JT REVIEWS! - 'Top Gun: Maverick' (2022)

It has been 36 years since Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) took to the skies in "Top Gun". Now, Cruise is back as Maverick in the aptly titled "Top Gun: Maverick". This time, director Joseph Kosinski had to do something that's a pretty tall order: he had to make a sequel that, at the very least, had to rise up to the original film.

In "Maverick", our hero is still a captain in the United States Navy as a test pilot. He should have been an admiral years ago, but his legendary reckless attitude kept him from advancing. That's fine with Maverick, though, as he really wants to keep on flying for as long as possible even if he knows that the end may be in site.

Maverick is summoned back to Top Gun in order to train a group of Top Gun graduates for a deadly mission. One of the pilots selected is Lieutenant Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Goose from the original film.

Now, it was expected that Rooster still held a resentment towards Maverick for the death of his father. The trailers certainly made it look that way, but the truth is that there's a little bit more to the animosity between the two characters. In addition to dealing with Rooster, Maverick has to also show a whole group of hotshot pilots that they need to learn more and push themselves more than they've ever had to if they wish to survive the impending mission.

In order to do this, Maverick must take them into the air and push them himself. The aerial photography in the original "Top Gun" was massively impressive and one of the highlights of the movie. "Maverick" has taken all of that to the next level, especially since they had cameras this time that could also be put into the cockpits of the F-18 Super Hornets provided by the Navy.

This means that Kosinski strapped Cruise and the cast into the F-18s and they were taken into the air to film almost all of their scenes. Not only is it great to see these fantastic aircraft flying through the air, it was also great to see the world of a fighter pilot from the cockpit itself. Claudio Miranda is the cinematographer and if he is not nominated for an Academy Award next year, I'll be severely disappointed.

Hell, if the movie doesn't win pretty much all of the technical awards, then something is rotten in the state of Denmark. The movie not only looks good, it sounds good! Take my advice and go to the biggest theater that you can find and watch the movie that way for the full experience.

Another aspect that surprised me was that I found that I was way more invested in the story this time around. Cruise does a great job showing Maverick's slightly more experienced but still rogue personality while also showing a vulnerability, especially when it comes to his fractured relationship with Rooster. The other actors also do a great job as the pilots and Teller is another highlight as he deals with Maverick and he also perfectly channels the character of Goose within his performance.

Ultimately, this is an old school action film that, for the most part, does it for real. They don't rely too heavily on CGI unless they need it and it feels like you're along for the ride with the pilots. This means that Kosinski managed to pull off his own nearly impossible mission: he made a film that not only rises to the original movie, it may even surpass it in many ways. Comparisons aside, at the end of the day, you'll definitely have an action-packed blast with "Top Gun: Maverick"!

RETRO REVIEW! - 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' (2003)

Before "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" came out, actor Johnny Depp was primarily known as a cult favorite actor. In the late '80s, he got a starring role in the television series "21 Jump Street". He became a teen sensation as the show became one of Fox's first major hits, but Depp hated the notoriety that he got from the show as he didn't want to be a teen idol and was afraid of being typecast.

After Depp was released, he went on to make films with directors that he truly wanted to work with in films that would redefine his image. He starred in films such as John Waters' "Cry-Baby", Tim Burton's "Edward Scissorhands" (starting a long collaboration with Burton), Jim Jarmusch's "Dead Man", "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".

While this did help him gain critical praise, he still wasn't considered a major box office draw for a blockbuster. On top of this, "Pirates" also faced two other challenges that made people doubt how the film would perform. The first was that it was based on a Disney attraction and in the previous year, "The Country Bears" adaptation had failed miserably.

The other problem was the fact that the pirate film had not had a major draw since the Golden Age of Hollywood. Pirate films that had come out since then did average to abysmal business. In fact, before this movie, everyone still remembered the over budgeted "Cutthroat Island" in 1995 that had become one of the biggest box office bombs in history, making only $10 million on its $100 million budget.

So, what do you get when you combine an actor that wasn't a major box office draw just yet, a genre that was considered dead in the water, and a story based on a theme park attraction? As it turns out, you get box office gold! The movie came out on July 9, 2003, and audiences definitely responded when the film went on to make over $654 million worldwide.

It's not hard to guess why. The story tells the tale of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), a blacksmith apprentice, and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), the daughter of a Governor with an interest in pirates. Years ago, Elizabeth came into possession of a medallion that once belonged to Will. After an accident where she falls into the ocean, the medallion sends out a signal to the cursed Black Pearl and the ship eventually shows up to retrieve the medallion.

