason, ex-investigator Jack Reacher (Cruise) undertakes the challenging task to prove her innocence and ends up exposing a shocking conspiracy.
Though safely entombed in a crypt deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient queen (Sofia Boutella) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension.
Jack Harper (Cruise) is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete. His existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger (Olga Kurylenko) from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.
With computer genius Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) at his side and a beautiful thief on his mind, agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) races across Australia and Spain to stop a former IMF agent (Dougray Scott) from unleashing a genetically engineered biological weapon called Chimera. This mission, should Hunt choose to accept it, plunges him into the center of an international crisis of terrifying magnitude.
A fugitive couple (Cruise and Cameron Diaz) goes on a glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure where nothing and no one – even themselves – are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust.
When a gunman takes five lives with six shots, all evidence points to the suspect in custody. On interrogation, the suspect offers up a single note: “Get Jack Reacher!” So begins an extraordinary chase for the truth, pitting Jack Reacher (Cruise) against an unexpected enemy, with a skill for violence and a secret to keep.
Ray Ferrier (Cruise) is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife (Miranda Otto) drops off his teenage son (Justin Chatwin) and young daughter (Dakota Fanning) for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.
For Lieutenant Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell (Cruise) and his friend and co-pilot Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete’s dreams of becoming an ace
When Ethan Hunt (Cruise), the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, and he’s surprised to learn that he’s the No. 1 suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai’s way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.
Retired from active duty to train new IMF agents, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is called back into action to confront sadistic arms dealer, Owen Davian (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Hunt must try to protect his girlfriend while working with his new team to complete the mission.
John Anderton (Cruise) is a top ‘Precrime’ cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they’re committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.
When an IMF mission ends badly, the world is faced with dire consequences. As Ethan Hunt (Cruise) takes it upon himself to fulfill his original briefing, the CIA begin to question his loyalty and his motives. The IMF team find themselves in a race against time, hunted by assassins (Henry Cavill) while trying to prevent a global catastrophe.
Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team are racing against time to track down a dangerous terrorist named Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist ), who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States.
An attempt to stop him ends in an explosion causing severe destruction to the Kremlin and the IMF to be implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to disavow them. No longer being aided by the government, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks around the globe, although they might still be too late to stop a disaster.
Major Bill Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an alpha alien down with him. He awakens back at the beginning of the same day and is forced to fight and die again… and again – as physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop.
Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team take on their most impossible mission yet—eradicating ‘The Syndicate’, an International and highly-skilled rogue organization committed to destroying the IMF.
Talented but unproven stock car driver Cole Trickle gets a break and with the guidance of veteran Harry Hogge turns heads on the track. The young hotshot develops a rivalry with a fellow racer that threatens his career when the two smash their cars. But with the help of his doctor, Cole just might overcome his injuries– and his fear.
After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.
When he finds himself training a detachment of TOPGUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose.”
Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it.
Tom Cruise in Paramount Pictures’ ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout.’
Given that between them, the next two ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies might – heavy emphasis on might – represent the end for the venerable action franchise, the biggest takeaway from this first teaser for the seventh outing suggests that it has legacy on the brain.
But even beyond the presence of Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny), who hasn’t been seen since the first ‘M:I’ movie back in 1996, there are little nods here and there towards that original film. Not the least of which is Cruise once more battling baddies on a train (though it’s a much more old-school steamer than the sleek Channel Tunnel vehicles seen in the original).
Yet it’s far from just The Tom Cruise Show – we’re treated to footage of franchise veterans Simon Pegg (back as Benji) and Ving Rhames (Luther), plus more recent recruits including Rebecca Ferguson’s Isla Faust and Vanessa Kirby’s White Widow.
‘Dead Reckoning’ represents possibly the biggest challenge yet for Cruise and writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, who have collaborated on the last few ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies. They had to navigate a tricky, ever-changing shooting plan because the pandemic either cancelled or interrupted production. And then there’s wrangling with their own achievements – how do you top the level of stunts that they and their team have collectively pulled off in the past? The answer for Cruise, at least, appears to be even more derring-do, jumping off a bike that is itself falling off a huge cliff. Letting a train speed off another cliff. And breaking the story across two movies? That’ll lead to a more narrative cliff-hanger. These two like cliffs, is what we’re saying.
