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In “Top Gun: Maverick,” the breathless, gravity and logic-defying “ Top Gun ” sequel that somehow makes all the sense in the world despite landing more than three decades after the late Tony Scott ’s original, an admiral refers to Tom Cruise ’s navy aviator Pete Mitchell—call sign “ Maverick ”—as “the fastest man alive.” It’s a chuckle-inducing scene that recalls one in “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation,” when Alec Baldwin ’s high-ranking Alan Hunley deems Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, “the living manifestation of destiny.” In neither of these instances are Cruise’s co-stars exclusively referring to his make-believe screen personas. They are also (or rather, primarily) talking about the ongoing legacy of Cruise the actor himself. 

Truth be told, our fearless and ever-handsome action hero earns both appraisals with a generous side of applause, being one of the precious remnants of bona-fide movie superstardoms of yore, a slowly dwindling they-don’t-make-'em-like-they-used-to notion of immortality these days. Indeed, Cruise’s consistent commitment to Hollywood showmanship—along with the insane levels of physical craft he unfailingly puts on the table by insisting to do his own stunts—I would argue, deserves the same level of high-brow respect usually reserved for the fully-method sorts such as Daniel Day-Lewis . Even if you somehow overlook the fact that Cruise is one of our most gifted and versatile dramatic and comedic actors with the likes of “ Born on the Fourth of July ,” “ Magnolia ,” “ Tropic Thunder ,” and “ Collateral ” under his belt, you will never forget why you show up to a Tom Cruise movie, thanks in large part to his aforesaid enduring dedication. How many other household names and faces can claim to guarantee “a singular movie event” these days and deliver each time, without exceptions?

In that regard, you will be right at home with “Top Gun: Maverick,” director Joseph Kosinski ’s witty adrenaline booster that allows its leading producer to be exactly what he is—a star—while upping the emotional and dramatic stakes of its predecessor with a healthy (but not overdone) dose of nostalgia. After a title card that explains what “Top Gun” is—the identical one that introduced us to the world of crème-de-la-crème Navy pilots in 1986—we find Maverick in a role on the fringes of the US Navy, working as an undaunted test pilot against the familiar backdrop of Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone.” You won’t be surprised that soon enough, he gets called on a one-last-job type of mission as a teacher to a group of recent Top Gun graduates. Their assignment is just as obscure and politically cuckoo as it was in the first movie. There is an unnamed enemy—let’s called it Russia because it’s probably Russia—some targets that need to be destroyed, a flight plan that sounds nuts, and a scheme that will require all successful Top Gun recruits to fly at dangerously low altitudes. But can it be done?

It’s a long shot, if the details of the operation—explained to the aviator hopefuls in a rather “It can’t be done” style reminiscent of “ Mission: Impossible ”—are any indication. But you will be surprised that more appealing than the prospect of the bonkers mission here is the human drama that co-scribes Ehren Kruger , Eric Warren Singer , and Christopher McQuarrie spin from a story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks . For starters, the group of potential recruits include Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw ( Miles Teller , terrific), the son of the dearly departed “Goose,” whose accidental death still haunts Maverick as much as it does the rest of us. And if Rooster’s understandable distaste of him wasn’t enough (despite Maverick’s protective instincts towards him), there are skeptics of Maverick’s credentials— Jon Hamm ’s Cyclone, for instance, can’t understand why Maverick’s foe-turned-friend Iceman ( Val Kilmer , returning with a tearjerker of a part) insists on him as the teacher of the mission. Further complicating the matters is Maverick’s on-and-off romance with Penny Benjamin (a bewitching Jennifer Connelly ), a new character that was prominently name-checked in the original movie, as some will recall. What an entanglement through which one is tasked to defend their nation and celebrate a certain brand of American pride ...

In a different package, all the brouhaha jingoism and proud fist-shaking seen in “Top Gun: Maverick” could have been borderline insufferable. But fortunately Kosinski—whose underseen and underrated “Only The Brave” will hopefully find a second life now—seems to understand exactly what kind of movie he is asked to navigate. In his hands, the tone of “Maverick” strikes a fine balance between good-humored vanity and half-serious self-deprecation, complete with plenty of quotable zingers and emotional moments that catch one off-guard.

In some sense, what this movie takes most seriously are concepts like friendship, loyalty, romance, and okay, bromance. Everything else that surrounds those notions—like patriotic egotism—feels like playful winks and embellishments towards fashioning an old-school action movie. And because this mode is clearly shared by the entirety of the cast—from a memorable Ed Harris that begs for more screen time to the always great Glen Powell as the alluringly overconfident “ Hangman ,” Greg Tarzan Davis as “Coyote,” Jay Ellis as “ Payback ,” Danny Ramirez as “Fanboy,” Monica Barbaro as “ Phoenix ,” and Lewis Pullman as “Bob”—“Top Gun: Maverick” runs fully on its enthralling on-screen harmony at times. For evidence, look no further than the intense, fiery chemistry between Connelly and Cruise throughout—it’s genuinely sexy stuff—and (in a nostalgic nod to the original), a rather sensual beach football sequence, shot with crimson hues and suggestive shadows by Claudio Miranda . 

Still, the action sequences—all the low-altitude flights, airborne dogfights as well as Cruise on a motorcycle donned in his original Top Gun leather jacket—are likewise the breathtaking stars of “Maverick,” often accompanied by Harold Faltermeyer ’s celebratory original score (aided by cues from Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe ). Reportedly, all the flying scenes—a pair of which are pure hell-yes moments for Cruise—were shot in actual U.S. Navy F/A-18s, for which the cast had to be trained for during a mind-boggling process. The authentic work that went into every frame generously shows. As the jets cut through the atmosphere and brush their target soils in close-shave movements—all coherently edited by Eddie Hamilton —the sensation they generate feels miraculous and worthy of the biggest screen one can possibly find. Equally worthy of that big screen is the emotional strokes of “Maverick” that pack an unexpected punch. Sure, you might be prepared for a second sky-dance with “Maverick,” but perhaps not one that might require a tissue or two in its final stretch.

Available in theaters May 27th. 

Tomris Laffly

Tomris Laffly is a freelance film writer and critic based in New York. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), she regularly contributes to  RogerEbert.com , Variety and Time Out New York, with bylines in Filmmaker Magazine, Film Journal International, Vulture, The Playlist and The Wrap, among other outlets.

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Film credits.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some strong language.

131 minutes

Tom Cruise as Captain Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell

Miles Teller as Lt. Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw

Jennifer Connelly as Penny Benjamin

Jon Hamm as Vice Admiral Cyclone

Glen Powell as Hangman

Lewis Pullman as Bob

Charles Parnell as Warlock

Bashir Salahuddin as Coleman

Monica Barbaro as Phoenix

Jay Ellis as Payback

Danny Ramirez as Fanboy

Greg Tarzan Davis as Coyote

Ed Harris as Rear Admiral

Val Kilmer as Admiral Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky

Manny Jacinto as Fritz

• Joseph Kosinski

Writer (based on characters created by)

• Jack Epps Jr.

