S/o Fluff - Which actors whose movies you won’t watch?

In one these movie/actor threads Jack Reacher was talked about and who played his character better.  Tom Cruise or that guy on Amazon Prime.

To me Tom Cruise as a shorter version of Jack Reacher is THE Jack Reacher in my world.

But that is not the point of this post.

For some reason Amazon ads about mystery books has been popping up in my timeline on Instagram.  So I have checking them out because I love a good mystery.

Anyway, this writer Diane Capri has a series of books about finding Jack Reacher. The first in the series is Due Justice.

I haven’t read it yet but from what I understand there two individuals who are tracking Jack Reacher.  One is an FBI agent.  They are task with investigating the aftermath of a Jack Reacher visit.  The goal is to determine if Reacher is the right guy for some top secret job.

Lee Childs is a friend of Diane Capri.  Not sure why it matters but decided to add it in any case.

So if you like the Jack Reacher books maybe this series might be something to add to your reading list.


I forgot how many on this thread are not fans of Tom Cruise.  Several made exception for Maverick, which I understand.  But still it’s a lot.

link

This from Yahoo popped up just after I finished reading some of the posts in this thread.       

“Much of the moviegoing world watched with astonishment in 2022 when Tom Cruise reprised his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick. Cruise and his collaborators, including veteran producer Jerry Bruckheimer, took great care in ensuring the beloved character’s return was worth the wait. Bruckheimer will revive yet another iconic franchise in 2024 with Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley. The long-awaited sequel in the Eddie Murphy-led film series has a lot riding on it, and fans surely have high expectations. What some may be comforted to hear, though, is that there’s one key element that the movie has in common with Maverick, according to Bruckheimer.

There’s a lot to love about Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun sequel. The performances are electric, the production design is ambitious and the aerial-related action is nothing short of incredible. But there’s another important aspect of the motion picture that resonates with audiences, and Jerry Bruckheimer pointed it out while previewing the latest Beverly Hills Cop movie. The 80-year-old producer teased that the action-comedy will have its share of thrills. However, like the aviator flick, there’s a true level of sentimentality that’ll be at play as well:

It’s about the emotion. No matter how funny it is, how much great action it has, it’s all about the heartstrings.

The filmmaker brought up a very astute point while discussing his latest film with Empire Magazine. All of the stunts and special effects don’t amount to anything unless there’s true emotion driving the narrative for which they’re utilized. Jerry Bruckheimer would know this better than anyone. Over the years, he’s produced films like Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Bad Boys for Life and the aforementioned Top Gun: Maverick, which feature plenty of bombastic sequences but also have moments of genuine emotion. As a fan, I’m glad to hear he’s taking that same approach with the Eddie Murphy-fronted sequel.”




Don’t get me wrong I really liked Maverick but reading what this guy wrote it’s almost like we watched two different movies.

To me the story was weak and predictable.  At the beginning when the pilots first “meet” Maverick as their teacher the guy talking about the assignment said something about  our enemy has 5th gen fighter jets and U.S. doesn’t so it comes down to the “pilot in the box”.  The idea that the U.S. doesn’t have 5th gen fighter jets is ridiculous.  In fact I think it’s the Air Force that I read is testing 6th gen fighter jets.  Also at the beginning when Maverick is looking at the assignment he said they couldn’t use the F-35 but it was tailor made for the F-18.  The F-35 is one of our most advanced fighter jets and I’m pretty sure versions of this jet are definitely 5th gen.  The F-35 was the jet they lost in Tennessee that kept flying after the pilot ejected.

And with all of Maverick’s experience as a pilot why wasn’t he made team leader at the beginning?  And at what point did Rooster start to see Maverick in a different light?  I read it was when Maverick flew “the course”.  Which brings up the question why didn’t Maverick fly the course at the beginning to show the other pilots it could be done and how?  Isn’t that what teachers do?

The “romantic” scene between Maverick and Penny was not very romantic at all.  The best part is when he went out the window.  

And that “fight” between Rooster and Hangman was kind of dumb.

Then there was the big confusion scene after they were successful in blowing up their target. Once they topped that Coffin Corner why did they kind of hang around?  Why didn’t they go low so they weren’t on the radar of the SAM’s?  I know the scene had to be set up for Maverick’s plane being hit.  Just like when Rooster shot the helicopter that was stalking Maverick why didn’t Rooster go low so his plane was below the radar of the SAM’s?  Because his plane had to be hit.

But I don’t think in real life our pilots would make those mistakes.  At least I hope not.

Like I said, I really did like the movie but as usual with Tom Cruise’s movies these days they spend more time on the action shots at the expense of the storytelling.  Too bad.