Story-wise, there’s not much to go on yet, though Kittridge certainly looks to be giving strong villain vibes, telling Ethan Hunt he’s effectively on the wrong side of history and that the “ideals” he’s been fighting for don’t exist. There are shots of people being gassed with a mysterious green substance, explosions and all manner of chases. Hunt, in his encounter with his old nuisance, mostly looks like he wants to blow up another fish tank…
‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ will be in theaters on July 14th, 2023.
‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ will be in theaters on July 14th, 2023.
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The movie picks up 36 years after the original, and centers on an older Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) who is ordered to return to the TOPGUN flight school to train a group of the Navy’s best pilots for a dangerous secret mission.
The result is an exhilarating sequel that relies only a bit on nostalgia but also creates new characters and situations to test its lead character, played commandingly by Cruise, and features some of the best flying sequences ever captured on film.
Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Set 36 years after the original, we are reintroduced to Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise), who is still in the Navy, but has only achieved the rank of Captain due to his infamous insubordination. Maverick is surprised to be called back to his old flight school, TOPGUN, by Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Kilmer), in order to train the best pilots in the Navy for a dangerous secret mission.
But Maverick soon discovers that the son of his ex-partner Goose (Edwards in archive footage), Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Teller), is one of his new students and now Maverick must decide if he is willing to put Rooster’s life at risk or protect him as his father would have wanted.
Meanwhile, Maverick must deal with his commanding officer, Vice Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson (Hamm), as well as revisiting a past relationship with Penny Benjamin (Connelly), “the Admiral’s daughter” that was briefly mentioned in the original film. As Maverick and Rooster come to terms with their anger towards each other, Mitchell must get the recruits ready for the mission of their life.
Of all the 1980’s blockbuster movies, ‘Top Gun’ is the “Holy Grail” of recognizable intellectual property to never be tapped for sequels, which is why the franchise was so ripe for a follow-up now. In a world where movies based on popular IP rule, Tom Cruise was wise to revisit the character of Maverick in a ‘Top Gun’ sequel as creating franchises out of ‘Jack Reacher’ and ‘The Mummy’ failed to work, and the actor can’t just make ‘Mission: impossible’ movies the rest of his life!
Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
But unlike other recent “legacy sequels” such as ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ or ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife,’ ‘Maverick’ does not rely on the nostalgia factor quite as much. In fact, with the exception of Tom Cruise, (and archive footage appearances from Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan), Val Kilmer is the only other actor from the original to appear in the sequel.
While the nostalgia kicks in during the opening credits, as soon as you hear the famous ‘Top Gun’ theme, the movie doesn’t rely on nostalgia for story, outside of the main conflict between Maverick and Rooster. That allows the sequel to be its own thing, while capitalizing on the love we all have for the original, and Tom Cruise as Maverick.
But I do wish there were a few more tie-ins to the first film, like bringing back recognizable actors such as Adrian Pasdar or Oscar-winner Tim Robbins to play Maverick’s contemporaries who rose in the Naval ranks while he didn’t. Instead new series actors Jon Hamm and Charles Parnell are cast in those parts, and while effort is made to explain their connection to Maverick, it would have been easier to use characters we were already familiar with.
And while actress Kelly McGillis was missed, Jennifer Connelly was a welcomed addition as Maverick’s love interest Penny, who actually has a connection to the first film. Penny is the “Admiral’s daughter,” the same Admiral’s daughter that Goose mentions Maverick had a fling with in the original movie. While the romantic scenes are not as “steamy” as they were in the original, they are sweet, and demonstrate how Maverick has matured through the years.
Jennifer Connelly plays Penny Benjamin in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Of the returning cast, Val Kilmer is absolutely wonderful as now Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky. While the actor was unable to speak much of his dialogue due to an illness from cancer, the filmmakers brilliantly wove that into the character’s own history, which helped drive the story. Kilmer has a very touching scene with Cruise, and it is one of the best moments of the film.
