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Glenn Powell (Hangman), after filming this movie, went out to get his pilot license and at each milestone in his training Tom Cruise gave him a card or text congratulating him etc

"Top Gun: Maverick" accomplished what "Blade Runner: 2049" did in celebrating the past but surpassing the original film.

I can see why this movie made a billion dollars. Tom cruise as a human is so strange but his dedication to film is so magnificent there's nothing you can do but admire the lengths he's willing to go to. This is a perfect sequel, nostalgia grab, and straight up revival of the soul of a both the Movie Top Gun and 80s movies in general. So much could have been done cheaply and yet it behold.

A small detail about why Rooster's seat didn't eject. There is a small arming switch that is part of the pre-flight procedure to arm the seat for ejection. Since Rooster was never trained in the F-14 he didn't know to engage it. I thought it was a cool addition to the film.

I love that Hangman spends so much time in the movie pretending to be an asshole just to show that when it's time to put balls on the line, he's your biggest cheerleader. The way he celebrates the two miracles looks earnest and wholesome, it's not just that he's happy the mission is going well, he's proud of his friends for doing it. I mean, he's not particularly older than anyone else on the team, and it doesn't look like he outranks anybody, but the way he dances in that cockpit is such a "proud dad" moment.

The way they integrated Val Kilmer into the story is so sweet. They respected the original but added more to the story. It's like Top Gun grew up. Best movie this year ✈️👨‍✈️

*I LOVE how much Aaron loved this movie.* I could tell Eric really liked it and Rick and Calvin enjoyed it, too, but Aaron was hooked and I can't blame him. I took my wife to see this in theaters as our first date after she gave birth to our beautiful daughter, and it made both of us cry. Simple but effective story, proper use of fan service and nostalgia, and absolute dedication from everyone involved. Such a wonderful throwback/legacy film that I can only describe as pure movie magic. I agree with Eric, both Glen Powell and Miles Teller did amazing in their roles.

The climb by Phoenix when she was on fire wasn’t to put the fire out. We “climb to cope” when we’re at a low altitude with an emergency in order to buy time to solve the emergency. Worst case if you can’t put it out it gives you a greater chance of survivability when you eject.

I love this film so much. One of my favourite things is that that is actually Tom's plane they fly at the end & i'm fairly certain it was him flying it too.

The guy in the right with the Top Gun shirt actually FELT the whole movie, man. He was all of us in the theater the first time we watched this awesome sequel.

“Do some of that pilot shit”. That gave me goosebumps. It’s exactly what Roosters dad said to Mav in Top Gun 1. Amazing.

I truly appreciate Calvin’s relentless dedication to realism, but sometimes you just gotta turn your brain off to enjoy an action movie 😂💙

I remember Tom saying he didn't really want to pursue the movie without Val. And Val's son, along with computer assistance, helped provide the voice for his father in his scenes. Somehow there's still some genuine love and respect in Hollywood

The dead silence during the Maverick/Ice scene was the best part of the commentary. And I mean that nicely. Watching their reactions was priceless.

"Thankyou, Ice - thankyou for everything" had a great double meaning. Firstly from a character perspective and secondly it was Ton Cruise thanking Val Kilmer for doing the film.

My dad was a former F 18 pilot, and he loved this movie. Even though there are a lot of inaccuracies (obviously, it's a movie), there was a lot of realism and he thought it was great. He's now a civilian fighter pilot who trains the Air Force in air combat of all kinds, and combat operations. Basically he trains them like maverick does in the desert flying scenes. He even flies the old A4 Skyhawk from the old movie. All that to say, he and all his pilot buddies loved this movie. My dad said his favorite part is the low level flying, because even though they didn't do it often, he loved flying low level through canyons.

My girlfriend hadn't seen the seen the original (but was aware of the Goose stuff) and she loved Top Gun: Maverick. She even went again with her sister a few weeks later. I think it works well even if you haven't seen the original first.

calvin is very confident in his knowledge of things and it’s wrong like 50% of the time lol

I love that they worked Jennifer Connelly's character in as the Admiral's daughter that they mentioned Maverick messing around with in the first movie, but who never got a single second of screen time.

