While the storytelling WAS predictable, I think the point of all that training was the make the mission surviveable, no?

That was Maverick's point - you can and will survive this thing if you fly to the outer edge of your abilities and I'm going to teach you how to do that.

That was the main conflict between him and Jon Hamm, no? Hamm had a set of mission parameters that made the mission more doable but less surviveable. They could've gone in slow and high, made a suicide run out of it, gotten the job done and then gotten blown up.

But Maverick believed his way would allow them to get in, get it done, get out and live to tell about it. And the survival of the 'team' proved him correct. That was kinda the premise of the entire movie - we NEED seat of his pants instructor to teach these high risk maneuvers to give these kids a chance to return home. Otherwise you can just have Jon Hamm tell them what to do and get them killed when all is said and done (as Hamm basically acknowledged).

Now the Tomcat part? Yeah, that was fan service. But !@#$ you because it was F-14s and an F-14 on a big screen again is awesome. And they did at least make the first kill reasonably plausible. The 2nd...uh...less so.
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And as a side note - Jon Hamm played his role perfectly. He fully embodied the very definition of corporate kiss ass, because how else could a guy younger than Mitchell make three-star admiral while lining out such a weak ass plan of attack? He's the guy that is all about results with no regards for the people who have to carry out his orders. Bottom line is everything, people!

Maybe that is what being in command is really all about in the military and why Maverick never made it above Captain, but I did notice it while watching it.
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I thought they actually did an okay job developing Hamm's character as the movie went on a bit.

By the end I got the impression that he genuinely felt Maverick was a relic who was making promises he couldn't deliver (based on a reputation shielded by Iceman). His view seemed to be that all Maverick was doing was subjecting the mission to a heightened risk of failure without improving the odds of survival (because his view was that Mavericks' version of this mission was simply impossible). With the view that Maverick's mission parameters were unattainable, it makes sense to be 'mission first' in your mindset.

But when Maverick demonstrated that it COULD be done his way, Hamm recognized the viability and the value of that approach and allowed it to proceed.

I agree that Hamm started as your basic 'heavy' who was there to impede our heroes journey - but as the movie went on we did get a better feel for his motives and I think some recognition that those motives weren't wholly malevolent. He was simply a skeptic until proven wrong. And he demonstrated some genuine concern for his pilots at that end as well once the mission was accomplished and he decided "we're not losing anyone else today..."

I think Hamm's character was a tick more nuanced than it would appear at first blush.
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Seemed like Hamm hated Maverick for two reasons - first, Maverick got away with murder because he was protected from up on high by Ice, and second, Hamm was butthurt because Maverick was still flying while he'd been riding a desk for years. Still, the utter lack of respect for his abilities and accomplishments was a bit over the top, but it's not like there aren't plenty of shitty zeros out there.
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Finally saw the flick last night. Good movie and it hit all the nostalgia notes it needed too. Basically it was the #HeSaidTheThing in movie form, brainless nostalgia fun.
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Loved this movie. Thought it was great sequel and ice man. So cool. I may go see it again before leaving theaters..
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Finally saw this. Aviation shit was amazing. Holy balls. That's an accomplishment.

It tugged on some heartstrings I didn't expect. Damn glad it got made, damn glad I saw it.

I'd agree. He's whackadoo, but he's good at what he does. I thought this was some of his better acting. Emoting hasn't been his strong suit since becoming an alien in Scientology, but it was believable here. And it worked. Some of it was the fair amount of self-deprecation he engaged in, added a lot of needed humor. But it all worked - his weirdness never took me out of it.

It was obvious the cockpit stuff was real with the grunts and facial expressions as opposed to what a director thinks would happen up there. Made a pretty big difference.

I will say though, I've seen Cruise learn a bunch of complicated ass stunts, learn a bunch of martial arts choreography, technically sound firearms handling, none of which is easy, and a bunch of the stunt stuff is incredibly tecnical. What I don't understand is he learned how to do all this shit, but never learned how to throw a fucking ball. Couldn't throw a baseball in A Few Good Men and couldn't throw a football in this one. How has ne not just figured it out? Remains one of life's mysteries.

Not the greatest movie ever, but maybe one of the greatest accomplishments to get to film.

I thought he handled that pretty well. Honestly, I wish people would be more candid when they call reporters out on their shit. I thought he equated himself well, honestly.
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Remember this? Thought he handled this well...but I'd be terrified if I was that guy lol.

https://youtu.be/KBRuvQP5fd8
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I read that Tom Cruise, when they were filming this and were aboard a real Navy vessel, had outlandish demands. No one, including the damn captain, was allowed to look at him. No eye contact at all. If Tom was walking by, you stand aside and put your eyes to the floor. He expected that from everyone regardless of rank.

Made me less of a Tom Cruise fan, hearing that.
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Sorry, I call bullshit on that one. For starters, no carrier captain is going to kowtow to anybody like that on his ship. That's the apex position every naval officer seeks/dreams of, and you don't get to that level by being a pussy. And while I've not forgotten that Cruise is still a scientology weirdo, I think he's conscious enough of his good guy image not to be a shit to people around him, at least while he's filming. There are just too many cellphones out there, and video of him being a douche like that would come out.

That being said, I don't doubt that crewmembers were told not to fuck with him, but it probably came from the Navy.
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All of his movies are just pure quality entertainment, 40 years of nothing but net.
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Agreed - none of that passes the sniff test even a little bit.

There is no WAY that guy treats servicemembers like that and it doesn't become a thing. Especially when he does the first screening on the carrier deck and seems to be getting along well with all of them.

Not buying it.
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This is not true. The crew was told not to bother him by their superiors not Tom Cruise.
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I gladly stand corrected by you fellas. It was purely a rumor when I heard that but it seemed credible at the time.
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I mean, come on. You really think a US Military ship is going to let a movie star come aboard and disrespect even the Captain, let alone the cooks?
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