This is a Movie Health Community evaluation. It is intended to inform people of potential health hazards in movies and does not reflect the quality of the film itself. The information presented here has not been reviewed by any medical professionals.
Top Gun: Maverick has several instances of machine gun fire in the last half-hour, during the mission to which the whole film has been building.
There are several sequences of air combat in this film, shot on cameras mounted inside and outside of real fighter jets. These jets go through complex maneuvers at extreme speeds, including barrel rolls, loops, and dives. While these sequences are very likely to be highly disorienting, all of the camera work is very smooth. One scene takes place on a boat on rough waters.
Flashing Lights: 7/10. Motion Sickness: 9/10.
TRIGGER WARNING: Extreme G-forces are depicted viscerally, but never with nausea or vomiting.
Image ID: A theatrical poster for Top Gun: Maverick
You lay curled up on your cot, your eyes puffy and red from the countless hours of crying you have been doing over the past three days. Every time you think you have cried yourself out, that you couldn’t possibly have the energy or tears left to shed, you are hit by another wave of sobs. You know you should pull it together, to be as strong as all those around you, but you can’t. Working in the control room and monitoring things through a computer screen had always let you remain somewhat distanced from the loss and tragedies that could occur during missions. But this is different. You had never been this personally connected to one of the fighters before.
A light knock on your door stirs you from your grief. You mumble a soft, “Come in.” and see Phoenix slowly open the door.
“Hey, I thought you might want some company.” You nod as a single tear rolls down your cheek and she comes over to pull you into a hug. “It’s okay. There’s still a chance he could be okay.”
You sob into her chest, “It’s been three days. You guys ejected from your plane in the middle of a desert with no food, no water, no real kind of protective gear and no one has found any signs of Bob since. Even if he survived the crash, he almost definitely wouldn’t have made it this long on his own.” She just holds tighter to you, both of you knowing you are right and anything she says would just be wishful thinking.
Finally, you compose yourself somewhat and say, “I’m sorry. I know I should be stronger than this. I mean, we had only been going out for a few months. Plus, you guys have known him so much longer and you’re holding it together. I mean, he was your WSO and yet here you are comforting me! How pathetic can I be!”
Phoenix thinks for a moment, choosing her words wisely. “I haven’t been as strong as I am trying to seem. You’re right, Bob was my WSO and I was flying when we were forced to bail out. That’s not an easy thing to come to terms with but I’m trying.” She ran her hand soothingly across your back. “However, I think we both know that there was more to your and Bob’s relationship than you’re admitting.”
“Yeah…. Yeah, there was. But I never admitted it to him either…… Do-do you think he knew that I loved him before he….?” You squeeze your eyes shut, unable to actually say the word out loud, but Phoenix understands.
“I think he did. And I think he felt the same way about you. You were all he ever talked about. I had to even tell him to shut up a few times when he would go on and on and on about you.”
You let out a strangled laugh. “My roommate told me the same thing. That she didn’t ever want to hear the name ‘Bob’ ever again.” You stare down at your hands as they fidget with the sheets. “I guess she got her wish.”
Phoenix opens her mouth to say something, but before she has the chance, Rooster suddenly bursts into your room without even knocking. You and Phoenix both look at him in surprise, not understanding his intrusion or the wide grin spread across his face. That is until he breathlessly says, “They found him…. And he’s okay… Bob’s okay!”
Phoenix decides to stay behind to give you time alone with Bob, so Rooster leads you quickly down the hall. He fills you in with what he knows: a final rescue team had gone out looking for him and someone had managed to spot his parachute in a deep gorge they had missed before. They found Bob, dehydrated, severely sunburned, and banged up, but overall, he was going to make a full recovery.
As you approach the door to his room, Rooster gives your shoulder a tight squeeze then walks off so you can go in by yourself. Taking a deep breath, you open the door. Bob is laying on a bed, propped up with a few pillows. An IV is connected to his arm to replenish his fluids. All of his visible skin is painfully bright red and peeling from countless hours in the scorching sun. But even though his lips are chapped and cracked, he gives you a soft smile as you hesitantly approach. “Hi.”
His voice is so dry and scratchy it is almost impossible to make out what he said, but you smile back as tears once again spring to your eyes. “Hi. I thought….. I thought I had lost you.”
“Thought so too once or twice. But I had a reason to keep going.” Weakly, he reaches into his flight suit and pulls out a worn strip of paper. Handing it over to you, you instantly recognize it. For your third date, Bob had taken you to a carnival and the two of you had spent way too much money goofing off in the photo booth. While you had taken most of the photos home, you had noticed Bob slip one strip of them into his pocket. That is what you now hold in your hands.
The tears you have been holding back begin streaming down your face. You take his hand gently and whisper, “I love you, Bob. I’ve wanted to tell you for a while, but I-I was afraid it was too soon. And then when I thought you were gone, and I’d never get the chance to tell you-” Your voice begins quivering too much to continue.
But then Bob reaches out and takes your hand in his as he rasps, “I love you too. I didn’t want to come on too strong but I’ve wanted to say it ever since that night.” He gestures to the pictures still in your hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner.”
Without thinking, you press your lips against his. The cracked, dry feeling immediately reminds you of his condition and you try to pull away, but he places his hand on the back of your neck, holding you in place. So, you carefully lean in, deepening the kiss as you run your fingers through his hair, ignoring the sand and sweat matted there.
You are interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing behind you. The heat rising in your face, you turn around to see a doctor with an amused look on her face standing there. She raises an eyebrow and says, “Sorry to interrupt, but Lieutenant Floyd needs his rest. So, if you don’t mind-”
“Can she please stay?” Bob asks.
The doctor sighs. “Are you actually going to try to get some sleep if she’s here?”
“Yes, ma’am. In fact, I’ll sleep better with her by my side.” Bob smiles softly at you and you bite your lip to suppress your own grin.
“Fine. But if I come back to check on you and I see anything I don’t approve of, she’ll have to leave.”
“Absolutely. Thank you, ma’am.”
The doctor shakes her head with a small smile and leaves. You turn back to Bob. “Are you sure? I can come back later. She’s right. You do need to rest and recover.”
“I can do both with you here….. If you want to stay.”
You squeeze his hand. “Of course, I do.”
Carefully, Bob slides over, making room next to him. You climb onto the bed, curling up against his side with your head resting on his shoulder. You take his glasses off his face and place them on the table next to you before he wraps his arm around you and pulls you in closer. And wrapped in each other’s arms, you both soon drift off to sleep comforted by the thought you are with the person you love once again.
when Glen Powell gets photobombed and a smooch on his cheeks from fellow co-star Lewis Pullman on the red carpet for Top Gun: Maverick! plus a collection of their interactions. love the underrated friendship between Glen and Lewis ~ unexpected duo Hangman & Bob.
Still in the obsession stage with the young cast of Top Gun: Maverick (2022) so naturally wanted their cast photoshoot for Vanity Fair here. // Glen Powell - Lewis Pullman - Monica Barbaro - Jay Ellis - Danny Ramirez
why do they look like the cast of The Days of Our Flight Lives: Top Gun Maverick edition? xD Every single one serving looks in suits tho. not sure what this photoshoot was for tho cos they were all in a hangar but hopefully they’ll release the HQs soon. // Top Gun: Maverick (2022) young cast
