Many Hollywood movies aren’t known for their detailed accuracy. After all, they have a story to tell, and sometimes that means fudging the truth. That seems to be especially the case with Top Gun, the classic fighter pilot and military adventure starring Tom Cruise. According to former Captain Jim DiMatteo, a 25-year-long veteran, there’s one scene in Top Gun that’s definitely inaccurate.
If you need to know what really goes on in a fighter jet, it makes sense to go to those who have the experience sitting in the cockpit day in and day out. So recently, Jim DiMatteo helped give a little insight for the Robb Report, and was also able to explain what was and what wasn’t accurate about Top Gun:
Some of the Hollywood stuff, like when Maverick, who is this super stud, flies over to the other side of the world to deal with a problem is not accurate. What we do from a naval aviation perspective is that you train people to have a certain ability or capacity and then they’re where they are, and if something happens, they handle it. We don’t fly somebody in to handle that.
All in all, it sounds like a fairly small detail that the filmmakers behind Top Gun decided to ignore for plot expediency. Captain Jim DiMatteo admitted that other elements of the movie are accurate, including singing in bars, being highly competitive with each other and the real dangers of the missions.
If you don’t recall, near the end of Top Gun, Maverick, Iceman and several other fighter pilots are called on to carry out a mission immediately after graduating from the academy. They’re sent clear across the world to execute on the mission, something that wouldn’t ever happen in the real world, according to Jim DiMatteo.
After thirty years, Tom Cruise is once again hopping back into the cockpit for Top Gun: Maverick. And from how it sounds, Tom Cruise wanted it to be as authentic as possible, requesting that they do practical stunts rather than CGI, which required a high level of training for the action star and his co-stars.
To achieve this, Tom Cruise depended on a number of highly skilled Navy pilots. And he has nothing but admiration and respect for the Navy pilots who have helped him prepare. Earlier this month, Cruise expressed his gratitude to the Navy pilots for working with him and for their service to the country.
Top Gun: Maverick was previously slated to land in theaters on June 26, 2020. But, due to current events, the movie saw consistent schedule delays. Now, it’s scheduled to release on July 2, 2021. Once it lands, it'll be interesting to hear how accurate it is from the original. For more movie news, be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