Elizabeth barters to save the town so long as she gives the medallion to the dastardly Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). He does end his assault on Elizabeth's home, but he takes the fair maiden prisoner in addition to also taking the medallion. Now, Will teams up with the disgraced pirate and former captain of the Black Pearl, Jack Sparrow (Depp), in order to track the Pearl down and save Elizabeth.

It's easy to see why Depp became the de facto star of the series. He makes Jack Sparrow an eccentric yet no less dashing pirate that seems to be the worst pirate ever before revealing that he is actually two steps ahead of the game. Depp also infuses Jack with a lot of rock and roll, which isn't hard to believe when Depp revealed that the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards was one of his primary inspirations for how Sparrow acted and looked.

Thankfully, Depp is not alone and doesn't have to carry the whole film on his own. Bloom and Knightley also became stars due to this movie and for good reason. Bloom is great as the everyman lead and gives Will a noble sense of bravery that is believable. Knightley does a great job as Elizabeth and while her role is primarily as the damsel-in-distress, she is no less strong than her two male leads. Her role reminded me a lot of Princess Leia in the first "Star Wars" film.

Of course, every good adventure film also requires a fantastic villain and Rush turns in a fantastic performance as Barbossa. At first, Barbossa comes off as your standard mustache twirling villain but soon Rush adds more layers to his character. In fact, the villain's motives are not as dastardly when considering that his goal is not one where he wants to take over the seas or spread darkness throughout the world.

He and his men are cursed and while he's aware that he is a blood thirsty pirate who has done horrible things, he genuinely feels that he and his men have been given a raw deal. While you never forget that he is the villain, you do kind of feel for them and their situation. Of course, they just go about trying to get the curse lifted in the worse way possible.

The movie is also filled with plenty of fantastic action sequences. Whether Barbossa and Jack are crossing swords or two ships are battling each other on the high seas, director Gore Verbinski and his crew did an excellent job of bringing this pirate story to life. Also, watching the film again 19 years later, I was surprised by how well all the visual effects still hold up today.

Yes, the movie spawned several sequels of varying quality, but this classic is still one of the best action/adventure films to be released over the past 30 years. Depp became the star he was always going to become, the other actors give fantastic and memorable performances, and the action is excellent. If by some chance you've never seen the movie, you're in for a wild ride and if you have seen the movie, it's definitely time for a revisit.

SEE IT

REVIEW! - 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'

Doctor Strange is back in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and I promise that I'll try to stay as spoiler free as I can. In fact, I'll tell you exactly what I can without spoiling any of the story beyond the opening. In another Universe, a young girl named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) is running from something chasing her due to her ability to jump to multiple universes and she eventually ends up in the MCU where Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) must protect her from whatever it is that's chasing her.

Oh, and Elizabeth Olsen returns as Wanda Maximoff in the movie, but you knew that from the trailers. Doctor Strange comes to her to help with the America Chavez situation.

There, that's all I'll say about the plot of the movie. The story is being blasted by some critics for having too much and for its pacing issues. However, I was surprised to find that I had none of these problems while watching the movie. It was able to follow what was going on and I will say that while the pacing is fast, I didn't really have an issue with it.

I was never sitting in the theater thinking, "No, wait! Slow down! I need more!" The movie's brisk pace actually helps the weirdness that you'll find within the movie. Keep in mind that this is director Sam Raimi and Raimi's gonna Raimi! The movie has many of his signature moves and it all fits so well with Doctor Strange and I kind of hope that this isn't the last film that he'll direct in this series.

Quick shots, unique POV cameras, and a great Danny Elfman score tell you that Raimi is firmly behind the wheel of this movie. The movie's visuals ranging across the Multiverse are spectacular to see. You can tell that Raimi is having a lot of fun playing in the MCU sandbox and it was good having Raimi helm a superhero film once again.

The performances are also fantastic. Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, and Olsen all give great performances as Doctor Strange, Wong, and Wanda. Olsen, in particular, gives a rather strong performance as she is still dealing with things that began in "WandaVision". Oh, yeah! Watch "WandaVision" before this movie as some of its threads bleed into this movie.

Gomez is also good as Chavez, though I will admit that she is used mostly as a plot device more than anything else. The good news is that you can tell that Marvel Studios probably has bigger plans for her character in future films, so the fact that we don't get to know much more about her here doesn't feel like that great a loss.