Writer (story by)

• Peter Craig
• Justin Marks
• Ehren Kruger
• Eric Warren Singer
• Christopher McQuarrie

Cinematographer

• Claudio Miranda
• Chris Lebenzon
• Eddie Hamilton
• Lorne Balfe
• Harold Faltermeyer
• Hans Zimmer

Latest blog posts

Speed Kills: On the 25th Anniversary of Go

Joanna Arnow Made Her BDSM Comedy for You

The Movies That Underwent Major Changes After Their Festival Premiere

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• User reviews

Top Gun: Maverick

After thirty years, Maverick is still pushing the envelope as a top naval aviator, but must confront ghosts of his past when he leads TOP GUN's elite graduates on a mission that demands the ... Read all After thirty years, Maverick is still pushing the envelope as a top naval aviator, but must confront ghosts of his past when he leads TOP GUN's elite graduates on a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those chosen to fly it. After thirty years, Maverick is still pushing the envelope as a top naval aviator, but must confront ghosts of his past when he leads TOP GUN's elite graduates on a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those chosen to fly it.

• Joseph Kosinski
• Jack Epps Jr.
• Peter Craig
• Jennifer Connelly
• Miles Teller
• 4.3K User reviews
• 437 Critic reviews
• 78 Metascore
• 107 wins & 234 nominations total

• Capt. Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell

• Penny Benjamin

• Lt. Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw

• Adm. Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky

• CWO4 Bernie 'Hondo' Coleman

• Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson

• Adm. Solomon 'Warlock' Bates

• Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace

• Lt. Robert 'Bob' Floyd

• Lt. Reuben 'Payback' Fitch

• Lt. Mickey 'Fanboy' Garcia

• Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin

• Lt. Neil 'Omaha' Vikander

• Lt. Billy 'Fritz' Avalone

• Lt. Callie 'Halo' Bassett

• Lt. Javy 'Coyote' Machado

• Lt. Brigham 'Harvard' Lennox

• Lt. Logan 'Yale' Lee
• All cast & crew
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• Trivia According to Miles Teller , the cast got to choose their own call signs. He chose "Rooster" because it was in the same family as "Goose."
• Goofs At 1h12'10" Coyote is in G-LOC, releases the stick and his aircraft falls towards the ground. Super-hornet are equipped with auto GCAS (automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System), which would react to the situation and take control to climb and level at a safe altitude with no obstacles.

Rear Admiral : Maverick. Thirty-plus years of service. Combat medals. Citations. Only man to shoot down three enemy planes in the last 40 years.

[Cain looks through pages of Maverick's records]

Rear Admiral : 'Distinguished.' 'Distinguished.' 'Distinguished.' Yet you can't get a promotion, you won't retire, and, despite your best efforts, you refuse to die. You should be at least a two-star admiral by now, if not a senator. Yet here you are: Captain. Why is that?

Maverick : It's one of life's mysteries, sir.

Rear Admiral : This isn't a joke. I asked you a question.

Maverick : I'm where I belong, sir.

Rear Admiral : Well, the navy doesn't see it that way. Not anymore.

Rear Admiral : These planes you've been testing, Captain, one day, sooner or later, they won't need pilots at all. Pilots that need to sleep, eat, take a piss. Pilots that disobey orders. All you did was buy some time for those men out there. The future is coming, and you're not in it.

[Cain faces the officer by the door]

Rear Admiral : Escort this man off the base. Take him to his quarters. Wait with him while he packs his gear. I want him on the road to North Island within the hour.

[surprised look on Maverick's face]

Maverick : North Island, sir?

Rear Admiral : Call came in with impeccable timing, right as I was driving here to ground your ass once and for all. It galls me to say it, but... for reasons known only to the Almighty and your guardian angel, you've been called back to Top Gun.

Maverick : Sir?

Rear Admiral : You are dismissed, Captain.

[Maverick proceeds to leave Cain's office]

Rear Admiral : The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction.

[Maverick turns around]

Maverick : Maybe so, sir. But not today.

• Crazy credits "Top Gun 001: Tom Cruise" is listed among the other pilots who worked on the film.
• Connections Featured in Conan: Tom Cruise (2019)
• Soundtracks Danger Zone From Top Gun (1986) Original Soundtrack Written by Giorgio Moroder & Tom Whitlock Performed by Kenny Loggins Courtesy of Columbia Records By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment

User reviews 4.3K

• OllieThePandaBoy
• May 25, 2022
• How long is Top Gun: Maverick? Powered by Alexa
• What is the strange-looking black-colored aircraft Maverick is test-piloting at the start of the film?
• Is there a post-credits scene?
• Is it realistic that Maverick would still be in the Navy on active duty as a captain (O6) 36 years after the events of this first film?
• May 27, 2022 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Official site
• Phi Công Siêu Đẳng Maverick
• Eldorado National Forest, California, USA (Forested mountain aircraft staging area)
• Paramount Pictures
• Skydance Media
• Jerry Bruckheimer Films
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $170,000,000 (estimated)
• $718,732,821
• $126,707,459
• May 29, 2022
• $1,495,696,292

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 10 minutes
• Dolby Atmos
• IMAX 6-Track
• 12-Track Digital Sound

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‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Named Rotten Tomatoes' Best Film of the Year

'The Banshees of Inisherin', and 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' also made the top ten.

Rotten Tomatoes has named Top Gun: Maverick the Best Film Of 2022, Deadline reports. The Tom Cruise -led feature holds a special place in fans’ hearts for so many reasons. It brought back their favorite character thirty years after the first movie came out, it hits the right emotional note with its emotional core and chemistry between Maverick ( Tom Cruise ) and Goose’s son Rooster (played by Miles Teller ). The dogfights, assembling of the crew, and high stake action only add to the overall story.

The movie is also commended by the industry for bringing the audience back to the theaters after the pandemic ravaged the business. Top Gun: Maverick had an initial release date of July 12, 2019, but was delayed as the world shut down. Many streamers tried to purchase the streaming rights to the film, however, Paramount and Cruise held back and insisted the film will be released exclusively in theaters. And their decision was for good as upon its May 2022 release the movie dominated the box office with $1.489 billion worldwide gross.

The feature is directed by Joseph Kosinski with a screenplay by Ehren Kruger , Eric Warren Singer , and Christopher McQuarrie from stories by Peter Craig and Justin Marks . The movie has bagged six Oscar nominations at the 95th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and has been named one of the top ten films of 2022 by the American Film Institute. The movie has a 96 percent certified fresh grade from critics and a 99 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes audience meter.

RELATED: 'Top Gun: Maverick' and 'House of the Dragon' Win Big at Golden Tomato Awards

The movie brings Maverick back to Top Gun 30 years after the events of the original feature. He’s tasked with training a detachment of graduates for a special assignment while he must confront the ghosts of his past and his deepest fears which culminates in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from him and his students.

Along with Cruise and Teller, the movie casts Val Kilmer as Iceman, Jennifer Connelly as Penny, Jon Hamm as Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson, Glen Powell as LT Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Lewis Pullman as LT Robert "Bob" Floyd, Ed Harris as Rear Admiral Chester "Hammer" Cain, Monica Barbaro as LT Natasha "Phoenix" Trace, Jay Ellis as LT Reuben "Payback" Fitch and more. The feature is produced by Cruise, McQuarrie, Jerry Bruckheimer and David Ellison .

