MovieChat Forums > Top Gun: Maverick (2022) Discussion > Wrong Director

Wrong Director

posted 5 years ago by Drooch (5333)
8 replies | jump to latest

A perfect trailer. My only worry is the director, Kosinski - Oblivion was weak. God knows why Cruise brought him back to helm the long awaited follow-up to the film that launched Cruise into megastardom. This needed a sure hand.

The visuals are there, the music’s great, Cruise is on form, and he’s got a strong supporting cast, but if Kosinski can’t handle the basic drama then this could be a gorgeous but forgettable creampuff.

Sure, the original was cheesy but the central relationships were actually well acted and those dynamics - Mav, Goose Ice Man, and to some extent Kelly McGillis - are what really kept the film alive in our hearts for decades.

[–] BlissNEsb (108) 5 years ago

I agree, Kosinski's a mediocre director, but the screenplay might save this.

[–] ebhaynz (3688) 5 years ago

I agree, a lot of things have to go right to make a movie work..a good director can't make a crummy plot work. James Cameron directing The Abyss is just one example of a plot that was pretty weak and it ended up being a boring underwater CE3K.
I have a feeling Top Gun Maverick is a fail-proof movie.

[–] Drooch (5333) 5 years ago

The Abyss is excellent, especially the longer Director’s Cut, so that’s a bizarre example to use. A weak director can easily tank a great script and cast. If Oblivion was anything to go by then Kosinski simply doesn’t get the nuances of authentic human interactions, he’s not interested, and so he can’t create credible characters and relationships that matter.

Without that, this will end up a vapid ode to the original with no actual substance in itself. I can only hope Cruise oversees things as a producer and makes sure we get a quality sequel.

[–] DracTarashV2 (4493) 5 years ago

Hold it there.

In addition to the flawed but interesting visual pleasers that were Tron:Legacy & Oblivion, Kosinki also directed Only the Brave (2017).

Only the Brave, which was the last film Kosinki directed before Maverick (and also starred Miles Teller), was a big departure from Kosinki’s previous work and it turned out to be the director’s best film yet—it was met with critical acclaim.

And indeed Only the Brave was all about its characters, so if Kosinki does with Maverick what he did with the former from a character standpoint, then I feel this film may be in pretty good hands — it certainly looks that way judging by the trailer. Guess we have to wait and see.

[–] Drooch (5333) 5 years ago

I haven’t seen Only The Brave but you’re right - people seem to really rate it and it sounds like a powerful drama with great actors doing their stuff (while battling forest fires). I’ll check it out. Thanks for giving me reason to expect something special from TGMaverick.

[–] mikethemartian (6708) 5 years ago

I wonder if Ridley Scott would have been interested given that his brother directed the original.

[–] bozo_500 (13105) 5 years ago

C'mon Top Gun was always a 'visual' movie. story/characters were pretty basic/incidental .

Sequel dosnt need a load of deep intellectual subtext like from Ridley Scott lol

just gotta be visually astounding/insane plane stunts with the plot updated to now featuring Maverick interacting with the next generation..

which makes this Tron/Oblivion guy an ideal candidate

[–] BrunoAntony (1198) 5 years ago

I’m only watching this because of Koskinski.

“Oblivion” was awesome, as was “Only The Brave”.