The desire for speed isn’t cheap. According to a report, the US Navy gets paid by Top Gun: Maverick almost $11,000 per hour for access to its F/A-18 Super Hornet combat planes. It’s no surprise that the ultimate budget was $171 million.
Oh, and there was one more non-negotiable stipulation: Tom Cruise, who reprises his role as hotshot pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, was not permitted to touch the controls. Sorry, but even the most famous movie actor on the globe can’t get beyond the Pentagon’s tough rules.
The cast had to go through required training on emergency ejection and survival at sea protocols if they wished to enter what Kenny Loggins could term the “Danger Zone” (aka ride along with a trained F/A-18 pilot). Cruise, who also produced the long-awaited sequel to the 1986 blockbuster, was keen that every actor portraying a member of the exclusive Top Gun program take off and fly in a Boeing-built aircraft.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film now has a 97 percent approval rating, with the great majority of critics saying that it outperforms the original in nearly every regard.