Director Joseph Kosinski, who previously worked with Cruise on the criminally underrated ‘Oblivion,’ does amazing work here capturing some of the best flying sequences ever on film. Cruise and the other actors actually trained as pilots to prepare for the movie and are really up in the air in those jets when we see them on screen. There were no green screens or visual effects, just real actors capturing their actual expressions in those moments. We would expect nothing less from Tom Cruise at this point, but as a filmmaker, Kosinski pulled off those sequences beautifully.
Kosinski also pulls back on the nostalgia by wisely not recreating the “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” scene, and replacing the beach volley ball scene, with a game of football instead. Although, it would have been nice to hear a few of the old Kenny Loggins songs that were so memorable from the original.
But my biggest complaint is the strange “Fade to Black” dissolves that are littered throughout the film. It was a weird way to end a scene, and Kosinski does it repeatedly, almost as if they were laying in where the commercials will go once the film plays on cable TV in a few years. It was an odd choice, that otherwise does not hurt the overall enjoyment of the film.
Miles Teller plays Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
After his work in the mini-series ‘The Offer,’ and now ‘Maverick,’ actor Miles Teller is really on a roll. He is perfectly cast as Rooster, and even resembles Anthony Edwards a bit. Teller gives a spunky performance and has great chemistry with Cruise. His inner-turmoil over his father’s death, and his perceived betrayal by Maverick, fuels the conflict of the film. Also excellent from the new cast is ‘Hidden Figures’ actor Glen Powell who plays Hangman, Rooster’s rival and the Iceman to his Maverick.
But ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ simply works because we all love Tom Cruise in this role! Whether you saw ‘Top Gun’ for the first time in the 80s or years later, the movie is part of our culture and seeing Cruise return to this role after all these years is a complete thrill. It’s interesting to see the character now in his late 50s and compare him to the confident 24-year old character he was in the original.
Cruise still portrays all the charm and arrogance we remember Maverick possessing in his youth, but also reveals a relic of a man, who is grappling with a changing world that could soon find him obsolete. Those are very heavy ideas to take on in a summer blockbuster, but Cruise and Kosinski were more than up for the challenge and certainly succeed on several different levels.
In the end, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is a rare legacy sequel, one that is more interested in telling a new story about a beloved character that has changed since the original, and less concerned with playing the greatest hits from its predecessor.
Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout,’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
It might boast one of the biggest movie stars left in the world – also known as Mr. Thomas Cruise Mapother IV in its stable -but Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation didn’t quite match the scale of some of the other studios preceding it on the schedule.
Still, Paramount did have some news to share, with Cruise sending a video from (because of course) a plane above South Africa where he’s busy filming the eighth ‘Mission: Impossible’ movie. Which is fitting, because the big announcement from Paramount is that the seventh ‘Mission’ movie is called ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’.
We do know that the two movies are supposed to be connected, and the title gives ominous feelings as to what could be happening to heroic agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise). Still, this is a man who has cheated death many times over, so don’t count him out just yet.
“Let’s all try to have a great summer. See you at the movies!” Cruise exclaimed before his plane plummeted into a canyon (it was all part of a bit, he’s fine as usual). He introduced the first look at a teaser for ‘Dead Reckoning Part One’ and the entirety of his latest movie, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’. While no direct mention was made, there’s a good chance the ‘Mission’ trailer will be attached to ‘Maverick’ when the long-awaited ‘Top Gun’ sequel touches down on May 27th.
‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ arrives in theaters on July 14th next year, followed by the eighth film on June 28th, 2024.
(L to R) Knuckles (Idris Elba) and Sonic (Ben Schwartz) in ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 2’ from Paramount Pictures and Sega.
Paramount has been having a good year in terms of box office so far – with movies including ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 2’ ‘Jackass Forever’ and ‘Scream’ topping the charts upon release and making money.
