The Top Gun: Maverick Scene That Went Too Far
Bringing that magic back on screen after 36 years got to account to something, right?
At first pretty much no one could believe that filming the sequel to the iconic 1986 movie was actually a good idea; however, Tom Cruise proved wrong even the most stubborn of skeptics, with Top Gun: Maverick ending up being highest-grossing movie of 2022 and earning $1,472,426,888 worldwide. Built on universally recognized themes such as friendship, mentorship and letting go, Top Gun: Maverick can easily be enjoyed by almost every audience. However, there's at least one scene that, according to some viewers, was a bit much for them.
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The scene in question is how Tom Cruise and his team handled Iceman's return. As Top Gun fans know, Val Kilmer was diagnosed with cancer back in 2014, underwent tracheotomy and has been battling the consequences for years now. The actor pretty much lost his voice after several procedures on his trachea (that's why Iceman doesn't say much in Top Gun: Maverick, and even when he does, it's not the actual Kilmer's voice but rather a synthesized by AI version of it). And so, however happy the actor's fans were after watching him return as Iceman, the following – the plot twist of Kilmer's character dying – felt like too much for some of them, like a depressing reflection on Kilmer's own struggles.
Some fans even suggested that Top Gun: Maverick writers went too far in their quest to evoke some strong emotions from viewers: apparently they should have abandoned such a depressing plot twist as Iceman's death altogether, offering something more hopeful for Iceman and Val Kilmer's fans instead.
The death itself was handled off-screen, but the whole plot point hits hard just the same; even harder for some of Kilmer's fans who have been afraid for a while now that Top Gun: Maverick is going to be the last ever film for the actor. It should be noted that the actor himself didn't say anything about quitting, so may be these fears aren't all that warranted.
Kilmer himself saw Iceman's arc in Top Gun: Maverick as a very good story and was actually gunning for the reunion with Tom Cruise – in however capacity the producers saw fit – right from the very start of production.
"I called the agent immediately. Yes, Top Gun has all the perfect elements for a sequel. […] As the Temptations sang in the heyday of Motown soul, ain't too proud to beg. The producers went for it and Cruise went for it," the actor told USA Today.
Top Gun: Maverick is now available to stream at home, thanks to Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services.