I think the smartest thing this film did right was not having any of the pilots die in training. The rest of the film followed the structure of the first movie to a T, so it makes it really tense when you're waiting for a disaster to happen in training. When they have the first fake-out with the pilot passing out from the Gs and recovering, immediately followed by the bird strike, the audience is going to really be expecting a pilot death. It's really clever to manipulate the tension in the movie like that.

For me, movie of the year and have been waiting for this reaction.

When i saw this movie Tom cruise made a message at the beginning of the movie, some air force in the back yelled "thank you tom cruise". This movie was one where people started cheering right when it began

This movie is the best sequel of the 80s. Tom Cruise truly shined in this film and Val Kilmer pushed through his condition to give us Iceman one last time. Me and dad truly enjoyed this film. This is what TRUE emotional filmmaking is.

No sequel to a movie that is over 30 years old should be this damn spectacular! I saw this opening night in IMAX and it was one of the absolute best moviegoing experiences of my life. The sound of the jets flying by, the literal feeling of the vibrations in your seat when the G forces kick in, and especially the visuals of seeing everything from the point of view of the pilots. I legitimately believed during the final dogfight that Maverick was going to die, so few movies today make me believe that! On top of all that, the story is so freaking amazing. The theme of showing how fighter pilots are still needed even in the age of drones, the story of Rooster learning to not just forgive Maverick (not for his father’s death but pulling his papers) but to let go of being so overly careful in his flying and “don’t think just fly”. And of course the most emotionally powerful in the movie when Maverick visits Iceman. Even though he has retired due to his throat cancer and has difficulty speaking he still managed to give an absolutely heartbreaking performance.😭😭😭😭 Thank you Tom Cruise for fighting so hard to get this movie in theaters.👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Watching this in IMAX was magical. The sequence where he steals the fighter jet and demonstrates it himself is phenomenal. When you see the gorgeous sky above him in the cockpit I get chills.

My sister was curious about this movie so I showed her the original as prep and she didn't love it but said it was OK. Then we watched Maverick in theaters and she was absolutely floored, she teared up at 3 separate times (piano scene, Ice funeral, and Rooster tapping the picture of Goose at the end). She's not someone who likes re-watching movies since she doesn't see the point, but she went back to the theater twice for it. Just a fantastic film all around.

The thing you guys, and most people to be fair, are missing about the love story, is that’s Penny Benjamin. The Admirals daughter from literally the first scene of the the original movie. It’s not just some random bar owner chick. She literally ties in as much as Ice and Rooster and Goose.

I got emotional at all the same times Aaron did when I saw this. Especially the “Talk to me, Dad” part 😂😭 I absolutely loved this film. Perfect mix of nostalgia and a full circle story, and the all of the stuntwork and flying was incredible.

Probably the single greatest cinema experience I've ever had. I've seen better movies, but being in theatres for this was unlike anything else I've seen

This was one of the best cinema experiences I’ve had. People were so into it, cheering at the end. My favorite movie of the year. I wanted to add that I disagree a little bit with Aaron, me and several others watched this movie without seeing the original first, and personally it blew me away, this one gives you enough glimpses of the original to understand the backstory and the emotional context. Last add on: this movie was in theaters in my country for 5 months. I went back to one of the last showings and there were still lots of people in the theater, most of them rewatching just like me.

Fun fact i realized at credits is that Bob is played by Lewis Pullman who is Bill Pullmans son. Drove me crazy all movie cause he looked so familiar but couldnt figure out why til after seeing his name.

Straight up, Tom Cruise is a legend.

Hangman is the young Mav equivalent and Rooster is the young iceman in this movie. The dynamic between Mav Hangman and Rooster is just perfect. 2bh if not for Maverick himself being the instructor role, I can see Hangman having the spotlight longer than he did have in here, and even with short attention on him he's a scene stealer. Nonetheless, every single one of the actors did a wonder job here.

My great uncle, Vice Admiral William P Lawrence, was the first Naval Aviator to fly at twice the speed of sound. Movies like this always make me think of him, especially today on Veteran’s Day. He was incredibly inspiring, a decorated POW and leader. I highly recommend reading about his career!

