The reason why I loved Top Gun Maverick so much, is that Tom Cruise made a movie that had ZERO “woke” nonsense in it. The movie was everything that it should be: 100 percent pure entertainment, and no politics. I think people really appreciated that, and that’s why the film broke so many records. It was an all-American, patriotic film that had amazing energy and made you feel good, and that’s what’s been missing lately in these “woke” movies, that are flopping at the box office.
I thought TheFulCrum put it best when they said that audiences young and old, urban and rural, liberal and conservative actually got up off their sofas and bought tickets to see a movie. Together.
Such a shared experience is a rare thing in our modern stay-at-home, remote working, siloed Covid world.
One reason for the success of “Top Gun”? We were treated to 2 hours and 11 minutes of feel-good fun with no strings attached. People like that. The absence of overt, cause-related commentary was noticeable after years of none-too-subtle social and political messaging, even in many action and superhero films.
No one could accuse “Top Gun: Maverick” of being art or especially innovative. Don’t expect any Oscar nods in 2023 for Tom Cruise or other members of the cast. But the film’s raging success may pack a powerful punch for Hollywood and the world beyond.
Common-ground, optimistic, traditional storytelling has an audience. Most of us, whatever our political beliefs, often prefer simple entertainment to preachy, and somewhat tortured, social commentary. And this has special resonance when we are frequently told that our nation is bitterly divided.
Humor and enjoyment may play a much bigger role in the social life of our nation than we may realize. And we need it now more than ever.
Part of the reason why America “won’ the Cold War in the 1980’ was that blue jeans, rock ’n’ roll, movies and TV were way cooler than the hammer and sickle, Soviet tanks, and Marxist dictatorship of the proletariat.
So thank you, Tom Cruise. You are helping to remind us again that popular culture can do what Congress, the Supreme Court and the mainstream media do not: Bring us together.
I agree with that assessment, although I don’t think “liberals” went to see Top Gun. Maybe old-school Dems did, but soy-loving Libs, who hate America would likely have sat that one out if you ask me.
Either way, it’s no surprise that Tom Gun Maverick is still breaking records all over the place… and now, it’s about to make a new debut: Streaming.
So now, you can watch it again and again and again on Paramount, just in time for Christmas.
Deadline reported that Paramount+ announced today that Top Gun: Maverick, the top grossing film of 2022, will be available to stream globally on the service beginning Thursday, Dec. 22 in the U.S. as well as in Canada, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and previously announced markets – the UK and Latin America. It will be available in South Korea and France in 2023.
Produced by Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, the film stars Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Charles Parnell, Bashir Salahuddin, Monica Barbaro, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, Greg Tarzan Davis with Ed Harris and Val Kilmer.
Top Gun: Maverick has crossed the $1.4B mark worldwide, becoming one of the top-grossing films of all time. The streaming date puts the blockbuster in homes just in time for the holidays.
Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish has said the film would arrive on Paramount+ before the end of the year. The company has pursed what the chief exec calls a “fast-follow” release window strategy coming out of Covid, with most major titles coming to Paramount+ 45 days after their theatrical bow. Maverick, though, has been singularly successful since its May 27 release, becoming the highest-grossing film of Cruise’s career and one of the biggest cinematic hits of all time. That meant the company was in no rush to speed it to streaming, even though access to theatrical films has been one reason Paramount+ has grown significantly. The service added 4.6 million subscribers in the most recent quarter, reaching about 46 million globally.
I wonder if Hollywood will get the hint, and stop putting out politically woke garage?
Don’t hold your breath.
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This post originally appeared on WayneDupree.com.