Other movies in Rotten Tomatoes' top ten include The Banshees of Inisherin , Everything Everywhere All at Once , Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio , Turning Red , Happening , The Batman , Fire of Love , Marcel the Shell With Shoes On and Till .

You can check out our interview with Teller below:

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‘top gun: maverick’ ties as the all-time best reviewed tom cruise film.

‘Top Gun 2’ ties with ‘Mission: Impossible — Fallout’ to rank as the highest-scoring Cruise movie on Rotten Tomatoes.

By Pamela McClintock

Pamela McClintock

Senior Film Writer

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Hollywood summer tentpoles aren’t necessarily known for being critical darlings. There are always exceptions, of course. One of those is Top Gun: Maverick , which is finally hitting theaters today after being grounded for two years because of the pandemic.

From Paramount and Skydance, the pic ranks as the best-reviewed movie of Tom Cruise ‘s prolific career, alongside the most recent installment in the Mission: Impossible series.

The movie presently sports a stellar 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the same score as Mission: Impossible — Fallout (2018) . It’s possible the score for Top Gun 2 could move a point or two in either direction as final reviews are tallied.

The first Top Gun (1986) may have been a huge commercial success, but it didn’t garner the same respect of reviewers. Top Gun’ s score is 58 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Cruise’s lowest score on Rotten Tomatoes is 1988’s Cocktail (7 percent).

From Paramount and Skydance, Top Gun: Maverick   earned $19.3 million in previews this week , the highest preview number in Paramount’s history and the best preview for a Memorial Day release.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski , the long-awaited sequel to the iconic film returns Cruise as the ultra-gifted and confident Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.

The film co-stars Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell and Ed Harris, while Val Kilmer also makes a brief appearance as “Iceman,” Maverick’s onetime nemesis turned pal. The film also features Lady Gaga’s ballad “Hold My Hand,” while the producing team includes Jerry Bruckheimer, who guided the original film.

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Top Gun: Maverick review: A high-flying sequel gets it right

The need for speed comes with a fresh young cast, but the Cruise control remains.

In Top Gun: Maverick 's opening scene, someone makes the mistake of asking Tom Cruise to take his fighter jet to Mach 9. He pauses, then flashes that megawatt Cheshire grin. Never mind that it's a practice run; there is only one Mach he knows, and it is 10 (or maybe 10.2). That's because he's a maverick, the Maverick — Captain Pete Mitchell of the United States Navy, a rogue's rogue for whom clouds part and Hans Zimmer synths soar.

He's also 36 years older than the cocky young lieutenant he played on screen in the 1986 original , a bare fact that the sequel (in theaters May 27) both elides and celebrates in a movie whose bright stripes and broad strokes feel somehow bombastic and tenderheartedly nostalgic at the same time. Imagine a world where motorcyclists scoff at helmets, all bars burst into jukebox singalongs, and the U.S. military is simply an unblemished agent for good. A few decades ago you didn't have to, because you lived in it; Top Gun: Maverick can because it never left.

Inevitably, a few things have changed: Lady Gaga is on the soundtrack now , and there's a whole new class of lion-cub recruits. But that's still Kenny Loggins' " Danger Zone " chugging over the title credits, and Maverick is still the fastest man alive in an F-14, even if he's never managed to exceed the lowly rank of Captain. "You should be at least a two-star admiral by now, or a Senator," Ed Harris 's Rear Admiral grouses early on, before grudgingly sending him off to the Top Gun base in San Diego. Maverick's constant insubordination and looming obsolescence should have gotten him discharged years ago, he reminds him; instead, he's been saved by an old friend, Iceman ( Val Kilmer ), now an admiral himself.

There's a reason for that intervention: a uranium plant in a heavily guarded secret bunker that needs to be eliminated before it becomes operational for the enemy. (What enemy? Don't ask, don't tell.) And only jets can infiltrate it, if the Academy's ten best recruits can be taught to thread the needle and get out of there alive. Leading the team is Maverick's new job, though the bossman there (a scowling Jon Hamm) is not exactly overjoyed to welcome him — and a promising young pilot called Rooster ( Miles Teller , in a kicky little mustache) even less enthused. That's because Rooster's parents were Goose and Carole (Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan, who appear only in misty flashbacks), and all he knows is that Pete had something to do with him getting pulled from the fast-track flight program years ago.

Otherwise, Rooster's main rival amongst the new hopefuls is Hangman ( Hidden Figures ' great Glen Powell), a fellow pilot whose smirky antagonism recalls the last movie's Iceman rivalry in everything except the frosted tips (Powell is a more natural kind of blonde, but the square-jawed swagger and resting smug face play the same). Director Joseph Kosinski ( TRON: Legacy ) revels in the sonic-boom rush of their many flight scenes, sending his jets swooping and spinning in impossible, equilibrium-rattling arcs. On the ground, too, his camera caresses every object in its view, almost as if he's making a rippling ad for America itself: The unfurling snap of a boat sail; the gleaming Formica in a desert rest-stop diner; golden bodies playing touch football in the California surf while a magic-hour sun goes down.

That nationalistic glow extends to Maverick's courting of a former paramour, Jennifer Connelly , but there's a bittersweet sentimentality in their reconnection, the kind of unhurried adult romance that doesn't make it on screen much anymore. (A brief interlude with Kilmer, who has largely lost his voice to cancer , is also surprisingly moving.) Kosinksi, of course, has to make his Maverick work with or without the context of the original, and the script, by Peter Craig ( The Batman ) and Justin Marks ( The Jungle Book ) toggles deftly between winking callbacks and standard big-beat action stuff meant to stand on its own. Teller and Powell are breezily appealing, actors at the apex of their youth and beauty, though the movie still belongs in almost every scene to Cruise. At this point in his career, he's not really playing characters so much as variations on a theme — the theme being, perhaps, The Last Movie Star. And in the air up there, he stands alone. Grade: B+

Related content:

• Tom Cruise revisits Goose's Top Gun death in Lady Gaga's 'Hold My Hand' music video
• The sky's the limit for Top Gun: Maverick hotshot Glen Powell
• Val Kilmer says he feels 'a lot better than I sound' after tracheotomy due to throat cancer

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Top Gun: Maverick named best film of 2022 by Rotten Tomatoes

‘the film is a true legacy sequel,’ clarisse loughrey writes in her review, article bookmarked.

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Top Gun: Maverick has been named the best film of 2022 by the American review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes .

The Tom Cruise sequel scored six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Editing, Sound, VFX , Adapted Screenplay, and Lady Gaga and BloodPop’s original song “Hold My Hand”.

Rotten Tomatoes revealed that the film landed a 96 per cent certified fresh grade from critics off 464 reviews and a 99 per cent fresh on their audience metre.

Other films that made it to the top 10 list are The Banshees of Inisherin, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and Turning Red, among others.

Last year, Top Gun: Maverick surpassed Titanic at the North American box office and made history by becoming the seventh biggest film ever at the domestic box office, which counts the US and Canada, having earned $662m (£557m) in ticket sales.

