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Top Gun: Maverick (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (28th October 2022). |
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The Film
 It's a bold move to produce a sequel to a film that was released 36 years ago, but this is becoming more of a norm in recent years; "Tron: Legacy" (2010) was released 28 years after the original "Tron" (1982), "Mad Max: Fury Road" (2015) was released 30 years after "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome" (1985), other sequels also include "Independence Day: Resurgence" (2016) released 20 years after the original, "T2 Trainspotting" (2017), "Blade Runner 2049" (2017), "Bill & Ted Face the Music" (2020), and now we have the biggest summer spectacle in "Top Gun: Maverick" (2022). Hollywood studios are digging deep into the nostalgia well to revive older IP into big action packed blockbusters in an effort to bring people back into cinemas. After two very difficult years due to the global pandemic movie theaters have certainly suffered. "Top Gun: Maverick" was in fact finished a couple of years ago but shelved so that it could bow on the silver screen, a welcomed decision by Paramount to hold off so people can see it on the biggest screen possible. The film does take place after over thirty years from the first, Maverick (Tom Cruise) is still flying aircrafts for the Navy as test pilot, never having ascended further than Captain, many expected him to at least be a one star Admiral at this point in his career, but none are surprised to see he hasn't. Maverick is once again tasked with training a new group of young and eager pilots for a new and dangerous mission. One of the new hot shots is Rooster (Miles Teller), the son of his former co-pilot and best friend Goose as he must confront those demons from his past in order to lead a successful mission. The film's plot is pretty simple, there's nothing here that bogs it down in complications and that's the beauty of this film. Simply check your brain at the door and enjoy the ride. This film is pure entertainment, that's it. The action scenes are beautifully choreographed and will leave you on the edge of your seat. The innovative camera work puts you right in the cockpit with these ace pilots. The film pulses with a pounding score, classic tunes from the 80's too, dog fights, motorcycles, testosterone driven confrontations, egos, shirtless beach football takes the place of shirtless beach volleyball, a love interest in Jennifer Connelly's Penny; the Admiral's daughter we only hear about in dialogue in the original film, and a bombastic final act that'll thrill anyone. What more would you ask for? 36 years later and Tom Cruise looks about as ageless as ever, picking up were he left off Maverick is the engine of this film and he's populated the narrative with a collection of actors that'll make any director look good; Jennifer Connellyy is the perfect no-nonsense scene partner to Cruise, Miles Teller brings a fresh new energy to the franchise, and veterans John Hamm and Charles Parnell brings some formidable acting chops to the picture, plus there's a beautiful and meaningful cameo from Val Kilmer as Iceman that ties the first half of the film to its second. It's cheesy and occasionally silly but "Top Gun: Maverick" hits all the nostalgia feels enough to feel like a satisfying sequel and I certainly will be eagerly anticipating a third film in the franchise!
Video
This film is presented in two ratios 1.90:1/2.39:1 the 1.90:1 ratio represents the IMAX format and opens up to that ratio from 2.39:1 in which the rest of the film is presented. The overall image is fantastic, bright, sharp, colorful, everything you'd expect from an HD 1080p 24/fps transfer. The only way this could be improved is with a 4K transfer, which is also available separately.
Audio
Several audio options are included in English Dolby Atmos, French (Canadian) Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, French (Parisian) Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, Portuguese (Brazilian) Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, Spanish (Castilian) Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, Spanish (Latin) Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, and an English Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. The Atmos track is fantastic, the film radiates from all channels, watch this one loud and annoy your neighbors! Optional subtitles are also included in Danish, Dutch, English, English HoH, Finnish, French (Canadian), French (Parisian), Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin), and Swedish.
Extras
There are a handful of extras on this disc, sadly there is no audio commentary which would have been a welcomed addition, despite this we mostly get presented with short featurettes that offer some decent behind-the-scenes insights, the following is included: "Cleared for Take Off" featurette (9:15) "Breaking New Ground – Filming Top Gun: Maverick" featurette (7:56) "A Love Letter to Aviation" featurette (4:48) "Forging the Darkstar" featurette (7:31) “Hold My Hand” Music Video by Lady Gaga (3:52) “I Ain’t Worried” Music Video by OneRepublic (2:37) Inside the case is a code for a digital copy version of the film.
Packaging
Packaged in a standard blu-ray case housed in a cardboard clip-cover for first pressings.
Overall
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