“When I started this job six months ago, I was asked what do I think the business will be in a post-pandemic world?” studio chief Brian Robbins told the crowd. “What I responded was pretty much exactly what Paramount looked like so far this year. All four of our releases this year have opened to No. 1 at the box office and with ‘Top Gun’ we think we have a really good shot at making it five for five. None of this would have been possible if we had not doubled down in our faith in our release dates.”
In lieu of bringing up separate filmmakers and actors to introduce its upcoming batch of releases (probably because screening ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ ate up much of the time), the studio showed a sizzle reel.
‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ will open in theaters on March 3rd, 2023.
Also shown? Footage from ‘La La Land’ director Damien Chazelle’s new jazz-era old-Hollywood drama. Margot Robbie stars as an anxious actress, demanding her close-up, intoning, “You don’t become a star, you either are one or you ain’t.”
And the new ‘Mission’ wasn’t the only title announced by Paramount: we now know that the ‘A Quiet Place’ spin-off, to be directed by ‘Pig’s Michael Sarnoski, will be called ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’, and, as the name suggests, is a prequel.
It’ll explore a family other than the usual Abbots of the first two main ‘Quiet Place’ movies trying to survive on the day the aliens first arrive – which was briefly show in the dramatic opening to ‘A Quiet Place Part II’.
‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ will be in theaters on September 23rd next year. ‘Quiet Place’ overseer John Krasinski is also developing a third main movie, though no details were offered.
(L-R) Noah Jupe and director John Krasinski and on the set of Paramount Pictures’ “A Quiet Place Part II.”
Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Opening in theaters on May 27th is ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ which is a sequel to the classic 1980’s movie, ‘Top Gun.’ Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the sequel will see Tom Cruise return to the cockpit as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell for the first time in over 35 years.
In anticipation of the upcoming sequel’s release, we are going to count down the top ten all-time best sequels to films from the 80s.
To qualify for this list, the film does not have to have been released in the 80’s, but it must be a follow up installment to a movie that was first released in the 1980s and has to have connective tissue (IE: storyline, actors, etc.) to that original film.
The ‘Nightmare on Elm Street‘ franchise has had many sequels, spinoffs and reboots but no film has had an impact like the original 1984 Wes Craven classic. The closest would be 1987’s ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors,’ which was directed by Chuck Russell. While the film recaptures the horror elements of the original, this was the first movie that also infused humor to the film, allowing Robert Englund to truly become the sick and depraved character that audiences have grown to love.
Heather Langenkamp returns as Nancy Thompson in a supporting role, and there is a whole gang of new teenagers for Freddy to terrorize, played by future Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne and future Oscar winner Patricia Arquette. The movie also features a “superhero” type ending, as the kids realize that they have powers in their dreams and can defeat Freddy at his own game.
Following up on the success of 1985’s ‘Back to the Future,’ Robert Zemeckis made both 1989’s ‘Back to the Future Part II,’ and 1990’s ‘Back to the Future Part III,’ at the same time. The second film in the series is very dark, and never really grabbed me as a viewer. But whatever mistakes the filmmakers made with the sequel, they fixed it with ‘Part III’ and closed out the series on a high note.
After ending ‘Part II’ on a cliffhanger, the follow up sees Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly time traveling to the old west to save Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd). The film finally recaptures some of the magic of the original, by making Marty a “fish out of water” again and finding the humor that made the first movie so successful. Zemeckis basically gives us his version of a Western, with lots of laughs, action, and a touching love story between Doc and Mary Steenburgen’s Clara.
Directed by the late great Tony Scott, 1987’s ‘Beverly Hills Cop II’ is an odd duck as it has a completely different tone than 1984’s ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ which made Eddie Murphy into a mega-star. The original ‘Cop’ was a comedy with some action, but ‘Cop II’ is an action movie with some comedy in it. With a commanding performance from Murphy, and Scott behind the camera having just come off of making ‘Top Gun,’ ‘Beverly Hills Cop 2’ is one of the best action movies of the 80’s.
Murphy is still in his heyday as a performer in this film and has grown as an actor since the first movie, allowing his character of Axel Foley to grow and change too. He’s no longer the wise cracking cop of the first film, as the character is now a fully formed detective … who still sticks “a banana in the tailpipe” every once in a while.