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On a global level, the film surpassed $900m (£737m) at the box office, and touched the $1bn threshold.

Maverick has enjoyed strong reviews following its release , with Cruise’s performance and the film’s aerial stunt work receiving particular praise.

In a four-star review for The Independent , Clarisse Loughrey said: “ Top Gun : Maverick really isn’t packed with the kind of craven nostalgia that we’re used to these days. It’s smarter, subtler, and wholly more humanistic.

“The film is a true legacy sequel.”

Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell, Ed Harris and Val Kilmer also feature in the film alongside Cruise.

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Last month, Connelly was pushing for Cruise to receive an Oscar nod for Best Actor.

“He’s extraordinary,” she said.

“He does an amazing job in the movie. He’s extraordinary as a person and fantastic as an actor, and I think that he is just perfect. He embodies that character so beautifully, and I think he absolutely deserves it.

“I think that the film is a really well-made film and it’s really hard to make a film like that,” Connelly continued.

“Also, thinking about Tom’s work, think of the things that he did for that role. Besides all the stuff on the ground and how wonderful he is in those scenes and creating those relationships… I think the relationship he has with Miles’s character is so beautiful and moving. But the work that he did to accomplish those flying sequences, it’s something else.”

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Top Gun: Maverick named the best-reviewed movie of 2022

The Banshees of Inisherin and Everything Everywhere All at Once also ranked highly

Top Gun: Maverick is the best-reviewed movie of 2022, according to review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes . The website ranked the top 30 titles released last year that had the highest scores as part of their 'Golden Tomatoes' awards. 

The Banshees of Inisherin , Martin McDonagh's dark comedy starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, came in second place, while multiverse adventure Everything Everywhere All at Once rounded out the top three. Other titles in the top 10 included Pixar 's Turning Red , The Batman , and documentary Fire of Love. 

According to Rotten Tomatoes, "the order reflects Tomatometer scores (as of December 31, 2022) after adjustment from our ranking formula, which compensates for variation in the number of reviews when comparing movies or TV shows."

Top Gun: Maverick has made nearly $1.5 billion at the global box office since it was released in May 2022 and the movie received rave reviews – Total Film gave the movie five stars and called it an "expertly crafted, thunderously enjoyable and surprisingly emotional blockbuster" in our review. 

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the sequel to 1986's Top Gun sees Tom Cruise back as test pilot and flight instructor Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell as he sets out to train a group of young pilots, including the son of his late best friend. Cruise is joined by Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, and Glen Powell.

Top Gun: Maverick is now streaming on Paramount Plus . For more on the best releases of the past year, check out our picks of the other best movies of 2022 . 

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I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

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Top Gun: Maverick Got the Most Positive Reviews on Rotten Tomatoes in 2022; All We Know

The tom cruise-starrer wins the best movie of 2022 title at the golden tomato awards..

Top Gun: Maverick has won the top spot on the best movies of 2022 list from Rotten Tomatoes. The film stars Tom Cruise, reprising his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell from the 1986 film Top Gun. It released on May 27, 2022, and was a hit with critics and audiences alike.

The film has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 459 critic reviews. It has become the most positive-rated film from 2022 on the review aggregator website. And it’s not just critics. Top Gun: Maverick has received 99% from over 50,000 votes on Rotten Tomatoes' fan score. The film was, of course, one of the biggest hits of 2022 as it made a worldwide total of $1.488 billion at the box office.

The film, of course, has a nostalgia factor, and it contained a lot of action which filmgoers might have missed seeing on the big screen. Cruise is known for doing dangerous stunts, and many action film lovers were likely pleased to see him pulling off dangerous stunts in Top Gun: Maverick.

In IGN India's review of the film, we awarded it a score of 9 out of 10 and called it a “perfect sequel to an iconic series that set the stage to a lot of movies that followed.” You can check out the full review here .

The film even headed back to the big screen again for a limited time in December . This was after it had already returned to IMAX in June .

Top Gun: Maverick

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• Trending on RT

Weekend Box Office

Weekend box office results: top gun: maverick continues to cruise, the hit blockbuster sequel secured another easy victory and could be on track to surpass doctor strange and become the biggest movie of the summer..

TAGGED AS: Box Office , Film , films , movie , movies

We knew Top Gun: Maverick was not going anywhere this week, and the only question was exactly how much word of mouth would affect its second weekend. Save for the Cronenberg stans online,  Maverick was all the moviegoing public seemed to be talking about, and the weekday numbers were strong, showing no signs of slowing down. It took over 115 days in 2005 for Tom Cruise to see his biggest domestic grosser, Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds , hit $234 million. It has taken nine days for Top Gun: Maverick to surpass it, and it has entered the conversation for another milestone.

King of the Crop: Top Gun: Maverick Continues to Climb

(Photo by ©Paramount Pictures)

Numbers tell a story. Despite an asterisk here and there over the past year because of pandemic caution, they continue to craft a narrative about how audiences are turning themselves over to movies these days. Last week, Top Gun: Maverick became the biggest opening in Tom Cruise’s career. This week, its second weekend was also better than any opener Cruise ever. With an $86 million haul, this is now the 8th best second weekend ever ( Spider-Man: No Way Home is 10th with $84.5 million). It is also only the third live-action film to open to over $100 million and drop less than 40% in week two. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (-39.8%) and 2002’s Spider-Man (-37.8%) were the others. The 32% drop Top Gun had this weekend puts it in the league of only the other two films to achieve that – Frozen 2 (-34.0%) and Shrek 2 (-33.2%) – and that was after the Memorial Day holiday to boot, when films tend to drop much more sharply. At $291 million in 10 days (18th best ever) this puts Maverick in a whole new stratosphere. Even with the record-breaking numbers last week, $400 million was not a number that was being bandied about, even days ago. But now we have to seriously consider that this may become the biggest film of the summer.

The $400 million milestone was certainly being discussed as early as the opening weekend for The Batman and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 , but they fell back just enough to finish with $369 million and $389 million, respectively. At $290 million after 10 days, Top Gun: Maverick is $51 million and $42 million ahead of them, respectively. And with all due respect to Captain Marvel , this pilot is also $26 million ahead of its pace as well. Maverick is the 30th film in history to gross over $250 million in its first 10 days. Of the other 29, only three failed to reach $400 million – Batman v Superman , Furious 7 , and the final Harry Potter – while the new Doctor Strange is nearly there. Maverick’ s second weekend was better than all but 9 of the films on that list. The dinosaurs next week are going to take a bite out of its box office, but if it maintains a third weekend between $30-35 million, it is headed for over $425 million, and with Doctor Strange settling towards a specific number (it had $292 million after 10 days) we may have a new favorite for domestic summer champion. Worldwide it is already over $549 million.