"Must be Canadians." As a Canadian myself I seriously laughed hard at that! LOL

This movie is my favourite movie of the year loved that blind wave finally reacted to it

This movie had no right being as good as it was. Just incredibly done. Probably my favorite film in the last 3 years.

LOVE this movie... saw it 3 times in theaters. Two times in IMAX and soooo worth it. Still get the feels when he says "talk to me goose"

I was so shocked at how much I loved this movie the second time. I'm glad to see the crew enjoy it, especially Calvin lmao. I would love for them to go through the MI series if most of them haven't seen it. Like the F&F series it amps up the action with each one except there is actual story and character development lol.

The actor who plays Hangman is in another military pilot film coming out soon set during the Korean War. I hope you guys also react to it.

Tom cruise may truly be the last movie star. The guy is 60 yet hardy looks over 30. Dude does not age.

So many tears in such a manly movie. I love it 👏

This is by far the best movie I have ever seen. I’ve had the privilege of working at a movie theater and I’ve seen this movie so many times and never get tired of it. Still get emotional

So glad that Tom Cruise pushed that this film go into theaters first rather than straight to streaming service

I saw this like 4 times in theaters. THIS is why we see movies. For stories and journeys like this. Truly a window back into the golden age of Cinema. Also those flares in theater just THUMP YOUR CHEST like nothing else. I'll never forget this experience.

I think the whole point of the relationship with Penny, was that she was a stable factor, which was something he consistently rejected. So thier relationship being not contentious conveys the idea of having a normal relationship. I think it could be handled better, but the idea was embracing a more mature responsible lifestyle. Sort of how in the Expanse holden goes through this growth into a more mature person and less reckless. I think the use of his P-51 Mustang represents his attachment to history and recognition to aging.

The scene with Ice was pure emotion, and the boys felt it!

Everyone brushes over the Maverick/Hondo scene near the end but that scene gets me every time I watch it. Hondo must know Maverick better than almost anyone. Just hearing those words from someone like Mav, he must feel that this is it.

Everything you saw with them in a plane was real and authentic. No cgi of them in cockpits whatsoever. Also the tribute at the end to Tony Scott made me tear up.

The absolute silence during the Iceman/Maverick scene ❤. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so quiet. I was looking forward to the reaction to this movie and I’m so glad they enjoyed it. Both movie and reaction were well worth the wait

"There's a time in my life that I would have missed this signal" hahahha relatable Rick, relatable.

I've seen this movie so many times at the movies and that ending scene when Maverick and Rooster hug always gets me in the feels. It's just a all around wonderful, emotional, exciting, and amazing movie. The perfect movie for the perfect time.

i think sometimes when one person reminds the others, like being reminded about hangman, it can spoil it for those that forgot about him on ship, spoils the surprise a little, glad you guys loved, just got this on 4K and its amazing. Can see why it was so successful, no agenda, respect to the tech, training and making it feel real, nobody else except tom cruise could have done this, being that hes a pilot himself but the end scene with him flying his own plane away, love it. In the extra's showing him flying.

The fella in the red shirt is my hero for telling the fella in the hat to shut up

You know when you and your friend are having a fun conversation, where you talk about stupid things you might do or scenarios happening, and you're feeding off each other, having a fun and stupid/silly conversation, and than that one dude comes in and says "Oh that won't happen. You'd break your ankles if you tried that kind of jump and the bad guy would catch up to you and kill you." Than boom, you're taken out of the fun conversation and it becomes a bit awkward? Ya, that was Calvin in this reaction. He seems knowledgeable enough on the subject of aviation, but dude, it's a movie. No need to constantly throw in the criticisms that take you out of the fun moments. It's a movie, not a real life aviation simulation.

Hopefully this won't get claimed. Paramount has been manually blocking every reaction to this movie a couple days after they get posted

11:24 Miles Teller played the main character in Whiplash, I assume that's where you might recognize him from

This is one of the best films I’ve seen this year love it love it love it! & Tom had all the actors train to fly the jets themselves idk how much they did or what they were allowed to do but I know he had them all working very hard on set. & he can already fly himself so😂

Quite literally a perfect sequel and a perfect blockbuster.

Such a fantastic film it deserved all the money it got. It didn’t need to be made but man did they crush it! ✈️ Definitely movie of the year imo.