Cumberbatch finally gets to give Strange more range than he's been able to get up to this point. Remember, in the original film it was about how he became a sorcerer and in both "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame", he was part of a greater ensemble. One aspect I can say about this movie that doesn't give anything away is that he is also dealing with the choices he made during the Infinity Saga and it was fun to see him also play alternate versions of himself, something else that we already knew was going to happen from the trailers.

Now, if I sit here and think about it, I'm pretty sure I could think of something that doesn't quite work right. However, I feel like I would just be nitpicking, so let me think... the dialogue can be a bit spotty at times. There! There's something negative to say about the movie.

Also, like I said before, the movie does move at a fast pace. This has caused some to think that there is the aforementioned pacing issue, so I guess if you don't like fast films, then that would be another critical note. Yet again, though, the pacing didn't bother me in the least.

I really don't want to say anything more than I already have, so I'm going to go ahead and stop it here. The story was great, the performances were great, the action was great, and the visuals were spectacular. Raimi returned with a vengeance to the superhero genre with this movie and I'm glad that he did as he gave us one of the more unique films to be released in the MCU!

5/5 STARS

WHAT TO WATCH BEFORE "THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER"

If by chance you'll be new to the MCU by the time "Thor: Love and Thunder" releases on July 8, 2022, you may be wondering which of the MCU films you should watch before its release. Thor is actually making a bit of history within the MCU. "Love and Thunder" will mark the first time that a Marvel superhero will be starring in a fourth solo film. Iron Man, Captain America, and the MCU's version of Spider-Man have only had three solo outings.

So, there are three Thor movies to catch. In addition to that, Thor has appeared in all four Avengers films. That means that you'll have to watch those as well. Below is the viewing order for the films and a brief description/review for each film. Enjoy!

THOR (2011)

When Marvel was setting up its Cinematic Universe, "Thor" was announced alongside films for Hulk, a sequel to Iron Man, and the first Captain America film. On the road to the original "Avengers" film, I was a bit hesitant about this film. I had never been a Thor fan and, as a kid, I didn't really like the character at all.

Thankfully, that all changed with Kenneth Branagh's "Thor". He chose wisely to introduce this epic part of the MCU through an adventure set mostly in a small town in New Mexico. Thor has lost his powers as a result of defying his father, Odin, and is banished to Earth where Odin hopes that his son will learn the error of his ways.

The movie contains a lot of fun action and great performances from both Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston as Loki. On top of that, there are also great supporting performances from Sir Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Stellan Skarsgârd Erik Selvig, and Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis. This may not rank high on many people's lists of MCU films, but I find it to be a suitable introduction for Marvel's true Strongest Avenger

4/5 STARS

THE AVENGERS (2012)

Thor's next adventure came when his brother Loki returned to Earth in order to conquer it for an unknown enemy (revealed to be Thanos in the post-credit scene). The movie was the first to bring together all of Marvel Studios' heroes at the time and expanded the MCU yet again. As far as Thor's role is concerned, he simply wants to capture Loki and bring him home.

In order to do that, though, he has to reluctantly agree to be apart of the Avengers, a new team of superheroes set up by Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. The movie turned out to be an absolute blast as our heroes definitely ended up working well together. The final battle in New York City alone is worth the price of admission.

The MCU's future was secured with this movie and Thor was officially one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The movie is also another great showcase for Hiddleston as Loki, one of the best MCU villains. He proves to be more than a suitable threat to bring these heroes together for the first time. "The Avengers" is 10 years old this year and it still ranks high on my list of MCU films.

5/5 STARS

THOR: THE DARK WORLD (2013)

When Thor returned for his second outing, it didn't get quite the reception from fans that I thought it deserved. However, my own opinions on the film have cooled as well over the years. I still think it's better than what its worst critics give it credit for, but I do understand why it ranks lower among other MCU films.

The movie sees Thor trying to fight off the Dark Elves that have returned. Meanwhile, he's also trying to save Jane Foster who has been infected with a force known as the Aether. Then, of course, there is Loki who Thor must contend with after Loki's shenanigans in both "Thor" and "The Avengers".

While I enjoy this adventure, the biggest problem is that Thor is facing off against a completely forgettable and cliché villain known as Malekith. Therefore, it also wastes its actor Christopher Eccleston and that's the biggest shame in an otherwise action-packed adventure. I still think it's worthy, but "The Dark World" falls pretty close to the bottom even on my own rankings of the MCU films.

