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Why Top Gun: Maverick's Action Scenes Are Practical Effects (Not CGI)
Tom Cruise is returning to the role of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick, and the actor is ensuring the jet fighter action scenes are practical effects, rather than CGI. The sequel to Top Gun (1986) has been in the works since 2010. It brings Cruise back, with Maverick now a veteran after 30 years of service, and will see him training new Top Gun recruits.
The suspenseful, action-packed Top Gun 2 Super Bowl trailer was enough to give fans a taste of just how real Top Gun: Maverick will be. While those involved have worked hard to create something unique, Cruise claims there won't be another movie like Top Gun: Maverick made again. In reference to an amazing aerial sequence which takes place in this film, Cruise insists that a scene like this may also never be done again. Cruise and his co-stars really got inside the cock-pits, with Cruise even paying for Glen Powell's pilot training. To see these stunts on screen and then to realize that no CGI was used is amazing work that might just prove Cruise right.
Cruise has been adamant that there will be no CGI in Top Gun: Maverick. The daredevil actor may be used to doing his own stunts, but that means every actor involved needed to get used to flying jets as well. New addition Miles Teller, who plays Goose’s son, Rooster, told USA Today: “Putting us up in these jets, it’s very serious. That’s why everybody thought it would be impossible. I think when Tom hears that something’s impossible or it can’t be done, that’s when he gets to work.” The authenticity Cruise brings to his films is beyond what viewers can imagine. The way the jet action scenes were filmed stand as proof that for Cruise, practical effects are far greater than any CGI. While this may be an added strain on his co-stars, it gives viewers an incredibly unique experience, and fits with Cruise's sensibilities as an actor.
Cruise’s approach to action is very much that anything is possible. No matter the level of danger, he truly feels the need to make it happen. Authenticity and personal ambition seem to drive Cruise into making spectacular action films. His work on the Mission: Impossible franchise is the obvious example of just how far he’ll go to produce great content. Whether it’s hanging by a rope from a helicopter, zooming through the streets of Paris on a motorcycle with no helmet, or jumping off roofs, he truly gives fans thrilling action. But Maverick's action scenes compare to the original with Cruise’s desire to perform his own stunts. In Top Gun, Cruise parachutes from his plane due to a malfunction and descends into the ocean. Those on set observed his parachute filling with water and someone was forced to jump in and cut Cruise free. His no fear attitude is exhilarating to watch, but clearly provides a scare for those on set.
Top Gun: Maverick's jet fighter action scenes may go down in history as some of the best due in large part to the practical effects and lack of CGI. The ability to make an audience feel a roller coaster of emotions in any genre is something only the best can do. Over the years, Cruise has done just that and the suspense created from performing his own stunts adds to his credibility as an actor and the quality of his films. CGI is an amazing gift that provides a truly unique cinematic experience, but the real, raw ability to toe the line of danger is something often missed with CGI. Top Gun: Maverick is set to release in late December 2020 and fans can be sure that when it arrives, every single stunt will be real.
Top Gun: Maverick/Top Gun 2 (2020)
Release Date: Dec 23, 2020