The Top Ten and Beyond:  Doctor Strange Eyes $400 Million,  Crimes of the Future is Success for Neon

(Photo by Marvel Entertainment)

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness made another $9.2 million in weekend five, bringing its total over $388 million. No film with over $358 million in the bank after 31 days has ever failed to reach $400 million. Strange’ s total is ahead of both Captain America: Civil War ($7.8 million) and Iron Man 3 ($8.4 million) and is on pace to surpass both to end up between $410-415 million. Among the 46 films to have reached at least $300 million in their first month, the lowest fifth weekends among them are Batman v Superman ($5.5 million), Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($6.08 million), Furious 7 ($6.64 million) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($7.25 million). Those films still made between another $10-24 million to finish out their run. Looking ahead to next week, Captain America: Civil War made $4.3 million in its sixth weekend and had banked $396 million by day 38. With Jurassic World beginning its run next week and Top Gun now in the conversation, Strange’ s odds to become the highest domestic grossing film of the summer have been reduced. Worldwide it has passed $909 million.

While we continue to wait for Pixar’s Lightyear in a few weeks, we check in on the animated films hanging around. Universal’s The Bad Guys added another $3.1 million, bringing its total up to $87 million. A total around $95 million is very much in the making, much better than last week’s opening of The Bob’s Burgers Movie , which fell to $4.5 million and appears to be headed somewhere between $30-35 million tops. But the big family winner until Lightyear and Minions come out has been Sonic the Hedgehog 2 , which continues its climb toward $190 million.

(Photo by David Bornfriend/©A24)

There is perhaps no bigger winner this year, though, for everything it represents than Everything Everywhere All At Once . At one time, $30 million was considered an incredible victory. This week, it surpassed $60 million, besting A24’s biggest success ( Uncut Gems ) now by over $10 million. The Lost City , on the other hand, fought the slow battle to get itself over $100 million last week, but with only enough $79 million internationally, the $68 million-budgeted Paramount film is not coming up to be a theatrical success. ( Top Gun: Maverick’ s $160 million budget + P&A, on the other hand, is already covered.) Downton Abbey: A New Era could use a little help internationally to get out of the red itself. The $40 million-budgeted film just crossed $35 million domestically with a drop down to just $3 million. That is lower than King Arthur: Legend of the Sword did in its third weekend. Downton is nearly $2 million ahead of that film’s pace, so it is now looking at somewhere between $41-43 million. It has made another $41 million internationally.

David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future got itself a semi-wide launch this weekend; it was the fourth biggest in Neon’s history with 773 theaters. When they opened Spencer into 996 theaters last November, it opened to $1.25 million for a $1,261 per-theater-average. The new film from Cronenberg with Kristen Stewart in a supporting role opened to $1.1 million for a $1,423 PTA and cracked the top 10. That’s the highest PTA the studio has ever had opening one of their titles in more than 200 theaters. The filmmaker’s last foray into “body horror”, eXistenZ , opened to $810,262 in 256 theaters back in 1999 for a PTA of $3,165. IFC Films has not opened a movie wide since 2015’s The D Train with Jack Black, which opened in 1,009 theaters to $447,661 for a paltry $444 PTA. This weekend they opened Chloe Okuno’s Watcher with Maika Monroe in 764 theaters; it grossed $815,000 for a $1,067 PTA. The three-hour Indian serial killer thriller, Vikram , grossed $1.3 million in 465 theaters for a PTA of $2,795.

On the Vine: Jurassic World: Dominion Roars into Theaters

(Photo by ©Universal Pictures)

The dinosaurs are loose in the sixth Jurassic Park film (or third Jurassic World film). Colin Trevorrow returns as do Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum, to Jurassic World: Dominion . The previous two films grossed over $3 billion worldwide, and the new film is expected to be one of the biggest of the summer, with potential to surpass the current Top Gun juggernaut. But will it challenge Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (or even Top Gun ) for the top spot?

Full List of Box Office Results: June 3-5, 2022

• $86 million ($291.6 million total)

• $9.25 million ($388.7 million total)
• $4.5 million ($22.2 million total)
• $3.3 million ($87.3 million total)
• $3 million ($35.7 million total)
• $2 million ($60.6 million total)

• $1.77 million ($1.77 million total)
• $1.72 million ($188.3 million total)
• $1.38 million ($104 million total)
• $1.1 million ($1.1 million total)

Erik Childress can be heard each week evaluating box office on  Business First AM  with Angela Miles and his  Movie Madness Podcast .

[box office figures via  Box Office Mojo ]

On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News .

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The Ludicrous Beauty of Top Gun: Maverick

It’s just what every cineplex in the country needs.

In the original Top Gun , the enemy is intentionally obscure: anonymous pilots flying MiGs from a hostile but unnamed country who have to be chased away and shot down by the heroic Maverick (played by Tom Cruise) and his fellow graduates of the Top Gun naval flight school. Who exactly the enemy is does not matter. What matters is that the hero is America. Tony Scott’s film was a highly successful, undeniably compelling advertisement for brash 1980s jingoism. Now, 36 years later, after many pandemic-induced delays, comes Top Gun: Maverick , a legacy sequel that brings the same hotshot pilot back to the fore, assigned to an all-new mission against another faceless antagonist. But this time, the hero isn’t America. It’s, well, Tom Cruise.

Of course, Top Gun: Maverick is still overflowing with muscular displays of American military might, but this follow-up, directed by Joseph Kosinski, has less flag-waving abandon. Instead, the propaganda is for its twinkly-eyed star, who throws on a pair of aviators and a flight jacket, revs his motorcycle, and zooms back to the Top Gun academy. His mission? Making the case for genuine movie stars continually blowing audiences away on the big screen. As a sequel , the film is not narratively groundbreaking, focusing on the protagonist’s struggle to let go of the past in our less sentimental present. But as a stand-alone blockbuster that’s just trying to suck viewers’ eyeballs out of their sockets with hellacious flight photography and thunderous sound, Maverick is just what every cineplex in the country has been crying out for.

Read: Top Gun is an infomercial for America

If that assessment sounds hyperbolic, I urge every reader to try to see Maverick in major cinemas if possible, because even by the standards of today’s mega-budgeted blockbusters, this one is a particularly immersive experience. I myself was furiously Googling where to buy some Dramamine as I exited the theater. (I say this as a high compliment.) The screenplay also has a solid hook. Maverick returns to train a group of pilots that includes Rooster (Miles Teller), the son of his deceased wingman, Goose (Anthony Edwards), whose death in the first film hangs over this one. But Maverick works best when it’s in the air, battering the viewers’ senses and showing off just how much intense piloting Cruise and the rest of the cast did to achieve the film’s spectacular action.

Plenty of summer action films have exciting visuals—think caped superheroes shooting energy beams at one another while zipping around the galaxy. And yet, all the expensive CGI in the world can’t match the visceral view of Cruise sitting in the cockpit of an F-18 with plane-mounted cameras pointed right at him as the forces of gravity smoosh his face flat. The flight photography in the original Top Gun was massively impressive for its time, but it’s Stone Age stuff compared with what Kosinski and his team have accomplished here, where every action sequence looks utterly real even when the circumstances are absolutely ludicrous.

That quality is a hallmark of Cruise’s recent cinematic output, which has stressed big-screen verisimilitude and the sense that the actor is stretching his physical limits. His stunt work in the Mission: Impossible series has seen him strapped to the outside of airplanes as they take off, and tossed into the air at nearly 30,000 feet. In Maverick , he’s safely ensconced inside a cockpit, but the physical strain of what he’s doing still looks extraordinary. That tension is just about the only way he can function as a movie star anymore. Cruise seems aware that audiences stopped accepting him as a relatable, normal human being long ago—but will still buy in if he’s playing someone who’s unnaturally obsessed with succeeding.