The val kilmer scene made me cry in the theaters. My dad was going threw cancer at the same time when this movie came out and I use to watch Val kilmer films all the time as a kid with my dad. Tombstone. Top Gun. Batman Forever he was like a second dad. So to see him go threw cancer as well on screen and in real life hit me hard.

Jeez Calvin just knows everything apparently

@Blind Wave: Penny is first referenced when Maverick and Goose are getting chewed out by "Stinger" (after the LT Bill "Cougar" Cortell incident), who indicates that Maverick has been previously disciplined (twice by Stinger himself) for "a history of high-speed passes over five air control towers and one admiral's daughter!" Goose then whispers Penny Benjamin's name to Maverick as if to remind him of who she was.

fun fact: when the enemy pilots are giving signals they are saying "follow me, 330" presumably telling maverick to follow them back to their base.

This film was so good. I wish more legacy sequels were like this. I'd never watched Top Gun before I saw this and it was still amazing. Then I rewatched it after watching the original and it just added even more to an already amazing film. I feel like that's part of the reason why it did so well. It worked for fans of the original and new viewers as well. Also I relate with Aaron so much in this reaction. There's so many parts that have me tearing up even now after watching the film 3 times

There is definitely an arc with Penny Benjamin that can be filled in. They were an item in the first film. She was in his life after Charlie as she knew Maverick through Iraq and Bosnia. Safe to say they are of similar personalities who have been continually drawn to each other but for whatever reason haven’t been able to commit to each other. Maverick finally realizes family is important and she os the one.

This is one of those rare movies that can make most grown men shed tears. So much nostalgia and comradery in the movie. I will admit I teared up when I saw the Tomcat. I grew up with that being the most amazing fighter to me. Was so happy to see it back even in CGI form. They knocked this sequel out of the park.

I've seen this movie multiple times and The chaos in the battle always gets to me. Just so real and the tension is so good

Hint-hint, Nudge-nudge; Penny is actually mentioned in the first Top Gun. Goose's wife mentions her as "Penny Benjamin", the Admiral's daughter whom Maverick was crazy about, during the scene where Goose is playing the piano with Bradley :) Awesome reaction as always, guys. Really appreciate the after-movie commentary as well, great points, especially about the increase in quality of the in-flight footage -- couldn't agree more. 'Til next time Thanks for sharing your awesome with us :) /Lizz

Actually she was mentioned in the first TOPGUN too. When "Stinger" is ripping them a new one in his office he mentions that "Mavrick" had made a pass at an Admirals daughter in which "Goose" asks Penny Bengamin

Protect Aaron all costs. What an Empath

Everyone thinks Hangman is like Iceman, but he's more like a mix between Ice & Maverick.

I didn’t care about the love interest either. But like Rick said it was just there. However, I did realize later that the love interest is technically from the first movie. She’s the casual admirals daughter mentioned in one of the scenes.

This is genuinely my all time favourite movie and I'm so happy you guys reacted to it

A little trivia in the first bar scene. Penny started playing a song by David Bowie. It’s a homage from Jennifer Connelly to him. One of her first films was “Labyrinth” which co-stared David Bowie.

1:03:35 When I saw this in the theaters, the entire finale to the film all I could think was, "God, my mother would have LOVED this movie!" She had passed away the previous year, and so I spent most of the last 5 minutes or so in the theater trying to either stop crying or keep it quiet enough that I didn't draw too much attention to myself and my father next to me.

Bro Calvin trying to prove he knows so much like just relaxxxx 😭 the other guys were getting fed up 😂

I saw this movie with my aunt, I loved it! She was shaking my arm off half the movie though 😂

Man i love how much Aaron loved this movie

Glen Powell was amazing!

This is one of the greatest movies of the year, loved this film

Everyone's been doing a Top Gun 1 & 2 reaction but the first spiritual sequel was actually Days of Thunder (1990), also directed by Tony Scott & starring Tom Cruise. It's basically the same story structure except w/ stock car racing.

Third guy reallllly wants to make sure that we know he's knowledgeable about aviation, lol.

i watched this movie in theatres a DAY after i’d seen the first one and it’s been a highway to the danger zone ever since❤

Just yesterday I was going to search if you guys had a reaction to this since Eric and Aaron did the original a few months ago. Auspicious timing, gentlemen!

