PyroSikTh

I didn't dislike this movie, let me be clear. I had a good time with it, especially when talking about the villains, and while I felt more could've been done with the Quantum Realm itself, this was a fun and creative space opera world to explore. But Quantumania is a story riddled with holes (unlike one of its best side characters) and inconsistencies, and doesn't particularly add to the MCU as a whole either. For a movie deemed the most important for the next phase of the movies, it didn't have any long-lasting effects at all. It's nowhere near as fun as its predecessors (Luis is sorely missed), and too many of the characters are annoying or frustrating to watch (or barely present at all). And then there's the CG world that lacks any frame of reference, and some really bizarre editing decisions. I give Quantumania an enjoyable yet flawed entry into the MCU canon; 7/10. But yeah, it's the villains that save this movie.

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Maverick's hype is well earned. I'm glad I watched the original first, despite really not enjoying it, because otherwise so much of Maverick's nods would've been completely lost on me, but Maverick stands in its own right as a solid action movie. This is some of the best dogfighting ever caught on camera. The authenticity of every shot is through the roof and goes a long way to really selling the intensity. Top Gun sought to put the audience in the cockpit with the pilots, Maverick actually does while also capturing some breathtaking stuntwork at the same time. They could've built a mock cockpit in a studio in front of a green screen and filmed the actors normally and CGI'd the planes in the sky, but then they'd be missing the real effect of those Gs on the actors faces, they'd be missing the palpability of flight at those speeds, they'd be missing all the little imperfections impossible to recreate. Tom Cruise deserves all the praise for this movie's monumental success, financially, critically, and artistically. He offers that which action movies have been sorely lacking for decades - authenticity. While I'm not quite at the point where I'd put it on the same pedestal as Fallout or Fury Road, it definitely has a strong claim. I give Top Gun: Maverick an edge-of-your-seat 8/10. This is definitely a movie I could see myself rewatching before the end of the year.

QyrosMovies.

To say I was left disappointed by Top Gun would be inaccurate. There's a reason why I hadn't checked it out in the last 30 years, and having watched it my reasons were only reinforced. I can understand why it was such a cultural milestone in 80s cinema though. It pushed the boundaries and became a trend-setter for decades to come, both culturally and in action cinema. But at the end of the day they employed a director for commercials to make a feature-length commercial for the Navy, and that's exactly what they got. Top Gun is a movie that looks cool and makes you want to be a part of it, but doesn't actually offer anything of substance. The action is frenetic and hard to follow, the story is paper thin, the romance is inconsequential and cringeworthy, the soundtrack is goddamn awful. I guarantee you the only reason people still like Top Gun today is pure nostalgia. Nostalgia I don't have. I give Top Gun a genuinely bad 4/10, but at least we had a good laugh at it.

QyrosMovies.