For that reason, I’m surprised he took so long to return to the character of Maverick (that’s his aviator call sign, of course—real name, Pete Mitchell), who’s defined by his sense of defiance. In Top Gun , he’s a skilled pilot chasing the ghost of his much-admired dad, a deceased Navy legend, and he’s constantly taking risks, to the consternation of his commanding officers. In Maverick , he’s not all that different, having declined promotions beyond the rank of captain and now working as a test pilot for experimental military planes accelerating toward 10 times the speed of sound. After he flouts authority during a test flight, Maverick is bumped back to Top Gun to lead a team of graduates, under the grumpy command of a vice admiral named Cyclone (Jon Hamm).

This time, the ghost haunting Maverick is Goose, and the film’s emotional weight rests on him fighting to earn the respect of Rooster, a crack pilot who holds Maverick responsible for his father’s death. A few gentle subplots revolve around Maverick rekindling his relationship with an old flame named Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly, luminous if underused), some traditional macho jockeying for respect among the graduates, and a somewhat wrenching cameo by Iceman (Val Kilmer), Maverick’s old rival, an admiral who is now plagued with health problems similar to those that have curtailed Kilmer’s career in recent years.

That’s all secondary to the central question of whether Maverick, whose best-of-the-best attitude so closely parallels Cruise’s action-star exceptionalism, can still outclass all of his competitors. The character often ponders whether his individualism still has value in such a rigid field of work. But this is a Tom Cruise vehicle, one where he’s hitching himself to jets for our delight and amusement. The answer is never really in doubt.

Listen to David Sims discuss Top Gun on an episode of The Atlantic ’s culture podcast The Review :

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The Best Movies to Watch in Theaters in Summer 2024

The summer movie season kicks off each year in the run-up to Memorial Day. Alongside vacations, pool parties, and outdoor grilling, there are plenty of movies that will offer viewers a nice trip to the cool theaters on a hot day. 2024 is shaping up to have an interesting cinematic summer season.

Marvel movies have kicked off the first week of May 13 times, but not this year, though there is one MCU movie being released during summer. In addition, many of the big franchise films had to be delayed from 2024 to 2025 due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes of 2023. Nonetheless, there are still installments coming for plenty of franchises , such as Planet of the Apes , Alien , Despicable Me , and Mad Max . There are also several high-profile original films like IF , Horizon: An American Saga , and Fly Me to the Moon . The summer movie season this year is also filled with plenty of horror movies , a genre that continues to do well at the box office, and many smaller independent films from the festival circuit getting a wide theatrical release.

Blockbuster franchise entries, bold new original stories, and critically acclaimed films from the festival circuit all make up the summer movie season, with many more in between. Here is MovieWeb's guide to the 2024 summer movie season, theatrical addition. Check out our 2024 summer movie season streaming guide as well.

May 2024 Movies

Jeanne du barry - may 2.

From French filmmaker and actress Maïwenn, Jeanne du Barry has become a major topic of conversation . The plot follows Madame du Barry (Maïwenn), who uses her intelligence and allure to rise in society. She becomes King Louis XV's (Johnny Depp) favorite, and they fall in love. Against all propriety and etiquette, Barry moves to Versailles, where her relationship with the king scandalizes the court.

A Potential Johnny Depp Comeback

The movie was one of the most expensive French films made in 2023 and is being positioned as a potential comeback for star Johnny Depp, whose star certainly has fallen following allegations of domestic abuse and a series of poorly received films.

The Fall Guy - May 3

The first true big blockbuster of the summer movie season is The Fall Guy , taking the first weekend in May that has often been reserved for Marvel movies. An adaptation of the television show of the same name, The Fall Guy is the Barbenheimer reunion that sees Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in the lead roles in this action comedy from director David Leitch, who co-directed John Wick and later went on to helm Atomic Blonde , Deadpool 2 , and Bullet Train . The movie centers around Gosling's character, a stuntman who goes to save the missing movie star to prevent his ex-girlfriend's directorial debut from being shut down.

An adaptation of the '80s TV show, ever since The Fall Guy premiered at South by Southwest, it has been getting strong reviews. Highlighted as an ode to the work of stunt performers (fitting since director David Leitch started out as a stunt double), the movie appears to be the right mix of action, comedy, and romance that audiences want from a summer blockbuster. Riding high off the Gosling mania that has been sweeping the past few weeks with his iconic "I'm Just Ken" performance at the Academy Awards and his hilarious SNL -hosted episode, The Fall Guy has the potential to be a great start to the summer movie season.

Tarot - May 3

The first horror movie of the summer is Tarot , a movie that follows a group of college friends who start dying in ways that are related to their fortunes after having their tarot cards read by breaking a cardinal rule of tarot reading — never use someone else's deck.

The film features Harriet Slater ( Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ), Jacob Babalon ( Spider-Man: No Way Home ), Avantika Vandanapu ( Mean Girls ), Wolfgang Novogratz ( The Half of It ), and dancer Larsen Thompson. While audiences might associate horror with Halloween, the summer movie season is often a great season for horror films as it gives audiences a break from the big blockbuster events.

I Saw the TV Glow - May 3

A24 has found great success releasing horror films in the summer with Hereditary and Talk to Me and is hoping to do the same with I Saw the TV Glow . Directed by Jane Schoenbrun, the movie follows a teenager named Owen (Justice Smith) who is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.

Schoenbrun Returns with Another Spooky Movie

I Saw the TV Glow has been gaining a lot of positive buzz in the festival circuit, first premiering in the Midnight section at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival as well as screening at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival and South by Southwest. The rest of the cast includes Brigette Lundy-Paine, Ian Foreman, Helena Howard, Danielle Deadwyler, and, yes, Fred Durst in one of two movies he will appear in for A24 during the summer movie season, the other being Y2K . The movie has a limited release on May 3rd before expanding into wide release on May 17, 2024.

Lost Soulz - May 3

Lost Soulz was part of the official selection at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. The movie follows aspiring rapper Sol as he is discovered by a group of Gen-Z musicians after performing at a house party. He joins their tour through the heart of Texas and embarks on a once-in-a-lifetime road trip. Sol and his new collaborators bond over their shared pains and longings for the lives they left behind. Bold and brash, yet surprisingly sensitive and vulnerable, these young artists pour their souls into the music they create together.

The novelty of Sol’s newfound family fades as the demons Sol left behind come back to haunt him, including his guilt over abandoning his ailing friend. His sense of self is put to the ultimate test as he seeks refuge from the rootlessness and loss that has defined his existence. Set to a lo-fi, genre-bending hip-hop soundtrack, Katherine Propper's award-winning debut is suffused with hazy and infectious energy and features virtuosic musical performances.

Lost Soulz Review: A Fleeting, Cinematic Odyssey of a Texas Rappers Origins

New life - may 3.

New Life focuses on a mysterious woman who is hunted down by a resourceful fixer sent by the CDC, and the stakes of the pursuit rise to apocalyptic proportions. Directed by John Rosman and starring Sonya Walger, Hayley Erin, and Tony Amendola, this tense thriller currently sits at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 36 reviews.