While arguably ‘48 Hours‘ created the “buddy cop” movie, 1987’s ‘Lethal Weapon‘ is the movie that really made the genre popular. While Mel Gibson and Danny Glover were unable to recapture the magic of the first film with the third and fourth installments, 1989’s ‘Lethal Weapon 2,’ in many ways, was a perfect sequel.
With the main characters already established in the first movie, this film opens in high-gear with a fantastic car chase, and Gibson and Glover are really allowed to let their chemistry shine. Adding Oscar winner Joe Pesci to the cast to help elevate the humor was smart, and in many ways, this is where the franchise found its true voice. Where the original was more of a “dramatic-action movie,” ‘Lethal Weapon 2’ fully embraces its “action-comedy” tone, which would be on display for the rest of the series.
‘National Lampoon’s Vacation‘ starring Chevy Chase debuted in 1983, and there have been four sequels since but the best was 1989’s ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.’ The holiday themed movie has become a Christmas tradition for many and the movie skillfully recaptures the slapstick fun of the original. The film reintroduces us to Chase’s Clark Griswold, Beverly D’Angelo’s Ellen Griswold, and Randy Quaid’s Cousin Eddie, as well new Griswold children played by Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki, which would become a running gag throughout the series.
1988’s groundbreaking action movie ‘Die Hard,’ has gone on to have four official sequels and countless imitations. “It’s Die Hard on a boat!” But the best sequel was 1995’s ‘Die Hard with a Vengeance,’ or at least the first hour and fifteen minutes of it, as the film kind of falls apart in the third act. But the film ranks high on this list because the first half is just that good! In fact, part of the reason the ending doesn’t work is because the film is based on a script that was originally intended to be another ‘Lethal Weapon’ sequel.
Instead it was made into a ‘Die Hard’ movie, and that’s why Bruce Willis’ John McClane was partnered with Samuel L. Jackson’s reluctant character, so he could fill in the Roger Murthaugh role. The film is also enhanced by a crackling performance from Oscar winner Jeremy Irons as Hans Gruber’s brother. The incredible action sequences, the cat-and-mouse game with the villain, callbacks to the original, and Willis and Jackson’s strong chemistry, make this movie a classic … even if the ending doesn’t quite follow through.
Tim Burton followed up his groundbreaking film, 1989’s ‘Batman,’ with 1992’s ‘Batman Returns,’ which actually is also a Christmas movie. Michael Keaton returns as Bruce Wayne/Batman, and is joined by Danny DeVito’s Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, and a delightfully over-the-top Christopher Walken as wealthy businessman Max Shreck.
While Burton was certainly allowed to put his signature dark tones on the first film, clearly the studio took the reins off of the director as he was allowed to go “full Burton” on this movie. So much so that McDonalds couldn’t sell Penguin toys because the character would “scare children.” You can tell that Keaton is more comfortable with the role this time around, even if DeVito, Walken, and Pfeiffer steal every scene they are in. The result is one of the best Batman movies ever made!
Explaining the ‘Evil Dead’ franchise can be a little confusing. The Sam Raimi directed ‘The Evil Dead’ starring Bruce Campbell opened in 1981 and was a straight-up horror movie. Then, the director and actor made ‘Evil Dead II‘ in 1987. While it was technically a sequel, roughly the first half of the movie is a remake of the original, and then the second half goes in new directions.
One of those new directions was infusing “Three Stooges” like comedy into the scenes, as well as some of the franchise’s most iconic moments including Campbell’s Ash slicing off his own wrist with a chainsaw. The third film, ‘Army of Darkness’ picks up where the second leaves off, with Ash time traveling to the 1300s, but has more of a fantasy/comedy/horror tone.
The structure of the movie is classic with the “stranger from another world fighting the unbeatable army of villains and saving the Princess,” but of course it’s done in a complete ‘Evil Dead’ way with Ash as more of an idiot than a true hero. If you are watching this movie for the first time, be sure to watch the Director’s Cut, which has Raimi’s preferred ending that features Ash sleeping too long and waking up “Rip Van Winkle-style” in a post-apocalyptic future!
