Top Gun: Maverick poster
Top Gun: Maverick

What’s Aged the Worst?

Penny’s idealized life, thin mission logic and rushed funeral

The panel is imagining how this might look in the future.

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:50Read transcript
  • Cruise’s introductory theater message feels stiff
  • The hosts jokingly connect its placement to the Nicole Kidman AMC advertisement
  • Penny’s beauty, successful bar, Porsche, sailboat and almost frictionless family life seem implausibly perfect
  • A crowded bar seems impossibly understaffed
  • The unnamed uranium target and lack of simpler attack options raise doubts
  • Cruise’s dark hair is questioned as an age detail
  • The pre-mission encouragement to Rooster feels too ordinary
  • The new pop singles compare poorly with the original soundtrack’s cultural footprint
  • Rooster’s call sign is not universally liked
  • The hosts reject some complaints about omitting McGillis and Meg Ryan, while imagining a Ryan scene
  • Iceman’s funeral feels too short