New Life Was Inspired by All the Right Things

New Life director John Rosman told MovieWeb that he was inspired by a variety of things, from Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Cronenberg's The Fly to even Chernobyl . "Just from picking up what looks like this little black rock into, like, the full-on melting down of the body, was so effective and terrifying. The first episode of Chernobyl is one of the great horror movies of all time." Judging from the influences and acclaim, New Life is one independent film that shouldn't fly under the radar and can be enjoyed by a wide audience.

Wildcat - May 3

Wildcat is a biopic of American novelist Flannery O'Connor, struggling to publish her first novel while also drawing heavy inspiration from the writer's short stories. Ethan Hawke directs a cast that includes his daughter Maya Hawke as O'Connor and is rounded out by a supporting cast that includes Rafael Casal, Philip Ettinger, Cooper Hoffman, Vincent D'Onofiro, Steve Zahn, Laura Linney, and Liam Neeson.

An Honest Portrait of Flannery O'Connor from Ethan Hawke

The movie almost fell apart in pre-production when O'Connor's racist writings came out, but director Ethan Hawke decided to move forward, allowing that to inform the depiction of Flannery and examine both the environment in which she grew up to inform those thoughts and dig into the contradictions of her worldview to her more thoughtful writings. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in 2023 and will open in limited release before expanding into wide release.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - May 10

The fourth film in the new rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set nearly 300 years after Caesar's death in War for the Planet of the Apes . When the ape king Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durnard), armed with weapons forged from lost human technologies, perverts Caesar's teachings to enslave other clans, the chimpanzee hunter Noa (Owen Teagues) embarks on a harrowing journey.

The Return of the Apes

Noa travels alongside a human girl named Mae (Freya Allen) to determine the future for apes and humans alike. This highly anticipated entry in the beloved sci-fi series is directed by Maze Runner and future Legend of Zelda director Wes Ball and could kick off a new trilogy for the franchise.

Poolman - May 10

Chris Pine, best known for his work in films like Star Trek, Wonder Woman, and Hell or Highwater , not only stars in but also directed Poolman and co-wrote the script with Ian Gotler. The movie tells the story of a pool cleaner in Los Angeles who uncovers a sizable water heist, in the same vein as the classic film Chinatown .

A Star-Studded Noir Made by Chris Pine

Rounding out the cast are Annette Bening, Danny DeVito, Jennifer Jason Leigh, DeWanda Wise, Clancy Brown, and Ray Wise. Unfortunately, it received harsh criticism after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, but co-star DeWanda Wise defended the film to us , saying, "He was extraordinarily specific... The thing about Poolman is, we were playing in such a specific genre. Being directed by him with that degree of both technical and emotional proficiency. I just relished it. I loved it so much."

Not Another Church Movie - May 10

A parody movie like Scary Movie or Not Another Teen Movie , Not Another Church Movie is a parody film of religious-based movies, specifically movies that are popular with faith-based crowds, particularly the movies of Tyler Perry as the lead character played by Kevin Daniels named Taylor Perry.

Big Name Cameos for a Church Comedy

The movie is pulling in some big-name comedic cameos, with Mickey Rourke as the Devil and Jamie Foxx as God. With a cast that also includes Vivica A. Fox, Kyla Pratt, Lamorne Morris, and Jasmine Guy, this parody comedy looks to have a lot more potential than high-profile critical duds like Epic Movie or Disaster Movie .

Gasoline Rainbow - May 10

Documentary duo the Ross Brothers step into the world of narrative fiction with Gasoline Rainbow . This coming-of-age drama follows five teenagers as they embark on one last adventure to the Pacific Coast. Gasoline Rainbow premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in 2023 and will have a limited theatrical release on May 10th, followed by a streaming release on Mubi three weeks later on May 31st.

IF - May 17

In 2024's second movie based around imaginary friends (after the horror movie Imaginary ), IF looks to be a more family-friendly look at the concept (despite being directed by A Quiet Place filmmaker John Krasinski). IF focuses on Bea (Cailey Flemming), who discovers she has the ability to see imaginary friends who go by IFs. She teams up with her neighbor Cal (Ryan Reynolds), who also has the same ability, and looks to find all these lost friends a new home.

An All-Star Voice Cast Including the Late, Great Louis Garret Jr.

Krasinski is surely casting in on his A-list status and years in the industry as he has assembled an all-star voice cast that includes Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph, Awkafina, Jon Stewart, Blake Lively, George Clooney, Vince Vaughn, Richard Jenkins, Christopher Meloni, Keegan Michael-Key, Amy Schumer, Sam Rockwell, Matthew Rhys, Sebastian Maniscalco, the late great Louis Garret Jr. in one of his final roles and Krasinki's own wife and Academy Award nominated star, Emily Blunt. IF is one of many high-profile original films that are coming out in the summer movie season.

Back to Black - May 17

Musical biopics, whether it's Straight Outta Compton or Rocketman , have been notable hits in past summer movie seasons, but there are a lot of questions regarding Back to Black , the biopic about the late Amy Winehouse. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson ( 50 Shades of Grey ) and with Marisa Abela stepping into the role of the iconic singer, it looks to chronicle the brief period of the singer's fame before her tragic passing at the young age of 27. The movie has already opened in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, and New Zealand but was held off in the United States for a summer release.

A Divisive Look at a Troubled Singer

Reviews have been mixed, and ever since the film was announced, it has faced a great deal of scrutiny, from being unfavorably compared to the 2015 documentary Amy to many seeing it as partaking in the same media speculation and gossip that haunted Winehouse in her life. This could be a surprise hit of the summer or one that turns the audience off before the opening weekend.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 - May 17

It's hard to believe it has been 16 years since the first Strangers movie scared audiences back in the summer of 2008, and then it took 10 years to get a sequel. Now Renny Harlin, a man no stranger to horror (having directed Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master ), is bringing The Strangers franchise back with not one, but three films.

The First of an Epic Horror Trilogy

The Strangers: Chapter 1 stars Riverdale's Madelaine Petsch and Teen Wolf 's Froy Gutierrez as a couple who, after their car breaks down on their trip to their new home in the Pacific Northwest, get terrorized by the masked killers at their Airbnb. Chapter 1 returns the series to its summer horror roots, with the rest set for undetermined dates later in 2024.

The Strangers Movie Was Originally 'Four and a Half Hours Long,' So Was Cut Into Three Chapters

Babes - may 17.

Pamela Adlon, best known for her award-winning comedy Better Things , makes her debut as a feature film director with Babes . The movie stars Broad City 's Ilana Glazer (who also co-wrote the script) as Eden, an aggressively single woman who gets pregnant from a one-night stand; she turns to her best friend Dawn, played by Michelle Buteau, a married mother of two, for help.

Babes premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival earlier this year and earned rave reviews from the audiences, currently sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes with 18 reviews. Audiences will remember Ilana Glazer had another pregnancy-themed film released in the summer of 2021, titled False Positive , but this one will certainly be funnier and more lighthearted than that tense picture.