Steven Spielberg’s third installment to 1981’s ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ 1989’s ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ is not only the best sequel in the franchise, but I would argue it’s the best film in the franchise. It hits all the best beats from the original, while giving us a fresh dynamic with the father and son relationship between Harrison Ford’s Indy and Sean Connery’s Henry Jones.
The two are fantastic together, and let’s not forget the movie also has a terrific opening scene with the late River Phoenix playing a young Indiana Jones. The film is fun and funny, and I would also argue that the Holy Grail is the mother of all McGuffins. After a sequel that had nothing to do with Germany and WWII, it was nice having Indiana Jones back doing what he does best, fighting Nazis!
Hands down, no questions about it, 1991’s ‘Terminator 2: Judgement Day’ is the best sequel to an 80’s film ever made! A follow up to 1984’s ‘The Terminator,’ the sequel, once again directed by James Cameron just turns everything “up to 11.” The story is grander in scope than the first movie, all the characters have grown and changed (even the Terminator), the stakes are bigger, and the action and the effects are like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Linda Hamilton gives one of the best action film performances of all-time and is completely badass this time around.
And say what you will about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acting, but no one plays a robot better than him! His performance is really believable, and he adds a lot of humor to the film. But it was Robert Patrick’s performance as the T-1000 that really terrified me as a kid.
I remember seeing the movie for the first time, and in the scene after the helicopter crashes, the Connors are trying to escape in a car and the T-1000 is chasing them on foot. I remember thinking, “How are they going to survive? There is no way to beat this guy!” Of course, they do, and the franchise went on to make four more sequels and a fairly good TV series, but nothing will ever live up to the bar Cameron set with this film.
Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Boasting the bell-laced strains of Harold Faltermeyer’s iconic theme tune, Tom Cruise’s winning grin, hints of beach volleyball and plenty of planes screaming through the sky, the team behind ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ are clearly pushing the nostalgia levels far into the danger zone with the latest trailer for the movie.
But, if we’re truly honest… It really does seem to work, as those who remember the halcyon early days of Tom Cruise’s elevation to stardom will have their memory towers buzzed at the sight of Cruise back in a cockpit, a brief glimpse of Val Kilmer’s Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (now a Navy Admiral) and a few references to dear, departed Goose (Anthony Edwards in the 1986 original), who well and truly lost that loving feeling when he died during a training mission.
For those who’ve never watched the first film? Well, there’s still a young, good-looking cast playing a pack of new best-of-the-best hotshot pilots, who are unconvinced that anyone can teach them new tricks. Cue an old dog who refuses to stay grounded and some unconventional lessons with some impressive (and often entirely practical) set pieces.
This new look at the movie delves a little deeper into the story for the long-anticipated (and oft-delayed) sequel: Cruise’s Pete Mitchell is still pushing the boundaries as a pilot, irking his superiors, and refusing promotions that will jettison him from the cockpit and reduce him to desk duty.
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So, Jon Hamm’s Vice Admiral Cyclone is somewhat reluctantly cajoled by Kazansky (only shown in portrait form so far) into bringing Maverick back into the Top Gun fold. And yes, there are reasons to be worried, since who knows what cocky bad habits this new tutor could drill into his class?
There’s drama for Maverick too, though, as Goose’s son, Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw (Miles Teller) is among the fliers attending the Navy’s top pilot program – and he’s none too happy to have the man he holds responsible for his father’s death back in his life.
With Joseph Kosinski taking on the directing command this time, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’s new cast includes Glen Powell, Monica Barbaro, Danny Ramirez, Lewis Pullman and Jay Ellis as the young fliers, Ed Harris as a no doubt disapproving Rear Admiral and Jennifer Connelly as Penny Benjamin, a local bar owner who becomes the latest person to attempt to take Maverick’s breath away in lurve. Will there be billowing curtains and a Berlin cover by someone more recent on the musical front? Only time will tell.
