I already had to miss one screening of Joseph Kosinski’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” the next one will likely be next week. All of this to say, it’s actually getting VERY GOOD reviews.
The CinemaCon screening a few weeks ago did hint at a potential quality sequel, but my oh my has this exceeded expectations. The Ankler’s Jeff Sneider, a reader of this site, says he’s utterly convinced that it will get a Best Picture nomination.
The industry has drastically changed, and the AMPAS are much more open to honor a well-reviewed action film like “Top Gun: Maverick.” A 100% on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 44 reviews) and an 81 on MC (based on 34 reviews). Wowza.
So, even though we here have not yet seen “Top Gun: Maverick,” we must inevitably include it in our extremely early Best Picture predictions (only including films that have been released:
Top Gun: Maverick
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Very long shots …
The Northman
Turning Red
The Batman
The longevity of Tom Cruise is also one for the history books. Not only do his movies continue to make money, but he’s actually churning out quality films every damn time.
A Best Picture nom for “Top Gun: Maverick” would be a way for the AMPAS to not just honor the film, but Cruise himself. I know, I know, we’re still way too early into the season to speculate like this .. there are still 20+ movies waiting to be unveiled in the fall, but with a Cannes launch next week and a slew of highly-anticipated films waiting to be unveiled on the croisette, cinema is back.