You Can't Run Forever - May 17

Lionsgate has always been in the business of delivering good old-fashioned thrillers, and You Can't Run Forever is for anyone looking for a throwback to the 1990s or early 2000s. The movie stars Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons as a sociopathic killer who hunts a tormented teenager through the woods.

J.K. Simmons Adds Gravitas to a Simple Premise

It is a simple premise but one that an actor like Simmons brings a certain gravitas to. He has displayed intensity in a variety fo films, but this one should elevate his skills to a more disturbing degree than we've seen before. You Can't Run Forever is directed by Michelle Schumacher, who just happens to be J.K. Simmons' wife.

Exclusive: J.K. Simmons on Edward Hopper and Maintaining a Marriage of Artists

Furiosa: a mad max saga - may 24.

Mad Max: Fury Road was the surprise movie of 2015, being both a box office hit and a critical darling that eventually went on to be nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, so expectations are high for the prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga . Starring Anya-Taylor Joy as a younger version of Charlize Theron's character from the previous film, a young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and into the hands of a Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and draws Furiosa into a conflict with Dementus and Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme).

A Memorial Day Blockbuster

George Miller returns to the world of Mad Max after nine years. Furiosa almost didn't happen, as Miller's production company filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. over unpaid salaries, which delayed the production of any additional entries in the franchise; this was finally resolved in 2020. Making a follow-up to a beloved movie like Mad Max: Fury Road is no easy task, but if the trailers for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga are anything to go by, fans will not be disappointed. Warner Bros. certainly is confident in the movie, giving it the prime Memorial Day weekend release date.

The Garfield Movie - May 24

Everyone's favorite lasagna-eating, Monday-hating cat is back on the big screen in The Garfield Movie . After Bill Murray's live-action Garfield movie debuted 20 years ago, Chris Pratt is now voicing the titular cat in a new CGI animated film that will introduce the character to a new generation from director Mark Dindal, famous for Cat's Don't Dance and The Emperor's New Groove .

A Great Garfield for a New Generation

After an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father, scruffy street cat Vic (Samuel L. Jackson), Garfield and his canine friend Odie (Harvey Guillén) are forced from their perfectly pampered life into joining Vic on a heist in the outside world. The cast includes Nicolas Ho as Garfield and Odie's owner, John, and features the voice talents of Ted Lasso 's Hannah Waddingham and Brett Goldstein alongside Snoop Dogg, Janelle James, Bowen Yang, Cecily Strong, and Ving Rhames.

Sight - May 24

Sight , starring Greg Kinnear (as Misha Bartnovsky) and Terry Chen (as Dr. Ming Wang), follows the true story of Dr. Wang, a Chinese immigrant who defies all odds to become a world-renowned eye surgeon. Drawing upon the grit and determination he gained from a turbulent uprising in his youth, Dr. Wang sets out to restore the sight of a blind orphan.

Angel Studios Looks for Another Hit

Sight is directed by Andrew Hyatt and written by John Duigan, Andrew Hyatt, and Buzz McLaughlin. It is the latest film from Angel Studios, the studio that released Sound of Freedom and Cabrini , is looking to build off the Memorial Day weekend hype.

Exclusive: Cristiana Dell'Anna & David Morse Preach Kindness in Cabrini

The young woman and the sea - may 31.

Based on the 2009 book of the same name, The Young Woman and the Sea stars the great Daisy Ridley ( Star Wars: The Force Awakens ) as Gertrude Ederle, an American swimming champion who first won a gold medal at the 1924 Olympic Games. In 1926, Ederle became the first woman to swim 21 miles across the English Channel, which is the main focus of the film. Directed by Joachim Rønning, who is currently working on Disney's Tron: Ares , the film was originally intended to be released on Disney+, but following extremely positive test screenings, they have decided to give the movie a big theatrical release.

The Best Test Screenings Jerry Bruckheimer Has Ever Seen

Jerry Bruckheimer teased at Cinema Con that The Young Woman and the Sea got the best test scores from any film he has ever produced, which certainly says something considering his credits include Top Gun: Maverick and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl . Hopefully the movie is good and audiences turn out for it, showing they do want more than just Star Wars , Marvel, and live-action remakes from Disney.

Screen Rant

John travolta's new action movie can't shake off 6-year rotten tomatoes streak.

John Travolta's newest action movie, Cash Out, can't shake off the horrible 6-year Rotten Tomatoes streak that has been plaguing the Oscar nominee.

• John Travolta's Cash Out continues his streak of critically panned movies on Rotten Tomatoes.
• The film, released in 2024, follows Travolta's character as he tries to escape a failed bank robbery.
• Despite Travolta's hopes for success, Cash Out only received a 33% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Cash Out won't be putting an end to John Travolta's horrifically bad Rotten Tomatoes streak. Starring Travolta, Kristin Davis, Quavo, and Lukas Haas, Cash Out revolves around two brothers hoping to rob a bank together. When everything falls apart, Travolta's Mason is forced to negotiate with a former partner as he desperately tries to escape the bank. The movie hails from director Ives, who is best known for producing a number of Bruce Willis' direct-to-video thrillers over the past few years.

While Travolta hoped for better results, Cash Out 's reviews have been extremely negative . With a 33% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes , it is only the latest in a long streak of critically panned Travolta movies. Travolta has not had a single successful movie on Rotten Tomatoes since In a Valley of Violence earned a 78% score in 2016.

How Cash Out Compares To Other John Travolta Movies

John travolta has not had a positive rotten tomatoes movie since 2016.

While a poor critical showing, Cash Out 's Tomatometer score is far from Travolta's worst. With a 33% score, it is one of the higher-rated movies during his negative streak. Only Mob Land , Die Hart the Movie , and Gotti have higher scores, and all range from 40% to 50% on the Tomatometer. Travolta had a streak of three movies with 0% Tomatometer scores , which was broken by two 14% movies. Unfortunately, Cash Out represents a decline from recent years, as it decreased from Die Hart 's 43% and Mob Land 's 50% scores. Check out how Travolta's recent Rotten Tomatoes scores compare below:

Cash Out does not yet have an audience score, which means that its Tomatometer score is the only point of comparison. Still, some of Travolta's previous movies during the streak have been positively received. Mob Land and The Shepherd both had over 50% audience scores. His other movies, however, were painfully similar to the Tomatometer scores, as of the nine movies between In a Valley of Violence and Cash Out , seven received scores of less than 50%. Even In a Valley of Violence had only a 51% audience score.

John Travolta’s 5 Best Post Pulp Fiction Roles (& His 5 Worst)

Luckily for Travolta, there is an upcoming movie that could break this unfortunate streak. Travolta may join the Face/Off 2 cast , with Nicolas Cage also in talks to return for the action sequel. He has also signed on for the musical romance, That's Amore!, and Cash Out 2: High Rollers . Face/Off 2 has not begun production, so Travolta will have to rely on That's Amore! if he hopes to break his streak soon. For now, Cash Out simply was not enough to save Travolta from getting another rotten movie on Rotten Tomatoes.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Cash Out (2024)

John Travolta's Mason teams up with his younger to rob a bank. Unfortunately, everything goes wrong, and the two are left to negotiate with Mason's former partner.