We don’t know yet whether audiences are ready for more Cruise outside of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise, though surely ‘Top Gun’ carries enough weight to be less of a risky business proposition than something brand new?
We’ll find that answer out when ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ goes wheels down at last in theaters on May 27th.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ opens in theaters on May 27th.
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Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
This year’s 75th Cannes Film Festival is preparing to feel the need. The need… For speed. Well, also still queuing, but with a planned Tom Cruise celebration scheduled alongside a premiere for his latest movie, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’.
According to Deadline, the plan to stage a celebration has been in the works for a while, with festival head Thierry Frémaux eager to get the actor and his new movie to appear. ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ will premiere as an Official Screening Selection on May 18, preceded by a tribute to the actor. He’ll sit down to discuss his long career with journalist Didier Allouch.
And the day has significance to Cruise – it marks 30 years to the day since he attended the closing ceremony of the 45th edition of Cannes for Ron Howard’s ‘Far and Away’.
Our biggest question at this point will be how the famously stunt-loving actor will choose to appear on the Croisette – while there’s every chance he’ll simply show up in a limo, wouldn’t it be more impactful if he lands a Harrier Jump Jet aircraft on front of an applauding crowd? Dangerous, schmangerous. He lives for this stuff.
Cannes will mark the launch of a typically packed (pandemic permitting, of course) tour schedule for the actor to promote the movie – known for his lengthy worldwide charm offensives to back his work, Cruise had been one of those pushing to delay the sequel so that he can jet off around the globe. Once that is complete, he still must finish up work on the eighth installment of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise.
Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Cannes itself will run between May 18th and May 28th and will, as usual, feature a selection of movies from around the world.
A sequel to the 1986 action classic, ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ features the return of Cruise’s hotshot flyer Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Despite clocking up a few more years to go with all the miles he’s flown, Maverick is still taking to the sky as a test pilot, determined not to let his superiors promote – and therefore ground – him.
Yet he’s still forced to confront his past when he’s put in charge of training a group of Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission. Among them is Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Maverick’s late best friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards, in the original film).
(L to R) Gabriel LaBelle and co-writer/producer/director Steven Spielberg on the set of ‘The Fabelmans.’
Without a doubt, Steven Spielberg is one of the greatest film directors of his generation. With seven Academy Awards nominations for Best Director, winning for both ‘Schindler’s List’ and ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ and over thirty movies to his name, Spielberg’s work is now part of the fabric of our lives.
Spielberg’s latest film, ‘The Fabelmans’ is a semi-autobiographical story loosely based on the director’s own adolescence and first years as a filmmaker. The movie is one of Spielberg’s most personal films and is currently a frontrunner in the Oscar race. In fact, every dramatic movie that he has directed since 2005’s ‘Munich‘ has been nominated by the Academy Awards for Best Picture.
In celebration of his recent nominations, Moviefone looks back at the acclaimed career of Steven Spielberg and counts down his ten greatest films of all-time.
NOTE: We are only including feature films directed by Mr. Spielberg, so movies he produced like ‘The Goonies’ and ‘Back to the Future’ are not eligible.
Released in 2018, ‘Ready Player One’ is one of Spielberg’s most recent films and acts as a love letter to popular 80s culture, a lot of which the filmmaker helped to create. Set in a digital world known as the OASIS, the film follows Parzival (Tye Sheridan) as he navigates the game to find its hidden Easter eggs before evil CEO Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn) is able to recover them for himself.
The movie itself has hundreds of Easter Eggs, from cameos by DC Comics’ Joker and Harley Quinn, to Chucky from ‘Child’s Play‘ and King Kong. But Spielberg also puts in a few Easter Eggs of his own as both the DeLorean from ‘Back to the Future’ and a T-Rex from ‘Jurassic Park’ make appearances. The film culminates in one of the best battle scenes in modern movie history.
2002’s ‘Catch Me If You Can’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks is one of Spielberg’s smartest and most stylish films. Based on a true story, DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale, a conman on the run from FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Hanks).
The two actors both shine in their roles, while co-star Christopher Walken received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for playing Frank’s dad. The film marks a turning point for Spielberg as a filmmaker and is one of his funniest and most entertaining movies.
