Film enthusiasts spend a lot of time talking about the movies of Quentin Tarantino. The auteur has produced nine extraordinary films, and his body of work has shifted the landscape of the film industry, even winning Brad Pitt a well-deserved Oscar for the magnum opus, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. But what does Tarantino, himself, think about OTHER films? There’s a new podcast the legendary filmmaker is launching called The Video Archives, during which he and longtime friend Roger Avary dive into all manner of films that tickle their fancies. And while promoting that show on our official podcast, ReelBlend, Tarantino reviewed the new film Top Gun: Maverick and gave it a rave.
Quentin Tarantino isn’t the first person to call Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick a great film. Eric Eisenberg reviewed it for our site and said it “finds an interesting and compelling story to tell, and executes it with passion.” For Tarantino, however, it was the opportunity to fly close to the style of original Top Gun director Tony Scott that most appealed to him. As he told the ReelBlend podcast:
Normally I don't talk about new movies that much because then I'm only forced to say good things, or else I'm slamming someone. And I don't want to do that. But in this case, I fucking love Top Gun: Maverick. I thought it was fantastic. I saw it at the theaters. … That and Spielberg's West Side Story both provided a true cinematic spectacle, the kind that I'd almost thought that I wasn't going to see anymore. It was fantastic. But also there was just this lovely, lovely aspect because I love both Tony Scott's cinema so much, and I love Tony so much that that's as close as we're ever going to get to seeing one more Tony Scott movie. (Joseph Koskinski) did a great job. The respect and the love of Tony was in every frame. It was almost in every decision. It was consciously right there, but in this really cool way that was really respectful. And I think it was in every decision Tom (Cruise) made in the film. It's the closest we're ever going get to seeing one more Tony Scott movie, and it was a fucking terrific one.
Apparently, that was one of the holdups preventing Top Gun star Tom Cruise from returning to the franchise for a second story. How do you go back and make a Top Gun movie without original director Tony Scott, who died in 2012 and had an enormous impact on the tone of the first film? But Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski and his lead actor Tom Cruise went out of their way at virtually every turn to honor the legacy of Tony Scott, even venturing to specific locations where Top Gun was filmed to capture important footage. And according to Quentin Tarantino, that love bled through the screen.
Tons of people agreed. Top Gun: Maverick has been one of the brightest spots on the box office calendar this year, a blockbuster that encouraged audiences of all ages to return to movie theaters after roughly a two-year absence. Tarantino doesn’t have a movie in theaters this year, and the subject of his tenth and final film remains a mystery. But he does have a new podcast called The Video Archives, which is worth listening to and subscribing to, so go enjoy it!