The F/A-18 actually did blow the roof off of the guard shack and it was not something that was planned

When Rooster told Maverick "Do some of that pilot shit" reminds me of the first movie when Goose said the same exact thing

I love the Maverick and Iceman scene. It shows that this movie isn’t just a buddy buddy film. It’s about mourning and PTSD and the guilt of moving on as well. Tom Cruise and everyone did PHENOMENAL in this film and I truly believe it saved the film and theatre industry. Bravo🎉

Penny is a reverse easter egg in the first movie. You can hear them reference her when Mav n Goose were first called into their superior’s office before getting the spot in Top Gun.

What a great film. Lots of nostalgia but I feel it stands on it's own and it's better than the original with better acting, and real aerial shots. Amazing how they put all this together and that Cruise fought to hold back the film for theaters, which is the way you really should watch this film in IMAX. Covid really screwed the release schedule of this. So worth seeing it on the big screen. Penny Benjiman was named in the first movie as the admiral's daughter that Maverick messed around with. I do get the sense that Maverick was around to help be the father figure to Rooster. It's just that when Rooster went to apply to the Navy, Maverick pulled the papers and ruined the relationship. If Rooster never had a relationship with Maverick, all he would feel is that Maverick got his dad killed and not that he held him back as his main reason. Glen Powell who played Hangman will be in a Korean aerial war film called Devotion, or something like that, but I recognized him as John Glenn in the film Hidden Figures. Wondering if you guys recognized the actor who played "Bob". When his name came up and his last name was Pullman, it's so obvious that his dad is Bill Pullman.

fun fact, Tom Cruise actually has his pilot's license and he owns the plane that was flown at the end of the movie. So that portion of the film was basically just Tom Cruise flying his own plane for camera

GUYS GUYS GUYS! You had the love interest backstory. Her name is PENNY Benjamin! In the fist movie when they are getting chewed out by their captain he yelled at Maverick for a FLY BYE OVER ONE ADMIRALS DAUGHTER! And Goose says “PENNY BENJAMIN??” Maverick and her have A loooong history back before the first movie. I hope you guys see this because that type of detail and callbacks were one of the things I loved about this movie

This movie is incredible. Tom really flying, every actor taking on very real Gs after going through very real training, the mature and respectful adult relationship between Mav and Penny, Penny being the admiral’s daughter from the first movie, the scene where Mav proves that the course can be successfully run, the fact that Mav isn’t put on a pedestal at all and truly earns the respect of everyone around him, the fact that Tom Cruise looks like THAT (he could get it and I wouldn’t hesitate), the new recruits were fully-realized characters but also didn’t overtake the movie and the legacy characters were treated with respect and allowed to still be powerful and genuinely cool, the football beach scene and it’s soundtrack, the entire final escape storyline with Mav and Rooster, Mav’s relationships with Rooster and Ice given so much focus and allowed to be so sentimental and heartfelt, the score by Hans Zimmer, the fact that it truly had the soul of an 80s movie, Tom Cruise riding his motorcycle and all the great callbacks/parallels to the first movie, the insane aerial footage that never had me suspending my disbelief… the list goes on, and on, and on. I adore this movie so damn much and am so happy it has the success that it deserved. LOVED watching you guys enjoy it so much!!!

Dont get me wrong, i absolutely adore superhero movies and they mean a lot to me, but movies like this and like Oppenheimer? doesnt get any better. movies like this have me in tears every viewing. Walking out of a cinema after seeing a movie like this will forever be the best feeling in the world

Top Gun: Maverick is the best movie of the year guys!

I saw this 8 times in the theaters in various premium formats...I cried hard tears the first 3 times. Seeing this movie on the big screen was an experience of a lifetime. It was a must see on the big screen.

Amazing film. Loved the reactions. After that emotional scene between Mav and Iceman, Eric says "you can't get any better than that!", and then the beach scene with just vibes! Unreal

As a speed junky myself, that opening scene hits hard, you always want to see how much faster something goes…

Nobody gets the "BOB - Baby on Bord" Joke :)