Spielberg’s first collaboration with superstar Tom Cruise resulted in the brilliant and ahead of its time science fiction action film, ‘Minority Report.’ Set in the year 2054, officer John Anderton (Cruise) works for the Precrime division of the Washington D.C. police department stopping crimes before they happen.
But when he is accused of committing a crime he has no intention of committing, he is forced to go on the run from his own department. The film is a dark and gritty sci-fi epic and has earned its own cult following.
This is the film that put Steven Spielberg on the map as a director, created the summer blockbuster, and caused millions of people to be afraid to go in the water. Based on the book by Peter Benchley, 1975’s ‘Jaws’ tells the story of a man-eating great white shark, and the police chief (Roy Schneider), marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss), and the shark hunter (Robert Shaw) that set out to kill the beast. The movie was a cultural phenomenon and has grossed over $450 million to date.
Another recent addition to Spielberg’s resume is 2017’s ‘The Post,’ which stars Oscar winners Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. Hanks plays The Washington Post’s editor Ben Bradley, who must work with the paper’s owner Kathrine Graham (Streep) to decide if they should print the Pentagon Papers, a classified document that proves the government had been lying about Vietnam.
While the film was nominated for Academy Awards for both the film and Streep’s performance it was widely overlooked, which is unfortunate because it is some of Spielberg’s finest work as a director and features incredible performances from both Hanks and Streep. It also works as a great double feature with ‘All the President’s Men,’ as the events depicted in the two films unfolded simultaneously in real life.
Spielberg’s 1982’s blockbuster ‘E.T. the Extra Terrestrial,’ was the highest grossing movie of all-time, surpassing even ‘Star Wars,’ until the filmmaker broke his own record with Jurassic Park eleven years later. The movie tells the story of Elliot (Henry Thomas), a young boy who befriends a small alien and with the help of his friends and family, must protect him and help him find a way home before the government captures him. The film’s bicycle sequence is one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history, and the movie is still a beloved family classic, which also features Drew Barrymore’s acting debut.
1993’s ‘Jurassic Park’ has earned over a billion dollars at the box office and spawned five sequels. Based on the novel by Michael Crichton, the movie takes place at an amusement park that features real dinosaurs that have been brought back to life through genetic cloning.
Featuring an iconic performance by Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm, Spielberg really pushed the boundaries of computer-generated effects to create the amazing dinosaurs and truly changed the way movies are made to this day. It’s also with noting that the film was released the same year as his Oscar winning picture, ‘Schindler’s List.’
No list of Steven Spielberg’s greatest films would be complete without mentioning his 1993 masterpiece ‘Schindler’s List,’ which won Best Picture and earned the director his first Academy Award. Shot in Black-and-white, the film follows Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a German businessman who saved more than a thousand Jewish refugees from the Holocaust during World War II. The movie marked a true milestone in the director’s career as Hollywood no longer considered him just the “blockbuster guy,” but rather a true artist.
Another one of Spielberg’s strongest franchises, ‘Raiders of the Lost Arc’ has had three sequels, with a forth currently in production. Produced by George Lucas, with a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan, the film introduces audiences to Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), archaeology professor by day and adventurer by night.
The film sees Jones fight Nazi’s in 1936 as he tries to recover the long-lost Arc of the Covenant before the Germans do. The movie not only cemented Spielberg as a blockbuster director after ‘Jaws’ and ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind,’ but it introduced the world to one of the most beloved characters in cinema history.
The greatest war movie of all-time, 1998’s ‘Saving Private Ryan’ earned Spielberg his second Best Director Oscar and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. The film stars Tom Hanks as Rangers Captain John H. Miller who leads his squad during World War II to find Private first-class James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), who is the last survivor of four brothers and is being sent home.
The film features a career high performance from Hanks, and early performances from Damon, Vin Diesel, Paul Giamatti, and Bryan Cranston. But the movie will be best remembered for its outstanding and extremely realistic opening sequence of the Omaha Beach assault during the Normandy landings of World War II.