3/5 STARS

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015)

First thing is first, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" is a lot of fun to watch! From the opening to the final battle in Sokovia, The movie has a lot to offer. This includes a slam bang fight between the Hulk and Iron Man, a chase to capture a vital item from Ultron before he gets his hands on it, and the first hints that there is a fracture between a couple of heroes that will play out later on in "Captain America: Civil War".

The problem with this movie is that it sets in between the original film, "The Avengers", and the climactic conclusion of the Infinity Saga found in both "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame". Therefore, I'm afraid that this movie is kind of forgotten amongst all the other MCU films.

As far as Thor is concerned, he is in this film and featured in many of the biggest set pieces. However, he also kind of bounces for most of the film while trying to find out more about the infinity stone held within the scepter and to try and decipher some apocalyptic visions he's been having lately. That means that compared to the other heroes, he doesn't have much to do but it is still worth watching as it does set up some of his motivations for his next solo outing.

4/5 STARS

THOR: RAGNAROK (2017)

Now, for a lot of people this is where Thor really came into his own with both adventure and humor at his side! Director Taika Waititi hits the ground running with an adventure worthy of the likes of Marvel's own "Guardians of the Galaxy" and other films outside the MCU such as John Carpenter's "Big Trouble in Little China". Gone is all the melodramatic seriousness found in "The Dark World".

Not only is Hemsworth having a blast here, so is the rest of the cast. Hiddleston turns in another fantastic performance as Loki, Anthony Hopkins briefly returns one last time as Odin, Jeff Goldblum is great as the Grandmaster, Tessa Thompson is electric as Valkyrie, Mark Ruffalo is great as the Hulk, and Cate Blanchett steals every scene she is in as Hela, the goddess of death and Thor's long lost sister.

I love every frame of this movie and I'm also glad that it gave Hemsworth a breath of fresh air when it was revealed that before this movie, he was thinking about hanging up the hammer for good. Waititi finally cracked the code on how to properly portray Hemsworth's epic superhero and I can't wait to see what they do next with "Thor: Love and Thunder"!

5/5 STARS

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018)

Thor's next adventure would pick up in the next Avengers film and pick up right where "Thor: Ragnarok's" post-credit scene ended. Thanos has found Thor and Loki and is trying to get the infinity stone from the Tesseract, something that Loki stole before leaving Asgard. Thanos gets the stone and Thor finds himself stranded in space until he's picked up by the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Thor then goes on a mission to get a new weapon after the destruction of Mjölnir in "Ragnarok". This teams him up with Rocket Raccoon and Groot and this proves to be a fun team-up. While they're on a quest to make a new weapon, the rest of our heroes are trying to stop Thanos before he can get all the stones.

This movie is damn near perfect from beginning to end. Every hero gets their due, the action is astounding, and the cliffhanger ending is both shocking yet also satisfying. Thor had a much better role in this movie than he did in "Age of Ultron" and the directors, Anthony and Joe Russo, successfully pick up where Waititi left off with the character.

5/5 STARS

AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019)

When we return after "Infinity War" for the "Endgame", the Avengers are done for and five years has passed since Thanos successfully got all of the Infinity Stones and managed to wipe out half of the Universe. Eventually, though, Ant-Man returns from the Quantum Realm and states that there is a way to bring everyone back.

This means gathering the original Avengers together so that they can go throughout various points in time to recapture the Infinity Stones (Thanos destroyed them after using them) in order to bring everyone back. This movie is another solid piece of entertainment and one of the best MCU films as it wraps up the Infinity Saga, a story that began with 2008's "Iron Man".

Thor is in a bit of a rough place since losing to Thanos. He's horribly out of shape and barely running New Asgard on Earth. In this movie, he sees a chance for redemption while also wondering if he is still worthy. Despite being out of shape, though, Thor is no less powerful and plays a big part not only in retrieving the Infinity Stones but also in the massive climactic battle between the Avengers and Thanos' numerous forces.

5/5 STARS

At the end of the day, Thor is in a very good place going into "Love and Thunder". It'll be interesting to see where Thor's path goes in the MCU's latest storyline that is heavily focused on the Multiverse. My hope is that Hemsworth at least stays on to sort of be the elder Avenger as a new team emerges in other films. I don't know if that'll happen, but at the very least, I'm definitely ready for "Love and Thunder" on July 8!