Quentin Tarantino is a lover of cinema first and a filmmaker second. The maverick director has often been vocal about his favorite films of all time as well as his current favorites. Tarantino has also criticized the changing landscape of the industry, echoing the sentiments of Martin Scorsese, who went on a war against the likes of Marvel and DC.
One film that Tarantino was pleasantly surprised by and loved was Tom Cruise’s action blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick. A sequel to Tony Scott’s 1986 classic, Tarantino appreciated director Joseph Kosinski’s vision and the respect he showed for the original. Though the Pulp Fiction director had a problem with Val Kilmer’s scene in the film, he mentioned that it still worked.
Quentin Tarantino Expresses His Love For Top Gun: Maverick
Tom Cruise quite literally saved cinema when he starred in the 2022 action blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick. The sequel to Tony Scott’s Top Gun, the film saw Cruise reprise his role as Captain Pete Mitchell a.k.a Maverick as he tackles on a role as a mentor to a batch of new recruits. The film was a huge commercial success, earning $1.4 billion at the box office.
Many loved the film as it became Tom Cruise’s highest-grossing film. The action film reportedly stood its ground at the box office Top 5 for ten weeks before dropping. It was a huge hit overseas as well, receiving record openings even in international markets. Filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg credited Cruise for having ‘saved cinema’ (via THR).
Another filmmaker who expressed his love for the film was Quentin Tarantino. In CinemaBlend’s ReelBlend podcast, Tarantino appreciated the film for giving a cinematic experience while also staying true to the original’s legacy. He said,
I f*cking love ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’ I thought it was fantastic. I saw it at the theaters. That and [Steven] 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.
Advertisement
The filmmaker appreciated director Joseph Kosinski for paying respects to late director Tony Scott’s original and even said that this was the closest fans would get to another film from Scott, who passed away in 2012.
Quentin Tarantino Felt The Val Kilmer Cameo Was Almost ‘Too Cheap’
While Quentin Tarantino was all praises for the Tom Cruise starrer Top Gun: Maverick, he reportedly had qualms with one scene in the film. Val Kilmer, who played Iceman Kazinsky in the original, reprised his role in a cameo in the sequel. Kilmer’s character seems to be dying of throat cancer in the film and has a last meeting with Cruise’s Maverick, giving him a pep talk.
Tarantino reportedly felt that the scene was ‘almost too cheap’ but was marveled by Val Kilmer’s ability to pull off that scene and still make it work. He said,
But it absolutely works. It’s a bit like Charlie Chaplin dying on stage for the last scene of ‘Limelight’… but it f*cking works. You’re waiting for it and the f*cking scene delivers.
The scene sees the actor first communicate with Maverick through a device in short texts as the latter struggles with encouraging his crew to trust him. Kilmer’s character is hinted at having died in the film. Kilmer himself reportedly had cancer in real life and had campaigned to reprise his role in the sequel (via The Wrap).